SHARON RUFO, Case No.
Plaintiff, SC 031917;
-against- C/W Case No.
ORENTHAL JAMES SIMPSON, et al., SC ()36340;
Defendants. C/W Case No.
FREDRIC GOLDMAN, an individual, and as
personal representative of the Estate
of Ronald Lyle Goldman, Deceased, et al.,
Plaintiffs,
-against-
ORENTHAL JAMES SIMPSON, et al.
Defendants.
LOUIS H. BROWN, as Executor and
personal representative of the
Estate of NICOLE BROWN SIMPSON,
Plaintiff,
-against-
ORENTHAL JAMES SIMPSON,
Defendant.
Videotaped deposition of FAYE RESNICK, taken by Plaintiff, pursuant to notice, at the offices of John Quinlan Kelly, Esq.,330 Madison Avenue, New York, New York, on February 10,1996 at 1:43 p.m., before Cary N. Bigelow, a Shorthand Reporter and Notary Public within and for the State of New York.
APPEARANCES:
MITCHELL, SILBERBERG & KNUPP
Attorneys for Plaintiffs Fredric Goldman, et al.
11377 West Olympic Boulevard, Sixth Floor
Los Angeles, California 90064-1683
BY: DANIEL M. PETROCELLI, ESQ., of Counsel
JOHN QUINLAN KELLY, ESQ.
Attorney for Plaintiff Estate of Brown
330 Madison Avenue
New York, New York 10017-5090
-and-
MARK KRONE, ESQ., of Counsel
HORNBERGER & CRISWELL
Attorneys for Plaintiff Sharon Rufo
444 South Flower Street, 31st Floor
Los Angeles, California 90071
BY: MICHAEL A. BREWER, ESQ., of Counsel
BAILEY, FISHMAN & LEONARD
Attorneys for Defendant Orenthal James Simpson
66 Long Wharf
Boston, Massachusetts 02110
BY: DANIELLEONARD, ESQ.
GOLD, FARRELL & MARKS
Attorneys for the Witness Faye Resnick
41 Madison Avenue
New York, New York 10010
BY: LEONARD M. MARKS, ESQ.
-and-
MARK S. LAFAYETTE, ESQ., of Counsel
ALSO PRESENT:
PAUL CYNAMON, Videographer
THE VIDEOGRAPHER: Good afternoon. Today is February 10, 1996. The time is 1:43 p.m. This is tape number 1 of the videotaped deposition of Faye Resnick taken on behalf of plaintiff in the case of Sharon Rufo, plaintiff, versus Orenthal James Simpson, et al., defendants.
The venue of the case is the Superior Court of the State of California in the County of Los Angeles, Case SC 01947, SC 03640 and SC 036876. The deposition is being held at 330 Madison Avenue, in New York City. My name is Paul Cynamon, certified video specialist from the firm of Barrister Video Services, 1056 Olympia Road, North Bellmore, New York 11710.
Will counsel please introduce themselves?
MR. PETROCELLI: Daniel M. Petrocelli, of Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp, for plaintiff Fredric Goldman.
MR. KELLY: John Kelly for Plaintiff Brown.
MR. KRONE: Mark Krone for Plaintiff Brown.
MR. LEONARD: Daniel Leonard for O.J. Simpson.
MR. LAFAYETTE: Mark Lafayette for Faye Resnick.
MR. MARKS: Leonard Marks, attorney, with Mark Lafayette, for Faye Resnick.
THE VIDEOGRAPHER: Would the court reporter please identify himself and swear in the witness.
THE COURT REPORTER: This is Cary Bigelow, the court reporter.
FAYE RESNICK, called as a witness, having been first duly sworn by the Notary Public (Cary N. Bigelow), was examined and testified as follows:
MR. MARKS: I just want to make a brief statement that Faye Resnick has agreed voluntarily to testify under oath. Both sides can question her. I want to advise both sides that the questions asked her should be material and necessary, relate to the allegations of both sides in the pleadings in the case and please do not ask argumentative questions. Thank you very much.
EXAMINATION BY MR. PETROCELLI:
Q. Good afternoon, Ms. Resnick.
A. Good afternoon.
Q . You were a friend of Nicole Brown Simpson; is that right?
A. Yes. Q. You may have to speak up a little bit so that the people at the other end of the table can hear.
A. Yes, I was.
Q. When did you first meet Nicole?
A. I met her in 1980 - 1987, briefly, with O.J. Simpson.
Q. While O.J. Simpson and Nicole were married?
A. Yes,
Q. And at that time did you form a relationship or friendship with Nicole?
A. No, I did not.
Q. Did you see her much thereafter?
A. No, I did not.
Q. At what point in time did you next see her?
A. The next time I spoke with her was in 1990.
Q. And what was that occasion?
A. My friend Kris Jenner took me to her house to meet her.
Q. And after you met Nicole at the Jenners' house at that time in 1990, did you then develop a friendship and a relationship with her?
A. Pardon me, I met her at Rockingham, at O.J.'s house in Rockingham; Kris and I went to their house.
Q. Is that when your friendship sprung up with her?
A. No.
Q. When did you next speak with or see Nicole?
A. The next time was May of 1992.
Q. What were the circumstances?
A. We all went to Cabo San Lucas, the Jenners, for - every May, we took, we did this.
Q. By "the Jenners," you are referring to Kris Jenner, with a K, and Bruce Jenner?
A. Yes.
Q. Who else went?
A. Cici Shahian, of course, Nicole, Joseph [Name Deleted], Isha Levy, all of our children, my ex-husband, Paul Resnick.
Q. Now, at that time, in May of 1992, what was Nicole's marital status?
A. She was separated, in the process of getting a divorce.
Q. From O.J. Simpson?
A. Yes.
Q. And was it about this time, in May of 1992, that you began to develop a friendship with Nicole?
A. Not really. She was - she was - it wasn't until July 4, 1992, that Nicole and I became great friends.
Q. And can you describe to us what the evolution of that friendship was, what happened in July 1992 and thereafter?
MR. LEONARD: I am going to object to the form. It's vague.
Q. You can answer.
A. We were at, once again, we were at the Jenners' home in Malibu and Nicole and I had met briefly in Cabo San Lucas. She was dating my then ex-boyfriend, Joseph [Name Deleted], and she was asking me on July 4th, because Joseph had not wanted to be around Nicole any longer, what she could do to encourage him to come back.
Q. And you and she started talking about this?
A. Yes, we did.
Q. And Joseph [Name Deleted] was a man whom you had previously dated?
A. Yes.
Q. And you shared that with Nicole and the two of you started talking about Mr. [Name Deleted]?
A. Yes.
Q. Now, thereafter, is it true that you and Nicole began to get close to one another, as friends?
A. Yes, very close.
Q. Did that friendship grow and grow progressively?
MR. LEONARD: Object to the leading.
A. The friendship with Nicole from July 4th was immediate. It was immediate. It was the kind of friendship I felt was kindred.
Q. Starting at that point in time, July 4, 1992 when, as you say, your friendship with Nicole sprung immediately into existence, did you then begin to see her regularly?
A. Yes, I did.
Q. Did you speak to her regularly?
A. Yes, I did.
Q . Did the two of you go out regularly?
A. Yes, we did.
Q. Did you talk on the phone regularly?
A. Yes, we did.
Q. Did you share experiences together?
A. Yes, we did.
Q. Did you confide in one another?
A. All the time.
Q. She and you?
A. Yes.
Q . She confided in you?
A. And I confided in her.
Q. And you confided in her?
MR. LEONARD: Object to the leading.
Q. Did the two of you confide in one another?
A. Yes, we did.
Q. Did - now, you have a child, Ms. Resnick?
A. Yes, I do.
Q. How old is that child now?
A. She's 12 years old tomorrow.
Q. What is her name?
A. I'm sorry.
Q. That's all right. Anytime you wish to take a break.
MR. MARKS: Let's take a short break.
MR. PETROCELLI: At any time you wish to take a break, that's acceptable.
