Fuhrman Passes Test With Flying Colors O.J. Simpson’s Defense Fails To Discredit Key Detective

Far from the discredited witness O.J. Simpson’s attorneys hoped he would be, detective Mark Fuhrman stepped from the witness stand Thursday largely unscathed after nearly four days of cross-examination by F. Lee Bailey.

Despite assertions that he was relishing the chance to “demolish” Fuhrman, Bailey offered no evidence that the detective had planted a bloody glove at Simpson’s estate to frame him for the murders of his ex-wife and a friend.

He also failed to elicit an admission from Fuhrman that he had used racial epithets in the past 10 years, and he was unable to fluster the detective, who retained his calm, measured demeanor.

The defense theory that Fuhrman had the opportunity to pick up a bloody glove at the murder scene, concealed it in his sock and then planted it in an alley behind the guest house at Simpson’s estate never even was presented to the jury.

And Fuhrman’s own testimony that at one point he was alone at Nicole Brown Simpson’s town house near where the mate to the bloody glove was found, was contradicted Thursday by a superior who said he had been with Fuhrman at that time.

“This does not bode well for the defense,” said Myrna Raeder, a professor at Southwestern University School of Law. “They still haven’t come up with a solid theory about how the glove got to Rockingham (Simpson’s estate).”

Simpson has pleaded not guilty to the murders of Nicole Simpson and Ronald Goldman, who were found slashed to death outside her west Los Angeles town house June 12.

Fuhrman is expected to return for further cross-examination after the defense calls witnesses to challenge his contention that he does not use racial slurs or harbor resentment toward interracial couples.

Deputy District Attorney Marcia Clark asked only a handful of questions designed to show that when Fuhrman entered the pathway behind the guest house at the Simpson estate the morning after the murders, he did not have enough knowledge about the murders to frame Simpson.

“Did you know the time of death for Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown?” she asked.

“No, ma’am,” Fuhrman replied.

“Did you know whether Mr. Simpson had an alibi for the time of their murders?” Clark said.

“No,” Fuhrman replied.

“Did you know whether there were any eyewitnesses to their murders?” Clark went on.

“No,” Fuhrman said again.

Later, detective Philip Vannatter, who took over the investigation from Fuhrman, testified.

With meticulous detail, prosecutor Christopher Darden led Vannatter through his investigation of the crime scene and his later investigation at Simpson’s estate, once again trying to counteract the defense’s claim that the scene had been contaminated by shoddy police work.