Get the Truth: Former CIA Officers Teach You How to Persuade Anyone to Tell All (28 page)

Simpson:
No, not at all.

Vannatter:
Was she very security-conscious? Did she keep that house locked up?

Simpson:
Very.

Vannatter:
The intercom didn’t work apparently, right?

Simpson:
I thought it worked.

Vannatter:
Oh, okay. Does the electronic buzzer work?

Simpson:
The electronic buzzer works to let people in.

Vannatter:
Do you ever park in the rear when you go over there?

Simpson:
Most of the time.

Vannatter:
You do park in the rear?

Simpson:
Most times when I’m taking the kids there, I come right into the driveway, blow the horn, and she, or a lot of times the housekeeper, either the housekeeper opens or they’ll keep a garage door open up on the top of the thing, you know, but that’s when I’m dropping the kids off, and I’m not going in, and sometimes I go to the front because the kids have to hit the buzzer and stuff.

Vannatter:
Did you say before that up until about three weeks ago you guys were going out again and trying to …

Simpson:
No, we’d been going out for about a year, and then the last six months it hadn’t been working so we tried various things to see if we could make it work. We started trying to date and that wasn’t working, and so, you know, we just said the hell with it, you know.

Vannatter:
And that was about three weeks ago?

Simpson:
Yeah, about three weeks ago.

Vannatter:
So were you seeing her up to that point?

Simpson:
It’s, to say I was seeing her, yeah, I mean yeah, yeah it was a done deal, it just wasn’t happening. I mean, I was gone. I mean, I was in San Juan doing a film, and I don’t think we had sex since I’ve been back from San Juan, and that was like two months ago. So it’s been like … for the kids we tried to do things together. We didn’t go out together, you know, we didn’t really date each other. Then we decided let’s try to date each other. We went out one night, and it just didn’t work.

Vannatter:
When you say it didn’t work, what do you mean?

Simpson:
Ah, the night we went out it was fun. Then the next night we went out it was actually when I was down in Laguna, and she didn’t want to go out. And I said, “Well, let’s go out ’cause I came all the way down here to go out,” and we kind of had a beef. And it just didn’t work after that, you know? We were only trying to date to see if we could bring romance back into our relationship. We just said, let’s treat each other like boyfriend and girlfriend instead of, you know, like seventeen-year-old married people. I mean, seventeen years together, whatever that is.

Vannatter:
How long were you together?

Simpson:
Seventeen years.

Vannatter:
Seventeen years. Did you ever hit her, O.J.?

Simpson:
Ah, one night we had a fight. We had a fight and she hit me. And they never took my statement, they never wanted to hear my side and they never wanted to hear the housekeeper’s side. Nicole was drunk. She did her thing, she started tearing up my house, you know? And I didn’t punch her or anything, but I …

Vannatter:
Slapped her a couple of times?

Simpson:
No, no I wrestled her, is what I did. I didn’t slap her at all. I mean, Nicole’s a strong girl. She’s a … one of the most conditioned women. Since that period of time, she’s hit me a few times, but I’ve never touched her after that and I’m telling you, it’s five, six years ago.

Vannatter:
What’s her birthday?

Simpson:
May 19th.

Vannatter:
Did you get together with her on her birthday?

Simpson:
Yeah, her and I and the kids, I believe.

Vannatter:
Did you give her a gift?

Simpson:
I gave her a gift.

Vannatter:
What’d you give her?

Simpson:
I gave her either a bracelet or the earrings.

Vannatter:
Did she keep them or …

Simpson:
Oh, no, when we split she gave me both the earrings and the bracelet back. I bought her a very nice bracelet, I didn’t know if it was Mother’s Day or her birthday, and I bought her the earrings for the other thing, and when we split, and it’s a credit to her, she felt that it wasn’t right that she had it, and I said good, because I want them back.

Vannatter:
Was that the very day of her birthday, May 19th, or was it a few days later?

Simpson:
What do you mean?

Vannatter:
You gave it to her on the 19th of May, her birthday, right, this bracelet?

Simpson:
I may have given her the earrings. No, the bracelet. May 19th. When was Mother’s Day?

Vannatter:
Mother’s Day was around that …

Simpson:
No, it was probably her birthday, yes.

Vannatter:
And did she return it the same day?

Simpson:
Oh, no, she … I’m in a funny place here on this, all right? She returned it—both of them—maybe three weeks ago or so. When I say I’m in a funny place on this, I gave it to my girlfriend and told her I bought it for her, you know? That was three weeks ago. I told her I bought it for her. What am I going to do with it?

Lange:
Did Mr. Weitzman, your attorney, talk to you anything about this polygraph we brought up before? What are your thoughts on that?

Simpson:
Should I talk about my thoughts on that?

Lange:
It’s up to you.

Simpson:
I’m sure eventually I’ll do it, but it’s like I’ve got some weird thoughts now. I’ve had weird thoughts … you know when you’ve been with a person for seventeen years, you think everything. I’ve got to understand what this thing is. If it’s true blue, I don’t mind doing it.

Lange:
Well, you’re not compelled at all to take this, number one, and number two, I don’t know if Mr. Weitzman explained it to you—this goes to the exclusion of someone as much as to the inclusion so we can eliminate people. And just to get things straight …

Simpson:
But does it work for elimination?

Lange:
Oh, yes. We use it for elimination more than anything.

Simpson:
Well, I’ll talk to him about it.

Lange:
Understand, the reason we’re talking to you is because you’re the ex-husband.

Simpson:
I know I’m the number one target, and now you tell me I’ve got blood all over the place.

