number ten: the columbian necktie.
it was no secret that over the last 6-8 months of her life, Nicole Brown Simpson spent more time with friends like Faye Resnick and others who were involved in the typical LA nightlife scene.
Some of those “friends” included drug dealers and hookers. Those associations, OJ claims was what led to the final 911 calls. He says he faught with Nicole because he didn’t want those type of people around his children.
Most of the stab wounds on both nicole brown and ron goldman were in and around the neck.
“Ms. Simpson’s head then was pulled back, perhaps by her blond hair, as the attacker slashed her throat from left to right. The neck position at the point of the cut can be determined by the fact that no blood flowed into her windpipe.
“The cut was vicious. The knife sliced through both carotid arteries – which provide blood to the brain – nearly cut through one jugular vein and left the second jugular vein dangling by a thread.
The cut was clean.” (USA Today, 10/18/96)
This is very similar to what the defense brought up to being the trademark fatal stab wound that is found on some victims of drug-related crimes. Specifically those where the victim owed money to a drug dealer.
The idea of the Columbian Necktie or Columbian Necklace came up several times in the OJ trial.
Mark Furhman was asked by F. Lee Bailey if he had ever heard of the Columbian Necktie
Q: NO. HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF A COLOMBIAN NECKLACE?
A: NO.
Q: YOU ARE HEARING THAT WORD FOR THE FIRST TIME TODAY?
A: NO. I KNOW WHAT A COLOMBIAN NECKTIE IS.
Q: COLOMBIAN NECKTIE. WHAT IS A COLOMBIAN NECKTIE, DETECTIVE FUHRMAN?
A: CUTTING SOMEBODY’S THROAT.
Q: DID YOU EVER HEAR IT CALLED A NECKLACE?
A: NO.
Q: THAT INCLUDES CUTTING THE THROAT SO SEVERELY THAT BOTH THE CAROTID ARTERIES ARE SEVERED, CORRECT?
A: I DON’T KNOW ABOUT THAT, BUT I JUST HEARD THE TERM.
Q: WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THEY ARE SEVERED? DO YOU KNOW FROM YOUR TRAINING?
A: WELL, THE PERSON WILL BLEED PROFUSELY AND DIE.
Q: THE BLOOD PRESSURE DROPS TO ZERO AND DEATH OCCURS ALMOST IMMEDIATELY; ISN’T THAT SO?
A: I WOULD ASSUME SO.
Q: IF YOUR THROAT IS CUT THAT SEVERELY WHILE YOU ARE STANDING AND SOMEBODY IS HOLDING YOUR HEAD, YOU WOULD BE DEAD BEFORE YOU HIT THE GROUND, WOULDN’T YOU?
A: (NO AUDIBLE RESPONSE.)
Q: IF YOU KNOW?
A: I WOULD HAVE TO SPECULATE. I COULDN’T TELL YOU THAT, SIR.
Q: YOU NEVER HAD THAT TRAINING?
A: IT WOULD BE QUICKLY.
Q: OKAY. DID YOU CONCERN YOURSELF, BEFORE YOU WERE OFF THE CASE, AS TO FROM THE EVIDENCE THAT YOU COULD SEE, WHICH VICTIM DIED FIRST?
A: I COULDN’T TELL ANY OF THAT FROM THE SCENE.
Q: DID YOU MAKE ANY OBSERVATIONS?
A: I MADE NO DETAILED OBSERVATIONS THAT WOULD GIVE THAT INFORMATION.
Q: DID YOU DEDUCE, DETECTIVE FUHRMAN, FROM THE QUANTITY OF THE BLOOD SURROUNDING THE BODY OF THE FEMALE VICTIM, THAT SHE HAD BLED VERY PROFUSELY?
A: YES. I WOULD CONCLUDE THAT.
Q: AND COULD WELL HAVE SUFFERED A MASSIVE INJURY TO THE CAROTID ARTERIES IN THE NECK?
A: I COULDN’T ASSUME THAT.
Q: YOU COULDN’T?
A: NO.
Q: DID YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHERE ALL THAT BLOOD CAME FROM?
A: SOMEWHERE IN THE HEAD AREA, BUT I COULDN’T SEE HER FACE.
Q: BUT A MASSIVE INJURY OF SOME SORT?
A: YES, SIR.
