In the mid-90s, you couldn't turn on a TV without seeing Dennis Fung. He was the soft-spoken LAPD criminalist who became a household name for all the wrong reasons. While the world watched the O.J. Simpson "Trial of the Century," Fung spent a grueling nine days on the witness stand. It was a record-breaking stint that basically turned into a masterclass in how to dismantle a professional reputation. Barry Scheck and the rest of the "Dream Team" picked apart his every move, from the way he handled blood samples to his lack of gloves at the Bundy crime scene.
Honestly, it was painful to watch. Fung was essentially the face of the prosecution's forensic struggles. People often wonder what happens to a person after they’ve been that publicly humiliated on a global stage. Did he quit? Was he fired?
Surprisingly, he didn't just disappear.
The Immediate Aftermath and the Civil Trial
After the 1995 acquittal, most people assumed Dennis Fung would be looking for a new career. He'd been accused of everything from incompetence to being part of a massive conspiracy to frame a celebrity. But Fung stayed put. He remained employed by the LAPD, which is kind of a shocker given how much heat he took.
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He had to do it all over again in 1997. During the civil trial, he was back on the stand. Things weren't exactly smoother. At one point, he actually had to recant testimony about a tear in a glove, admitting he was "mistaken." It felt like a repeat of the first nightmare, though the stakes were different this time.
What's really interesting is that despite the battering he took, Fung never really tried to cash in. You've seen it with everyone else involved in that case. Mark Fuhrman became a media personality. Various lawyers wrote bestsellers. Fung? He just went back to work. He didn't write a "tell-all" book or launch a podcast tour. There’s something to be said for that, even if you think he botched the case.
Where is Dennis Fung Now?
Fast forward to 2026. If you're looking for Fung in the headlines, you won't find much. He’s essentially retired from public life. For a long time, he continued moving up the ranks within the Los Angeles Police Department. Public records from about a decade ago showed him working as a supervising criminalist. He essentially became the guy training others or overseeing the lab—a bit ironic to some, but it shows the department didn't view him as the "failure" the media did.
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He's likely in his late 60s or early 70s now. He's stayed out of the spotlight so effectively that most younger people wouldn't even recognize the name. Unlike many of his contemporaries, he chose a quiet life in California.
Why He Didn't Get Fired
A lot of people ask how he kept his job. Basically, the LAPD viewed the trial as a circus rather than a fair assessment of forensic protocol at the time. While Fung made mistakes, like leaving blood samples in a warm van (the "refrigerator" incident), many of his peers felt he was just following the standard—albeit flawed—operating procedures of the early 90s.
- He stayed with the LAPD for decades.
- He eventually reached a "Supervising Criminalist" title.
- He avoided the "OJ Circuit" of paid interviews and books.
The Legacy of the "Fung Fumbles"
You can't talk about where Dennis Fung is now without talking about what he left behind in the world of forensics. Because of his testimony, crime scene investigation changed forever. The "bumbling" image of Fung and his assistant, Andrea Mazzola, became the "what not to do" for every CSI unit in the country.
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Today's protocols regarding DNA contamination, "chain of custody," and even the simple act of wearing gloves at all times are stricter because of those nine days in 1995. He became a reluctant pioneer. Every time you see a modern forensic tech in a full "bunny suit" at a crime scene, you’re seeing a direct response to the holes Barry Scheck poked in Fung’s work.
It's a weird kind of immortality.
Actionable Insights for True Crime Fans
If you're interested in the technical side of what actually happened with the evidence, there are a few things you can do to get the full picture without the TV dramatization:
- Read the Trial Transcripts: Don't just watch the Netflix series. The actual back-and-forth between Scheck and Fung is a lesson in legal strategy.
- Research the "CSI Effect": Look into how the Simpson trial changed jury expectations. Jurors now expect "perfect" DNA evidence because of how Fung was treated.
- Compare Protocols: Check out current LAPD Forensic Science Division manuals. You'll see specific rules that exist solely to prevent the "Fung" mistakes of 1994.
Dennis Fung might be living a quiet, private life now, but his name is still spoken in every criminal justice classroom in America. He’s the man who survived the biggest media storm in history and decided that, in the end, he’d rather just be a regular person again.
Whether you think he was a "savvy co-conspirator" or just a guy overwhelmed by a high-profile case, his disappearance from the public eye is perhaps the most successful "disappearing act" of anyone involved in that trial.