Lange:
Well, there’s blood in your house and in the driveway, and we’ve got a search warrant, and we’re going to get the blood. We found some in your house. Is that your blood that’s there?

Simpson:
If it’s dripped, it’s what I dripped running around trying to leave.

Lange:
Last night?

Simpson:
Yeah, and I wasn’t aware that it was … I was aware that I … you know I was trying to get out of the house, I didn’t even pay any attention to it. I saw it when I was in the kitchen, and I grabbed a napkin or something, and that was it. I didn’t think about it after that.

Vannatter:
That was last night after you got home from the recital, when you were rushing?

Simpson:
That was last night when I was … I don’t know what I was, I was in the car getting my junk out of the car. I was in the house throwing hangers and stuff in my suitcase. I was doing my little crazy what I do, I mean, I do it everywhere. Anybody who has ever picked me up says that O.J.’s a whirlwind. He’s running, he’s grabbing things, and that’s what I was doing.

Vannatter:
Well, I’m going to step out and I’m going to get a photographer to come down and photograph your hand there. And then here pretty soon we’re going to take you downstairs and get some blood from you. Okay? I’ll be right back.

Lange:
So it was about five days ago you last saw Nicole? Was it at the house?

Simpson:
Okay, the last time I saw Nicole, physically saw Nicole, I saw her obviously last night. The time before, I’m trying to think. I went to Washington, D.C., so I didn’t see her, so I’m trying to think. I haven’t seen her since I went to Washington. I went to Washington—what’s the day today?

Lange:
Today’s Monday, the 13th of June.

Simpson:
Okay, I went to Washington on maybe Wednesday. Thursday, I think I was in … Thursday I was in Connecticut, then Long Island Thursday afternoon and all of Friday. I got home Friday night, Friday afternoon, I played, you know … Paula picked me up at the airport. I played golf Saturday, and when I came home I think my son was there. So I did something with my son. I don’t think I saw Nicole at all then. And then I went to a big affair with Paula Saturday night, and I got up and played golf Sunday, which pissed Paula off, and I saw Nicole at … it was about a week before, I saw her at the …

Lange:
Okay, the last time you saw Nicole, was that at her house?

Simpson:
I don’t remember. I wasn’t in her house, so it couldn’t have been at her house, so it was, you know, I don’t physically remember the last time I saw her. I may have seen her even jogging one day.

Lange:
Let me get this straight. You’ve never physically been inside the house?

Simpson:
Not in the last week.

Lange:
Ever. I mean, how long has she lived there? About six months?

Simpson:
Oh, Christ, I’ve slept at that house many, many, many times, you know? I’ve done everything at that house, you know? I’m just saying … you’re talking in the week or so.

Lange:
Well, whatever. Six months she’s lived there?

Simpson:
I don’t know. Roughly. I was at her house maybe two weeks ago, ten days ago. One night her and I had a long talk, you know, about how can we make it better for the kids, and I told her we’d do things better. And, okay, I can almost say when that was. That was when I, I don’t know, it was about ten days ago. And then we … the next day I had her leave her dog, do a flea bath or something with me. Oh, I’ll tell you, I did see her one day I went … I don’t know if this was the early part of last week, I went ’cause my son had to go get something, and he ran in, and she came to the gate, and the dog ran out, and her friend Faye and I went looking for the dog. That may have been a week ago, I don’t know.

Lange (to Vannatter):
Got a photographer coming?

Vannatter:
No, we’re going to take him up there.

Lange:
We’re ready to terminate this at 14:07.

GLOSSARY

Anchoring
– A term used in the negotiation context to describe a person’s heavy reliance on the first piece of information provided or offer made by the other party, creating an expectation of an outcome other than what was first envisaged.

Anchor point
– Any part of the body that anchors a person to a particular spot or position, including the feet, which are always anchor points. We look at anchor point movement as a potential nonverbal deceptive behavior in which anxiety is dissipated through the physical movement.

Attack behavior
– A verbal deceptive behavior in which a person attacks the questioner as a means of compelling him to back off from a particular line of questioning. This often takes the form of attempting to impeach the credibility or competence of the questioner. Example: “How long have you been doing this job?”

Autonomic nervous system
– The part of the nervous system that controls the functions of body organs and involuntary physical reactions to stimuli.

Bait question
– A question that establishes a hypothetical situation and is designed to trigger a mind virus. Bait questions typically begin with the phrase, “Is there any reason that…”

Baselining
– Comparing observed behavior with an established norm. This is a behavior assessment strategy that we recommend be avoided because of the high potential for drawing a faulty conclusion.

Behavioral pause/delay
– A nonverbal deceptive behavior in which a silent gap precedes a person’s response to a question.

Catch-all question
– A wrap-up question that is designed to uncover lies of omission, and to serve as a safety net in the event that the questioner inadvertently overlooks an issue. Example: “What haven’t we discussed that’s important for me to know about?”

Cliff moment
– The arrival at a point when a person feels he has disclosed everything he is able to disclose without suffering negative consequences. To go further would be tantamount to “jumping off the cliff.”

Close-ended question
– A question that’s used to probe specific case facts. Example: “Who was already in the office when you arrived this morning?”

Cluster
– Any combination of two or more deceptive indicators.

Cognitive dissonance
– A cognitive bias in which a person feels discomfort as a result of holding two contradictory views.

Commitment/consistency
– A term coined by social psychologist Robert Cialdini to describe the compelling desire of people to act in accordance with a position they have previously taken, or a commitment they have previously made.

Compound question
– A question type that is to be avoided because it contains more than one question, making behavioral analysis of the response difficult due to potential confusion over what part of the question is causing the deceptive behavior. Example: “How frequently do you go running, and where do you typically run?”