THE VIDEOGRAPHER: The time is 1:51 and we are going off the record. (Recess taken.)
THE VIDEOGRAPHER: We are on the record. The time is l:55. Counsel?
MR. MARKS: Yes.
MR. PETROCELLI: Are we back on the record now?
THE VIDEOGRAPHER: Yes.
MR. PETROCELLI: Okay.
BY MR. PETROCELLI:
Q. Again, Ms. Resnick, if at any time you need to take a break, please feel free to do so. Now, you said your daughter's birthday is tomorrow. Her name is what?
A. [Name Deleted] Resnick.
Q. Now, Nicole had two children also, or not also, but Nicole had two children, right?
A. Yes.
Q. What were their names?
A. Sydney and Justin.
Q. Did [Name Deleted] and Sydney and/or Justin ever get together?
A. Yes, they did.
Q. And you shared events and functions with Nicole where the children would also be present?
MR. LEONARD: Object to the leading.
MR. PETROCELLI: This is foundation.
A. All the time.
Q. Excuse me?
A. All the time.
Q. There were numerous occasions when all of you with your children got together?
MR. LEONARD: Objection.
A. Numerous occasions. Many.
Q. Did you remain close to Nicole from the time when your relationship began with her in July of 1992 until her death in May of 1994?
A. Yes.
Q. Continuously during that time period?
A. Yes.
Q. And were there ever any periods where your relationship was interrupted for one reason or another?
A. Never.
Q. So you -
MR. PETROCELLI: Withdrawn.
Q. Could you describe to us, so we can get a better understanding and a fuller flavor of your relationship with Nicole, in your own words, the kinds of things that you and she did together?
A. Nicole and I used to take our children to the movies, we used to have coffee together, we used to have dinners together, we used to go shopping at, you know, grocery stores together, and it was a typical friendship. We went out for evenings out on the town together. I used to stop by her house whenever I was in the area, which was only four or five blocks from my house, and vice versa. We were just very close friends.
Q. Did you take vacations together?
A. Yes, we did. Many.
Q. On the average, how many times a week would you actually see Nicole during this time period, and so that my questions are clear, I am referring to the time period July 1992 until the time of Nicole's death in June of 1994, and just to reframe the question for you, generally speaking, how often would you see Nicole?
A. Four times, five times a week.
Q. Continuously through that time period?
A. Continuously, and that was on the low, five times a week is on the low -
Q. That is an average?
A. Yeah, an average.
Q. So sometimes it could be higher than five?
A. Yes.
Q. On average, how many times did you speak to Nicole, like over the telephone?
A. Three times a day, sometimes more.
Q. Did you call her?
A. We would call each other.
Q. Was Nicole your best friend?
A. Yes, she was.
Q. Do you believe that you were Nicole's best friend?
MR . LEONARD: Objection.
A. Yes, I do.
Q. On what do you base that belief?
A. She told me, number one -
Q. What did she tell you?
A. That she had never had a friend, a friendship like mine as far as trust, and that she had never - she just said that I was her best friend many times, that she could always count on me.
Q. Did the two of you ever have arguments or disagreements?
A. Yes, we did.
Q. Were you able to air those out?
A. We were never able to air the one disagreement that we always had.
Q. What was that?
A. I didn't want her to see Marcus Allen.
MR. LEONARD: Excuse me. We did not hear that answer.
MR. PETROCELLI: She said I did not want her to see Marcus Allen.
Q. You are referring to some points in time when Nicole was dating Marcus Allen?
A. Yes.
Q. And you had reasons why you were opposed to that?
MR. LEONARD: Objection.
Q. Is that what you are saying?
A. Yes. I was afraid if she saw Marcus Allen, O.J. would assault her.
Q. Did you ever express that to Nicole?
A. Over and over again.
Q. We will get back to that later on in the deposition. Were there other arguments or disagreements that you would have with Nicole from time to time?
