O.J. Simpson Trial Served as a Landmark Moment for Domestic Violence Awareness

In December 1994, investigators from the Los Angeles County prosecutor’s office drilled open a safe deposit box that had belonged to Nicole Brown Simpson. In it, they found Polaroids of her with a battered face and letters from O.J. Simpson apologizing for abusing her.

“The message in the box was clear,” wrote Marcia Clark, the lead prosecutor in the bombshell trial of Mr. Simpson for Ms. Brown Simpson’s murder, in a book about the case. “‘In the event of my death, look for this guy.’”

These pieces of evidence were presented in a trial that captivated the nation, showing the public a pattern of abuse and control in horrifying detail.

“It was kind of like America was learning about domestic violence all at once,” said Stephanie Love-Patterson, a consultant for Connections for Abused Women and Their Children, an organization in Chicago that provides support for victims of domestic violence.

Almost 30 years later, the case has received renewed attention after Mr. Simpson’s death this week. After a monthslong trial in 1995, Mr. Simpson was acquitted of killing Ms. Brown Simpson and her friend, Ronald Goldman. A civil trial later found him liable for their deaths.

His dramatic trial, which prompted national conversations about race, celebrity, policing and discrimination, also served as a landmark moment in America’s evolving understanding of domestic violence. Media coverage of domestic abuse surged afterward, and the fervent attention encouraged many abuse survivors to reach out for help, according to the National Domestic Violence Hotline. Donations to women’s shelters poured in.