By Haya El Nasser; David Leon Moore; Sally Ann Stewart
LOS ANGELES -- A beautiful blonde, the former wife of an athletic superstar, found stabbed to death.
A handsome young waiter found murdered beside her.
A pro football Hall of Famer-turned-actor in seclusion in his million-dollar mansion.
In a city known for bizarre scandal and high-profile crime, almost nothing has upset and intrigued Los Angeles as much as the unfolding mystery surrounding O.J. Simpson and the deaths of his ex-wife, Nicole, and Ronald Goldman.
As his friends and lawyer proclaimed Simpson's innocence - and police would not confirm he was even a suspect in the killings - a bloodied glove possibly linked to the crimes reportedly was found at Simpson's house.
Police also confirmed Nicole Simpson had been battered repeatedly during her marriage to O.J., and a psychotherapist who treated Nicole described O.J. as possessed by demons of jealousy and rage.
Susan Forward, Nicole's therapist at the time of her 1992 divorce and the author of Men Who Hate Women and the Women Who Love Them, said in an interview Tuesday that Simpson had "threatened Nicole's life repeatedly.
"He said things like, 'If I can't have you nobody can,' " Forward told KCBS-TV. "He was obsessed with her. He was just not willing to let go."
But those who know Simpson describe a person far more familiar - the likeable football hero and TV personality.
"It seems impossible, inconceivable that he could do that," said ABC Monday Night Football analyst Dan Dierdorf. "I hope they find the person who did it and it's not O.J.
"O.J.'s such a wonderful guy. I'm just sick. I'm physically ill."
All police will say is that they're investigating and that Simpson was questioned for three and a half hours Monday and then released.
"We have made progress in the investigation," said Cmdr. David Gascon, a police spokesman. "There is no indication at this point that any arrest is imminent."
Outside the $ 700,000 condo where the bodies of Nicole, 35, and Goldman, 25, were found, a steady stream of gawkers filed past, leaving mementos near patches of dried blood.
Just a mile away, at O.J.'s $ 1.2 million mansion in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles, 20 news cameras were pointed at the two gated entrances to the estate and helicopters circled overhead.
Simpson's lawyer, Howard Weitzman, said he knows nothing about the bloody glove supposedly found there. And he would not comment on the small, dark reddish-brown stains spotted about 50 feet from Simpson's garage.
"It's difficult enough with the shock that your wife's been murdered, but to hear that you may be accused of it, well, it's awful," said Weitzman, who has represented celebrities from Michael Jackson to Mike Tyson to Kim Basinger.
Officials Tuesday said autopsies showed Nicole Simpson and Goldman died of multiple stab wounds, though they could not confirm the weapon used or say when the two died.
Weitzman said police estimate the killings happened around 11 p.m. Sunday.
What happened before that is slowly being reconstructed by police and eyewitnesses:
Simpson and Nicole spent Sunday afternoon with their two children, Sidney Brooke, 9, and Justin, 6, at a school dance recital. It ended about 6 p.m.
Nicole went out to celebrate with nine others - including her children but not Simpson. They ate at Mezzaluna, the restaurant where Goldman worked as a waiter.
Nicole left at 8: 30 p.m.
That same night, Simpson reportedly flew from Los Angeles to Chicago on an 11: 45 p.m. flight and checked into a hotel where he had reservations. He rushed back home Monday after being told of the killings. The bodies were found about 12: 10 a.m. Monday.
Tuesday, the children were with Nicole's relatives.
That much seems to be clear. But many questions remain in the case, including the nature of the relationship between Nicole Simpson and Goldman.
"I believe there was no relationship," says Karim Souki, Goldman's boss at Mezzaluna. "He was just at the wrong place at the wrong time."
The two did belong to the same health club, and several people reported previously seeing Goldman at Nicole Simpson's condo.
And some co-workers say Goldman was a friend of Nicole's, which might explain why he volunteered to return the prescription sunglasses Nicole had forgotten at the restaurant Sunday night.
Friends say Goldman dreamed of someday opening his own jazz club. He began working at Mezzaluna about six months ago.
"He was really happy" working at the restaurant. "He was making a lot of money," says Alexandra De Furio, who lived in the same apartment complex as Goldman.
But O.J. and Nicole Simpson had a relationship that most described as stormy.
The Simpsons married in 1985 and divorced by 1992. In recent months, friends said, they had talked of reconciling.
The most public rift came in 1989, when Simpson pleaded no contest to wife beating after he allegedly threatened to kill Nicole, and slapped and kicked her in a pre-dawn New Year's Day argument.
He was ordered to pay a $ 200 fine, donate $ 500 to a battered women's shelter, perform 120 hours of community service, continue psychiatric counseling and was put on two years probation.
Tuesday, Los Angeles Police Lt. John Dunkin confirmed that Nicole Simpson had apparently made many calls to 911 after being battered.
To some friends, that kind of relationship seems impossible.
Terry O'Neil, former NBC executive producer and a close friend of O.J. Simpson, says Simpson and Nicole were "very, very close, well after their separation and even after their divorce. . . . It was not an angry separation, not an angry divorce.
"For those of us who knew him well, this is absolutely incomprehensible," O'Neil says.
And, he adds, "I've had intimate conversations with O.J. and I don't want to violate that confidence, but I guarantee you that that was absolutely not what people think."
Even if cleared of involvement in the gruesome killings, Simpson's earning power could be hurt - mainly his company endorsements.
Simpson has been a Hertz spokesman since 1975 - an eternity in the world of advertising. His mother was in an ad for MCI's 1-800-COLLECT service six months ago, in which she raced through the house to answer the phone in a parody of O.J.'s old run-through-the-airport ads for Hertz.
Hertz declined to comment Tuesday, but agent Marc Perman of the J. Michael Bloom agency, who represents Charles Barkley among others, says, "Even if it's a totally false accusation, your client loses millions."
At the scene of the murders, the questions of money and celebrity seemed distant.
Tuesday, a dog's paw prints stretched up and down the bloody sidewalk from Nicole's condo. Nicole's dog was apparently walking near the scene when the bodies were found.
A bunch of carnations was left on the walkway. And a note wrapped around a bouquet of purple flowers read: "Mothers hold their children's hands for a short while - their hearts forever. God bless you both and may your mother's spirit reside in your heart forever."
The note, meant for Nicole's children, was signed "Adam and Ali and their mom."
CHRONOLOGY OF KILLINGS
Events surrounding the killings of O.J. Simpson's ex-wife Nicole and Ronald Lyle Goldman in Los Angeles: SUNDAY
6 p.m. (PT) - O.J. Simpson and ex-wife Nicole leave dance recital involving their daughter.
6: 30 p.m. - Nicole Simpson and nine others, excluding O.J., eat dinner at the Mezzaluna restaurant in Brentwood near Nicole's condominium. Ronald Lyle Goldman, a waiter, was on duty but didn't serve the party.
8: 30 p.m. - Nicole Simpson leaves Mezzaluna. A few hours later, calls restaurant to report she left her glasses behind. Goldman offers to return them.
