The People V. . . . Rockingham Crime Scene

OJ's home in Brentwood is on the corner of Rockingham Avenue and Ashford Street.  Ashford comes into Rockingham at an angle so that the lot is a rounded-point long triangle.  The driveway is a loop from the bit of Rockingham on the point of the triangle up to the house and then over to Ashford.  Both entrances are gated, opened only from inside the house upon a call from the telephone intercom at each gate, by latches near the inside of the gates, and probably from a key pad in OJ's cars.  

From the Rockingham entrance, along the property line between OJ's and the neighbor to his south is a six foot fence.  On the neighbor's side is lawn and shrubbery.  On OJ's side is a walk way that goes all the way to the back yard where there is a tennis court.  At the front is the garage, attached to the house, and beyond it toward the back are two contiguous guest houses.  There is one entrance from the walkway to the house but the walkway is seldom used.  From the Ashford entrance, the driveway loops across the front of the house over to the garage and connects with the drive from Rockingham.  In the "court yard" behind the house and in front of the apartments is the swimming pool.  From the Ashford entry driveway, there is a winding walkway to the side of the house, back to the pool, and finally ends at the tennis court in the back of the lot.

The Ashford entrance is where the limo driver, Allen Park, waited for OJ on June 12 to take him to LAX.  He was early for the 11 pm departure time, arriving about 10:20.  He was unsuccessful reaching OJ through the intercom phone until almost 11, though he saw a tall dark figure near the front of the house at about 10:54.  He got through to OJ who came out with his golf bag and suitcase a little after 11.

As OJ was going out the door to get into the limo, Kato Kaelin who stayed in one of the apartments told him about some bumps he'd heard in the walkway behind his apartment, like someone bumping into his air conditioner.  OJ was already a few minutes late in leaving so he did not himself check on what that might have been.

Detectives Van Natter and Lange arrived around 5 am on the 13th to tell OJ about the death of Nicole and to ask him to pick up his two children.  Outside the gate of the Rockingham entrance was OJ's white Bronco, a gift loaner from Hertz.  Detective Fuhrman came with the other two.  He noticed a spot of blood on the Bronco door.  He climbed over the wall when no one responded to their call from the telephone intercom at that gate, fearing that there may have been violence done there as well. The detectives first encounter Kaelin who directs them to OJ's older daughter from his first marriage who is living in the other guest house.  

While Van Natter and Lange speak to her and then call OJ in Chicago, Fuhrman hears Kaelin's story about the 10:45 pm bumps behind the apartment.  Fuhrman investigates by going around to the front of the garage and back along the walkway to the AC where Kaelin said he heard the three bumps.  Fuhrman discovers the bloody glove, goes back to get the other two detectives, and takes them back along the walkway and shows them the glove, a perfect partner to the one found at Bundy.  

Van Natter notices drops of blood running from the Rockingham entrance across the front of the garage to the front entrance of the house.  To him, it was as though the blood trail that ended at Bundy connected up with the blood trail on OJ's driveway.

A criminalist arrives around 7:10 to examine the evidence at Rockingham, three hours before a criminalist arrives at Bundy.

OJ returns about 12:30 pm from Chicago.  He meets with Van Natter and Lange downtown at the police station without a lawyer and lets Van Natter take a sample of his blood.

At 5:30 pm, the police return to Rockingham to go over the house inch by inch.