A. Yes, there was.
Q. Were you able to resolve them between you?
A. Always.
Q. You were able to talk openly with her?
A. Always.
Q. And she with you?
A. Always.
Q. Did -- before, you said that you and she shared confidences and secrets together; is that right?
A. Yes.
Q. What kind of personal matters did you and Nicole talk about?
A. We discussed our children, we discussed our relationships.
Q. With other people?
A. With other people. With - our friendships and with our mates. We discussed - we discussed everything that two girlfriends discuss.
Q. Did Nicole ever cry in your presence?
A. Yes, she did.
Q . And you in her presence?
A Yes, I did.
Q. During this time period - again, July of 1992 through Nicole's death in June of 1994 - Nicole was unmarried that entire time; is that right?
A. Yes.
Q. Initially going through a divorce, right?
A. Yes.
Q. And then, when the divorce was final, she never remarried thereafter, correct?
A. Correct.
Q. Was there a time during this period when she and Mr. Simpson began dating again?
A. Yes. Yes.
Q. Do you know when that occurred?
A. Yes. It was April of 1993.
Q. Okay. I would like to first talk a little bit about the period July of 1992 to April of 1993, before Nicole and O.J. began dating again .
A. Okay.
Q. During that period of time, do you know whether Nicole was dating any men?
A. Yes. I know she was dating men.
Q. Do you know who they were? Can you name them?
A. Yes.
Q. Please do so.
A. Nicole started seeing Alessandro, I do not know his last name.
Q. Is he also known as Marcello?
A. He is known as Marcello in the book, yes.
MR. LEONARD: I didn't hear that.
MR. PETROCELLI: He's known as Marcello in the book, yes.
Q. What did you call him?
A. Alessandro was his name. Then she was seeing Keith Zlomsowich and that was brief, very brief, more of a friendship. She also saw Joseph [Name Deleted], she saw Brett [Name Deleted], she saw Grant [Name Deleted] briefly, Marcus Allen, and then O.J. Simpson.
Q. To your knowledge, did Nicole date these men prior to resuming her relationship with Mr. Simpson in April of 1993?
A. Yes. They formed a reconciliation.
Q. And Marcus Allen, did she date Marcus Allen before the attempted reconciliation with Mr. Simpson in -
MR. LEONARD: Objection. Asked and answered .
Q. - in April of 1993?
MR. PETROCELLI: Excuse me, Mr. Leonard, you are absolutely free to object. Please let me finish my question. Also, that's not an appropriate objection. Let me restate the question.
Q. Did Nicole date Marcus Allen before April 1993?
A. Yes.
Q. Did she date Marcus Allen after 1993 - excuse me, did she date Marcus Allen, in addition, after April of 1993?
A. Yes, she did.
Q. Okay. Do you know if she dated any of the other persons you identified, after April of 1993?
A. Not to my knowledge.
Q. You referred a few moments ago, Ms. Resnick, to the book. Is - you wrote a book following Nicole's death; is that right?
A. Yes, I did.
Q. The name of the book that you first wrote is The Private Diary of a Life - excuse me, Nicole Brown Simpson: The Private Diary of a Life Interrupted. Is that right?
A. Yes.
Q. I would like to mark for identification, but because of the bulk, I am not going to attach to the transcript, a copy of your book which I am showing you. We will be referring to it from time to time.
A. Thank you. I would like to say something.
Q. One moment, please.
MR. MARKS: Excuse me for a moment.
MR. PETROCELLI: While you are talking to the witness, I will mark this book -
THE VIDEOGRAPHER: Counsel -
MR. PETROCELLI: Leonard, he is hearing all of your conferences.
THE VIDEOGRAPHER: I just turned off the sound but let's go off the record. The time is 2:06 and we are going off the record.
(Discussion off the record.)
(Plaintiffs' Exhibit 78, book entitled Nicole Brown Simpson: The Private Diary of a Life Interrupted, marked for identification, as of this date.)
THE VIDEOGRAPHER: The time is 2:07 and we are back on the record.
Q. I am going to mark as plaintiffs' next exhibit in order -
MR. PETROCELLI: Which is Exhibit 78, Mr. Brewer?
MR. BREWER: Yes.
