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O.J.’S Buddy Off The Hook - For Now

The Boston Herald

July 29, 1994 Friday FIRST EDITION

O.J.’S Buddy Off The Hook - For Now

BYLINE: HELEN KENNEDY

SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 001

LENGTH: 724 words

As O.J. Simpson waited yesterday to hear when his murder trial will start, his friend A.C. Cowlings was let off the hook - at least temporarily.

Prosecutors said they won’t immediately charge Cowlings with aiding a fugi-tive when he drove Simpson during the bizarre June 17 freeway police pursuit watched by millions of stunned television viewers.

Before Cowling’s last court date two weeks ago, it appeared likely prosecu-tors would not charge a man many saw as a loyal friend who saved Simpson from suicide.

But two days before the hearing, police leaks in Los Angeles revealed $ 10,000 in cash and Simpson’s passport were found in Cowlings’ Bronco June 17, making it appear that Cowlings could have been helping Simpson flee the country.

Cowlings has been free on $ 250,000 bail. Los Angeles County District Attor-ney Gilbert Garcetti said yesterday he needed still more time before deciding whether to charge Cowlings. In Superior Court today, Judge Lance Ito is expected to set a start date for Simpson’s murder trial.

The key evidence in that trial went under the knife molecule-by-molecule yes-terday at a Maryland laboratory where a new round of complex DNA tests got under way.

Prosecutors hope the tests, which could take as long as eight weeks, will place Simpson’s ‘genetic fingerprints’ at the scene of the June 12 murder of his ex-wife.

Simpson, 47, has pleaded not guilty to killing Nicole Brown Simpson, 35, and waiter Ronald Goldman, 25.

On Wednesday, Simpson’s defense announced they would refuse to take part in the testing, despite being granted the right to observe all procedures and to ‘cut’ 10 percent of each sample for possible future defense use.

Simpson defense attorney Robert Shapiro said he would not agree to using the equipment and rules of Cellmark Diagnostics, the independant lab that is con-ducting the tests. — However, defense scientists Henry Lee and Edward Blake showed up at the lab yesterday morning.

They would start cutting the samples ‘if the conditions are OK,’ Lee told re-porters. ‘If we don’t preserve some samples for the future, we don’t have any chance to do any testing.’ Later, Lee said the defense experts will not exercise their right to watch the prosecution’s tests. He did not say who did the cut-ting.

Ito is expected to order expert testimony to begin Monday on whether the de-fense should be given the remaining 10 percent of each sample for their own tests.

In a separate hearing today, Ito will address several pre-trial motions filed by the defense.

Contending that the police have never seriously considered any suspects other than Simpson, Shapiro has said the defense must do its own investigation.

To that end, Shapiro has demanded all records of prowlers near Nicole Simp-son’s house during 1994, a computer match of all unidentified fingerprints found at the murder scene and police files of all similar unsolved murders in Califor-nia. The defense has also asked for the criminal histories of the victims’ friends and the results of any internal police investigations of the officers assigned to the case. Lastly, Shapiro asked for hospital records of any dog-bite victims who may have been treated just after the murders, because an investiga-tor theorized early on that the killer may have been bitten by Nicole Simpson’s dog.

In an answering filing, the prosecution rejected nearly all of the defense’s requests except the fingerprint matches. The argument will be taken up in court today.

Meanwhile yesterday, Nicole Simpson’s father, Louis Brown, filed a petition seeking legal guardianship of his grandchildren, Sydney, 8, and Justin, 5.

Also yesterday, Shapiro reported the toll-free line established by the de-fense to gather information about the ‘real killer’ had recorded 250,000 calls in a week.

‘It’s beyond belief,’ Shapiro said.

Calls ranged from a Maryland psychic who dreamed of another killer to a bur-glar who said he was casing Brentwood homes the night of the slayings and said he saw two white men fleeing the crime scene.

One woman suggested Nicole Simpson’s white Akita carried the incriminating bloody glove from the murder scene to Simpson’s estate two miles away.

‘We’re hearing from every psycho and every crazy person,’ said Bill Pavelic, a private eye working for Simpson.

LOAD-DATE: March 08, 1995

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH