The Run of His Life: The People v. O. J. Simpson by Jeffrey Toobin Read Free Book Online

around it and up the stairs, as Riske had done when he first discovered the scene, but instead walked around the block, via Dorothy Street, to the back alley. Rossi was waiting for them in the alley, and he pointed out some blood on the rear gate to Phillips. Riske, Phillips, and Fuhrman then entered the house through the garage, passing a black Jeep Cherokee and a white Ferrari, and then walked up a short flight of stairs. On the bannister next to the stairs there was a partially eaten cup of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream—Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough in flavor.
    Riske led the two detectives through the house, including the second floor, and then back to the landing. There Phillips and Fuhrman could see the two bodies in front and the bloody shoe prints on the walkway leading to the back alley. Riske shined his flashlight around the scene once more, pointing out for the detectivesthe envelope as well as the hat and the glove, which were partially obscured by the foliage. They went back into the house and left through a door that opened onto the walkway that ran along the northern edge of the property. Riske showed them at close range the bloody shoe prints with the blood drops to the left. The three men then went out the back gate, which was, Riske pointed out, also stained with blood, especially on the handle.
    After they completed their tour, Phillips and Fuhrman split up. Phillips stayed outside to use his cellular phone. Fuhrman wanted to make some notes of what he had seen. He wasn’t writing a formal report at this stage, just his preliminary observations to refer to as his investigation proceeded. Fuhrman reentered the house through the garage and sat down on a couch in the living room to scribble down some of what he had seen and been told. Numbering his entries, Fuhrman noted that Riske had discovered the bodies and made the initial report. The causes of death were still unknown, and Fuhrman hadn’t gotten close enough to the bodies to make any definitive finding. The third item in his notes said the victims had “Possible GSW”—gunshot wounds. Fuhrman made reference to the two children who had been taken to the police station, the lit candles, the melting ice cream. Fuhrman noted the blood drops to the left of the shoe prints on the walkway. “Suspect ran through this area,” he wrote. “Suspect possibly bitten by dog.” He made several mentions of blood on the rear gate, including a note that said, referring to the handle that opened the gate from inside the property, “Possible blood smudge and visible fingerprint.” In all, Fuhrman listed seventeen items for follow-up. He was writing his last entry—“Ski mask, one glove by feet of male victim”—when he was interrupted.
    Brad Roberts had arrived and was asking for an update. Fuhrman quickly walked his partner to the landing and showed him the bodies, the hat, and the glove, and then they went back along the walkway that was marked with the bloody shoe prints. Afterward, Roberts headed around the block toward the Bundy entrance, and Fuhrman returned to the couch to work on his notes. He was interrupted again. This time it was his boss, Ron Phillips. Phillips told Fuhrman that the West L.A. team was off the case. It was being turned over to Robbery-Homicide Division, the headquartersunit that handles especially complex or high-profile cases. Moments later, Fuhrman followed Phillips out of the house through the garage. It was about 2:40 A.M. , and Mark Fuhrman’s tenure as lead detective on this double homicide was over. It had lasted about thirty minutes.

    Shortly after arriving at Bundy, Phillips had received a cellular phone call from one of the highest-ranking officers in the entire LAPD. Keith Bushey was the commander of operations for the western quarter of Los Angeles, a region that included not only West L.A. but the Hollywood, Pacific, and Wilshire divisions as well. Bushey had an order for Phillips. Since one of the victims was the ex-wife