Q. - Exhibit 78, the book I just described you wrote, Nicole Brown Simpson: The Private Diary of a Life Interrupted. As I said, we will be referring to that from time to time. And when you mentioned previously the book, you were talking about this book, right?
A. Yes.
Q. You also wrote another book; is that right?
A. Yes. I co-wrote two books, actually. That was my point.
Q. The book, Exhibit 78, was co-written with Mike Walker?
A. Yes. That's what I was trying to say.
Q. And the other book that you wrote which we will mark as Exhibit 79 is entitled what?
A. It's Shattered, In the Eye of the Storm, and that was written by myself and Jeanne V. Bell.
Q. We have both those books here and we will be looking at them. (Plaintiffs' Exhibit 79, book entitled Shattered, In the Eye of the Storm, marked for identification, as of this date.)
Q. Can you share with us your - can you tell us - describe Nicole for us, is what I am trying to say. What kind of person was she? I would like you to talk a little bit about the kind of person she was as she presented herself to you.
A. Nicole was a very gracious friend. She was a - she was a very simple girl with great motherly qualities and she was just sweet, she was strong, she was - she had lived a painful life, so she was guarded. At the same time - she was the most wonderful woman I have ever met.
Q. Was she fun-loving?
A. She was very fun-loving. She was - she loved to play with her children. I mean, she just - she had a lot of spirit in her. She was a lively mother, a lively friend. She was unlike the typical person that you meet in Los Angeles, very down to earth, not a superficial girl. She wasn't - she wasn't a real social girl, as far as the industry, parties. She was kind of a beach girl.
Q. Did you observe her with her children?
A. Yeah.
Q. Often?
A. Often.
Q. And what kind of mother did she appear, to you, to be?
A. Nicole was by far the best mother that I had ever met. I had never seen a mother put as much time and care, and effort, and true protection of her children. She spent - her life was her kids.
Q. And by "her kids," we are referring to Sydney and Justin?
A. Sydney and Justin. She used to read to them for hours upon hours, she played games with them. She did everything that a mother and a nanny would do. I mean, she was - she was incredible as a mother, yes.
Q. She took them to all their functions and --
A. Everything, karate to painting, to the ballet, to jazz classes, to tutoring, kept them in the best schools for their - she worked with them with homework, she used to say prayers with them every night. She was an amazing mother.
Q. Did she have primary care and custody of the children during this time period that you knew Nicole?
A. Yes, she did. She had primary care of the children.
Q. Do you - and the children's natural father was whom?
A. O.J. Simpson.
Q. And during this time period, did you observe whether or not Mr. Simpson spent time with his children?
A. Yes. I observed them together.
Q. And how often, based on your observations, did Mr. Simpson spend time with the children?
A. When he was in town he would free his schedule briefly. He didn't -
Q. Was he out of town often?
A. He was out of town often. He didn't - he didn't spend a lot of time with his children unless Nicole was around.
Q. Would the children, on weekends, for example, stay with Mr. Simpson and not with Nicole?
A. Rarely.
Q. So based on your relationship with Nicole, you observed that she had the children virtually every day?
MR. LEONARD: Object to the leading.
A. Nicole -
Q. What was your observations [sic] as far as how often Nicole had the children?
A. My observation was that I felt Nicole had the responsibility of both mother and father because she often had the children every weekend. I mean, it was rare that O.J. actually took them and kept them for more than a day.
Q. When you say "every weekend," did she also have them during the week?
A. Yes, she did. She had them all the time, essentially. I used to tell her, it was as if she didn't have an ex-husband.
Q. Did Nicole and you ever have conversations about Mr. Simpson's time with the children or lack of time?
A. Yes.
Q. Could you relate those discussions?
A. Nicole always felt that she could never make weekend plans unless she had a babysitter because she could never count on O.J. to keep his word and keep the children on their committed - on his committed time. As much as Nicole adored her children and she - she didn't mind the fact that he would bring them back - everybody needs their free time - and Nicole felt it was unfair.
