Former LAPD detective Mark Fuhrman, who became a household name during O.J. Simpson‘s murder trial, passed away at age 74.
RIP:
The Kootenai County Coroner Office confirmed to Deadline that Mark died Tuesday, May 12, in Idaho, where he resided. He had been suffering from an aggressive throat cancer for “a while.”
The infamous LAPD detective retired from the LAPD in August 1995. He later wrote true crime books, as well as contributing to broadcasting stints on radio and television.
Fuhrman was synonymous with the OJ trial:
His role in the Simpson trial became complicated when OJ’s defense team portrayed Mark as a racist who frequently used the n-word. This was pivotal in the jury’s decision to acquit the former NFL star.
Mark Fuhrman’s discovery of a bloody glove on the property (that allegedly belonged to O.J. Simpson) was meant to be a key piece of evidence in the trial. But the defense suggested that Mark planted the evidence out of racism. The glove became the focus of the trial in one of the most notorious televised moments from the entire proceeding when Simpson, already wearing rubber evidence gloves, struggled to put on the bloody glove.
“If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit,” said defense attorney Johnnie Cochran in his closing statements.
