Did OJ Simpson Die? Sorting Through the Truth of His Final Days

He was the "Juice." A Heisman winner, a Hollywood star, a Hertz pitchman, and eventually, the central figure in what everyone called the "Trial of the Century." But for those wondering did OJ Simpson die, the answer is yes. He passed away on April 10, 2024. It wasn't some sudden, high-speed chase moment or a dramatic courtroom twist. It was quiet. It was private. He was 76 years old.

The news broke through a simple post on X (formerly Twitter) by his family. They mentioned he was surrounded by his children and grandchildren.

Honestly, it felt weird for a lot of people. For decades, Simpson was a permanent fixture in the American psyche, a ghost that never quite went away even after he was acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. When the news finally hit that he was gone, the internet didn't just report it; it exploded with thirty years of pent-up debate.

The Reality of How OJ Simpson Passed Away

He had been battling prostate cancer. That’s the clinical reality of it. Rumors had been swirling for months before his death that he was in hospice care, though OJ himself actually hopped on social media in February 2024 to laugh those rumors off. He looked a bit frail in the video, but he was still flashing that famous grin, telling everyone that "all is well."

It wasn't, though.

Prostate cancer is a heavy hitter. While it's often treatable if you catch it early, it can become aggressive. By the time the public knew he was sick, it was clearly advanced. He spent his final days in Las Vegas, a city that became his home base after he was released from prison in 2017 for that weird sports memorabilia heist.

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You've got to wonder what those last days were like. Here was a man who once had the world at his feet, then became a pariah, then a convict, and finally a social media personality who spent his time talking about fantasy football on TikTok. He lived a dozen different lives in one.

Why People Are Still Searching About This

Information moves fast, but legends—infamous or otherwise—linger. People keep asking did OJ Simpson die because his presence was so massive that it's hard to imagine the story has actually ended.

His attorney, Malcolm LaVergne, became the primary source for updates after the death. He was pretty blunt about the process. There wasn't going to be a "public" memorial in the way you’d expect for a former NFL MVP. The family wanted it kept tight. They even had him cremated shortly after his death. This effectively put an end to any speculation about what might happen to his remains or whether his brain would be donated to science to study CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy). LaVergne was very clear: no one was touching his brain.

The Unfinished Business Left Behind

Death usually brings a sense of closure, but with OJ, everything is complicated. Especially the money.

You remember the 1997 civil trial? Even though he was found not guilty in criminal court, a civil jury found him liable for the deaths of Ron and Nicole. They slapped him with a $33.5 million judgment. He basically never paid it. With interest, that number has ballooned to over $100 million.

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The Goldman family is still out there. They've been fighting for decades to get even a fraction of what they're owed. When OJ died, the legal focus shifted immediately to his estate.

• His NFL pension? Protected by law. The families can't touch that.
• His house? Mostly rented or leveraged.
• Personal assets? That's where it gets messy.

LaVergne initially made some headlines by saying he hoped the Goldmans got "zero, nothing." He walked that back later, realizeing it sounded pretty harsh. But the reality is that the "estate" of OJ Simpson isn't exactly a gold mine. Most of his wealth was shielded or spent long ago.

The Legacy of the 1995 Trial

You can't talk about his death without talking about June 12, 1994. The white Bronco. The bloody glove. Marcia Clark and Johnnie Cochran.

For a younger generation, OJ was just a guy from a meme or a Netflix documentary (The People v. O. J. Simpson). But for those who lived through it, his death feels like the final period at the end of a very long, very painful sentence.

He never confessed. Even in that "If I Did It" book, which was a bizarre marketing stunt that backfired spectacularly, he kept it hypothetical. He took his version of the truth to the grave. Whether you believe he was a victim of a biased police force or a man who got away with double murder, his death doesn't change your mind. It just stops the clock.

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What Happens Now?

Everything is being liquidated. The executor of the estate has the fun job of figuring out what’s left. There’s a lot of paperwork. A lot of lawyers.

It's sort of a tragic end to a "Great American Story." Not "great" as in good, but "great" as in massive. He was the personification of the American Dream and the American Nightmare all wrapped into one person.

If you're looking for lessons here, there are a few. First, health is the great equalizer. No amount of fame or notoriety stops a diagnosis. Second, the legal system has a very long memory. The Goldmans aren't stopping just because OJ isn't breathing anymore. They are going after the estate with everything they've got.

Key Takeaways from the End of the OJ Era

• Official Date of Death: April 10, 2024.
• Cause: Prostate cancer.
• Location: Las Vegas, Nevada.
• Estate Status: Currently in probate, with creditors (including the Goldman family) filing claims against whatever assets remain.
• Final Disposition: Cremated, with no public funeral held.

The story of OJ Simpson is finally over, at least the living part of it. What remains is a massive archive of court footage, sports highlights, and a divided public opinion that likely won't ever settle.

To stay informed on how the estate battle concludes, you should keep an eye on the Nevada probate court filings. This is where the last "fight" will happen—not in front of a jury of twelve, but in front of accountants and judges trying to find where the money went. If you are interested in the legalities of the civil judgment, researching the "Federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act" (ERISA) will explain exactly why his NFL pension remains untouchable for the victims' families. It's a technical, frustrating rabbit hole, but it explains why he was able to live a relatively comfortable life in Florida and Vegas despite owing tens of millions of dollars.