Q. Did Nicole, during this period July 1992 until her death in June of 1994, always appear, to you, to be a fit mother?
A. Absolutely.
Q. Stable?
A. Extremely.
Q. In the last six months of her life, from January 1994 until June of 1994, did you ever observe a time when Nicole, to you, appeared not to be able to care for her children?
A. Never. I never observed a time for Nicole - I never saw her ever not be able to care and want to care for her children.
Q. During the last six months, did you observe that Nicole spent -
MR. PETROCELLI: Withdrawn.
Q. During the last six months of Nicole's life, January through June of 1994, did you observe whether or not Nicole spent less time with her children?
A. No. That was not my observation.
Q. What was your observation?
A. She spent just as much time with her children as she ever did.
Q. Did you observe any signs, during these last six months, that she was having a nervous breakdown?
A. Absolutely not.
Q. That she was physically unable to care for her children?
A. Absolutely not.
Q. Or mentally or emotionally unable to care for her children?
A. Absolutely not.
Q. Are you aware of whether Mr. Simpson began taking responsibility for the children to a much greater degree than before, during the last six months of Nicole's life?
A. I'm not aware of that at all.
Q. And you were in regular contact with Nicole during her, the last six months of her life?
A. Yes, I was.
MR. LEONARD: Object to the leading.
Q. Were you in regular contact with her?
MR. LEONARD: Objection.
A. Yes, I was. Regular.
Q. When you and Nicole began to develop your friendship, did she describe to you her relationship with O.J. Simpson?
A. Not really.
Q. In time, did you and she have discussions about her relationship with O.J. Simpson?
A. Yes, we did.
Q. And did you have discussions with Nicole about her relationship with Mr. Simpson before she and Mr. Simpson began their reconciliation in April of 1993?
A. Yes, we did.
Q. Can you describe those discussions to us?
A. The discussions were, I felt, incomplete discussions. She had left out very important information to me at that time regarding the abusive nature of their relationship. She - we were in therapy together, group therapy together, and right before Nicole went, asked O.J. to reconcile, and she had said that all of the problems that they had had, she didn't really want to discuss because they were now in a new phase: O.J. had turned a new leaf in his life, O.J. had said he was going to be monogamous, O.J. had said that he was not going to do drugs, O.J. had said he was going to change his behavior, and she believed him so she didn't really discuss all of, anything that was really happening before.
Q. Before April of 1993, had Nicole talked to you about the subject of abuse in her marriage to Mr. Simpson?
A. Before - pardon me, before 1993?
Q. April of 1993, before Nicole and Mr. Simpson reconciled.
A. Yes, she did.
Q. And what did she say about that?
A. She briefly - we discussed two incidents. One incident was the 1989 meeting, because I brought it up.
Q. And what was the other incident?
A. The other incident was when he used to beat her when she was pregnant.
Q. With -
A. With Justin and Sydney. To my recollection, he beat her with both.
Q. Is it your recollection, Ms. Resnick, that Nicole told you of these incidents before April of 1993?
A. Yes, it is.
Q. Do you recall the reasons -
MR. PETROCELLI: Withdrawn.
Q. Did Nicole ever tell you why she divorced Mr. Simpson?
A. Yes, she did. Q. And did she tell you why she divorced Mr. Simpson, before April of 1993?
A. Yes, she did.
Q. What did she say to you about that?
A. She said that O.J. was incapable of being - of not being aggressive and she said that he used to have girlfriends for three years at a time.
Q. While he was married to Nicole?
A. While he was married to her.
Q. You are now relating to us, Ms. Resnick, what Nicole told you; is that right?
A. Yes.
Q. And when you said that Nicole said that O.J. was capable of - excuse me, that O.J. was incapable of not being aggressive, what did you mean by that?
A. Well, this was during the time where she really didn't want to admit to the abuse so she would sugar coat it and say he was aggressive, he couldn't not be aggressive.