Q: ONE THAT PROBABLY PRODUCED DEATH VERY QUICKLY, CORRECT?
A: YES.
Q: AND PROBABLY SHE HAD NEVER MOVED FROM THE POINT AT WHICH SHE FELL, FROM THE EVIDENCE THAT YOU SAW? A FAIR DEDUCTION?
A: YES. (5/13/94)
Detective Tom Lange was asked by Johnnie Cochran about the Columbian necktie as well:
Q: NOW, IN THIS — YOU DESCRIBED FOR US THAT BEFORE LUNCH ABOUT THESE DRUG KILLINGS AND YOU — I ASKED YOU SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS COLOMBIAN NECKLACE AND REMEMBER WE TALKED ABOUT THAT?
A: YES.
Q: DO YOU KNOW WHAT A COLOMBIAN NECKTIE IS?
A: YES, I’VE HEARD STORIES OF COLOMBIAN NECKTIES.
Q: WHAT IS A COLOMBIAN NECKTIE?
A: MY INFORMATION IS THAT IT IS A TIRE THAT WOULD BE PUT OVER SOMEONE’S NECK AND SET AFIRE.
Q: THAT IS A COLOMBIAN NECKTIE?
A: THAT IS WHAT I’VE HEARD. I HAVE NEVER EXPERIENCED THAT.
Q: HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF A COLOMBIAN NECKTIE BEING A SITUATION WHERE IN A DRUG —
MS. CLARK: ASSUMES FACTS NOT IN EVIDENCE.
MR. COCHRAN: I ASK THIS QUESTION, YOUR HONOR, AS AN EXPERT.
THE COURT: OVERRULED.
Q: BY MR. COCHRAN: HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF A COLOMBIAN NECKTIE BEING A SITUATION WHERE IN A DRUG KILLING A PERSON’S THROAT IS SLASHED AND THEIR TONGUE IS PULLED DOWN THROUGH WHERE THEIR — THROUGH THE NECK AREA? HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF THAT?
A: NO.
Q: ALL RIGHT. WHAT YOU TALKED ABOUT WAS A NECKTIE USED IN SOUTH AFRICA WHERE TIRES WERE PUT OVER —
A: I THOUGHT THAT IS WHAT YOU WERE REFERRING TO.
Q: WE ARE TALKING ABOUT COLOMBIA, NOT SOUTH AFRICA.
A: I DON’T KNOW WHERE THESE THINGS OCCUR. THE ONLY NECKTIE REFERENCE I’VE HEARD IS WITH A TIRE.
Q: YOU WERE THE DETECTIVE ON THE WONDERLAND CASE; IS THAT CORRECT?
A: THAT’S CORRECT.
Q: WAS THAT A DRUG CASE?
A: YES.(3/18/94)
the reason that the Columbian Necktie is important is it lends reasonable doubt that OJ might not have killed Nicole and Ron, that someone who actually had practice in killing people probably committed these murders. someone who knew how to kill someone within a minute’s time.
if we are to believe that OJ killed Nicole over a fit of rage, odds are he would have screamed out and slashed all over her body, not just at and around the neck.
also, the Columbian Necktie lends creedence to the theory that the Bronco Chase was a slow chase in order for OJ to hide from the killers by finding an creative way to surround himself with police.
the theory is that OJ knew that the killers wanted money from Nicole, and perhaps contacted him, and after he refused to pay they tried to get the money a final time from Nicole and ultimately killed her. and that’s why he always seems guilty. because in a way he sorta is. if he had only paid off her debt, she’d still be alive.
it also explains why he says he’s still mad at her.
Katie Couric: �Are you suggesting that Nicole was hanging out with the wrong crowd, and somehow someone in that crowd is responsible for her murder?�
OJ Simpson: �I’ve always said that. I made it as clear… that somewhere in Faye [Resnick’s] life, it’s happened before in Faye’s life. Same situation happened before in her life, and it happened again. Now you guys make it like, �OJ’s been hinting this, and hinting that.� I don’t think anybody could be any clearer than me about the judgment, about paying the judgment. About why I think, and who I think was involved with her death, is this group of, I think, just horrible type people that she was hanging around with. People that not only did I not like, people her mother didn’t like. We talked about it often back then before her death. That we didn’t like this group of people that she was hanging around with.� (NBC, 6/6/04)