Unsealed Federal Records Detail O.J. Simpson Informant Claims
A 1996 federal memo shows prosecutors received tips about the missing murder weapon during the trial but kept the informant off the stand.
A convicted drug trafficker turned federal informant told authorities he possessed knowledge of how O.J. Simpson disposed of the weapon used to kill Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman in 1994, according to a December 1996 prosecution memorandum unsealed by The New York Times. The records show investigators received the intelligence during Simpson’s murder trial but never called the source to the stand.
Joseph “Joey” Ippolito, who escaped from a Florida prison in May 1994 — one month before the Brentwood stabbings — became a cooperating witness after his August 1995 arrest. Then-federal prosecutor David Kelley described him in the memo as a “remarkable source of information.” Kelley told the newspaper he did not believe Ippolito participated in the killings themselves.
The central question for decades has been whether Simpson acted alone. The newly surfaced documents indicate federal investigators pursued leads suggesting otherwise, sharing Ippolito’s claims with Los Angeles prosecutors while the trial was still underway.
Ippolito’s alleged involvement centers on the night of June 12, 1994. His brother, Sam Ippolito, told the Times that Joey returned to a Los Angeles apartment near midnight carrying a heavy bag, with what appeared to be blood on his hands. Sam said his brother stuffed his clothes into the bag, ordered it thrown away, and showered. Sam claimed he dumped the bag in a dumpster along Doheny Drive.
Sam also stated he overheard Joey telling Al Cowlings — Simpson’s longtime friend, who drove the white Ford Bronco during the infamous freeway pursuit — that he had been “helping” Simpson that night. Cowlings did not respond to the newspaper’s request for comment.
The credibility of these accounts is fractured. Sam Ippolito maintained his story for months before seeking financial compensation from the Times. He subsequently attempted to retract his statements, telling reporters he could no longer distinguish reality from fabrication. Friends and relatives of Joey Ippolito, who died in 2006, denied he played any role in the murders.
Former lead prosecutor Marcia Clark told the Times she had no knowledge of Joey Ippolito and maintained she would have been briefed if he provided credible evidence. Under standard discovery rules, the prosecution is obligated to turn over exculpatory or material evidence to the defense, meaning any failure to disclose a federal informant’s claims could have triggered appellate challenges had Simpson been convicted.
Simpson was acquitted in October 1995. A civil jury later found him liable for the deaths. He died in April 2024 at age 76.
The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed to the Times that the double-murder case remains an open investigation.