Q. By "aggressive," did she say physically aggressive?
A. Physically aggressive.
Q. And she also said, as you just related, that Mr. Simpson was not faithful?
A. Not at all. She said he couldn't be faithful.
Q. Nicole told you that Mr. Simpson could not be faithful to her?
A. Yes.
Q. Did she say how many girlfriends that he had during their marriage or affairs that he had during their marriage?
MR. LEONARD: Just so I understand, this is all prior to April?
MR. PETROCELLI: We are now focusing on discussions she had before April of 1994.
MR. LEONARD: Okay.
A. Yes. That she had had - he had had two long-term relationships.
Q. During his marriage to Nicole?
A. During his marriage to Nicole. And that he had had numerous, too numerous to count, one-night affairs.
Q. Did she identify the women with whom Mr. Simpson had these two relationships? A. She identified one of them.
Q. Who was that?
A. [Name Deleted] and -
Q. Nicole told you O.J. had a relationship with [Name Deleted] during O.J. and Nicole's marriage?
A. Yes.
Q. A long-term relationship?
A. A three-year relationship.
Q. Between whom?
A. Between the time they were married.
Q. Three years that Mr. Simpson went out with [Name Deleted]?
A. Yes. And that he supported her.
Q. Financially?
A. Financially.
Q. This is what Nicole told you?
A. That's what Nicole told me.
Q. And what did Nicole tell you about the other long-term relationship?
A. She had mentioned a name to me and I don't recall it.
Q. Did Nicole tell you that the subject -
MR. PETROCELLI: Withdrawn.
Q. Did Nicole tell you that Mr. Simpson's infidelity was a subject of friction between her and Mr. Simpson?
MR. LEONARD: Objection. Leading.
A. Nicole told me that O.J.'s infidelity was the reason that she would be beaten. And -
Q. Let me ask it to you this way: Did Nicole describe to you whether there was any issue between Mr. Simpson and her during their marriage that was a source of conflict between them?
A. Yes.
MR. LEONARD: Just for clarification, we are continuing to talk about before April of 1993?
MR. PETROCELLI: Yes. During the first eight, nine months of Ms. Resnick's relationship with Nicole Brown Simpson.
MR. LEONARD: Okay.
Q. And what were the sources of conflict between Mr. Simpson and Nicole that Nicole related to you?
A. The sources of conflict. Well, she - before 1993, she kept it very vague, her statements of what happened in their relationship.
Q. About physical abuse?
A. About physical abuse. It was only when I questioned her that she ever answered anything, so I can just say, before 1993, during that first period, there wasn't a lot of serious conversation over it, it was very brief and very vague.
Q. Over physical abuse?
A. Over physical abuse. Except she did say that he did beat her when she was pregnant and that there was a, you know, the 1990 - the 1989 beatings over [Name Deleted].
Q. And Miss -
MR. LEONARD: Can I just hear that last answer back, please?
(Record read.)
Q. Again talking about the conflict that existed in her marriage that she related to you, sticking with that, she was vague about physical abuse, you told us about that.
A. Right.
Q. And what did she say to you on the subject of Mr. Simpson being unfaithful?
MR. LEONARD: Objection. Leading.
A. She - Nicole said that O.J. could not be faithful, he just couldn't, and that that was the cause of their problems.
Q. And then she described these relationships that he had?
A. Yes. She went on to say that he was always with the [Name Deleted] Tropic girls because -
Q. What did that mean?
A. That he would have sexual relations with the [Name Deleted] Tropic girls.
Q. What did she mean by [Name Deleted] Tropic girls?
A. There's a group of girls that [Name Deleted] Tropics hires to do their modeling for them and O.J. was dating them all, I guess, all the time. A new crew would come in, he would start dating the new crew.
Q. Did Nicole tell you whether or not she was faithful to Mr. Simpson during the marriage?
A. Yes, she did.
Q. And what did she say?
A. That she had never had an extra-marital affair.
Q. What did Nicole tell you - again, referring to this time period prior to April of '93, what did Nicole tell you about the 1989 incident?
A. Nicole said that it was horrific, that O.J. was animalistic, that he beat her and that Michelle denied it.
Q. And who was Michelle?
A. The housekeeper at the time. And that it was one of the many beatings. Excuse me, in 1993 - before 1994, she did not say it was one of the many beatings.
Q. But she had told you about this incident in 1989?
A. Yes.
Q. Did she tell you how she had been beaten ?
A. She said he choked her, punched her, slapped her, kicked her. Kicking was his favorite, she said.
Q. Did she tell you what was the cause of that incident?
A. Yes, she did.
Q. What did she say to you?
A. She said that O.J. had had a lot to drink at a party and that somehow he was angry and he was seeing two other girls at the time and Nicole confronted her - confronted him about it.
Q. And that's what led to the fight?
A. Yes.
Q. Did the name [Name Deleted] come up in this discussion that you had with Nicole?
MR. LEONARD: Objection.
A. [Name Deleted] was the source of many beatings and, yes, it did come up in this discussion.
Q. That's what Nicole told you, that [Name Deleted] was the source of many beatings?
A. Yes, that [Name Deleted] was the source of many beatings, but this is after 1993 that she told me how many beatings Tony was.
Q. Getting back to the after 1993 time period, so we get back to this segments in time -
A. I know, it is -
Q. And I appreciate the difficulty. And, by the way, if you are not able to separate the time periods out, just tell me, but if you can, it would be helpful. Did she - can you describe whether Nicole more specifically told you exactly what Mr. Simpson did to her in, say, the 1989 incident? Did he punch her, scratch her, pull her hair? You know, physical acts, can you just tell us if Nicole described them to you?
A. Yes, she did. I think I already answered that.
Q. Okay. You can't be more specific than that, is that right?
A. No, I can't be. Q. Did Nicole tell you whether she sought medical treatment?
A. No, she did not. Not during that time.
Q. Did Nicole say anything else to you about that incident at that time?
A. Only that he got away with it.
Q. She said O.J. Simpson got away with it?
A. Mm-hmm.
Q. You have to answer audibly.
A. Yes.
Q. Did she describe to you what she meant by that?
A. She said that he always got away with everything he's ever done in his life and that she felt unprotected, she felt that he just did some community service, which he really got out of. That was a very sore point for Nicole, was the sentence that he received.
Q. Did Nicole tell you whether or not she pressed charges or whether or not charges were pressed against Mr. Simpson as a result of that incident?
A. Nicole - Nicole told me that she - that O.J. had threatened her, that if she pressed charges or if she said anything, that it would be worse. Nicole said that O.J. begged and pleaded with her to call Hertz, say it was no big deal.
Q. Hertz was an employer of Mr. Simpson?
A. Yes.
Q. Did Nicole tell you whether she did those things?
A. Nicole basically said she did everything O.J. asked of her to cover up for him.
Q. Did she tell you why she did that?
A. Yes, she did.
Q. What did she say?
A. She was in love with him, she was afraid she would lose her children to him. He always threatened her that he would take her children away.
Q. Nicole told you that she loved Mr. Simpson?
A. Yes, she did. She was very much in love with him.
Q. Did Nicole tell you about any agreement that Mr. Simpson signed regarding this 1989 incident?
MR. LEONARD: Objection.
MR. BREWER: Are you still pre-'93 in this question?
MR. LEONARD: I assume that all of these answers have been discussions prior to -
MR. PETROCELLI: They all have. They all have, okay?
MR. LEONARD: As long as we understand that. But I object to the leading as well in the last question.
MR. PETROCELLI: First of all, I don't think your objection to leading is well-founded. In any event, let's get back to where we were.
Q. When Nicole was relating to you this 1989 incident, did she tell you anything about an agreement between Mr. Simpson and her?
A. No, she did not.
Q. Now, you also said that Nicole told you again, before April of 1993, that she had been beaten by Mr. Simpson during her pregnancies. Do you remember that?
A. Yes.
Q. Can you tell us what Nicole told you about those beatings?
A. Nicole said that he used to call her a fat pig and how dare she gain weight and that - Nicole said she made - that O.J. made her pregnancies unbearable, that he used to always go out and be with other women when she was pregnant, flaunt it; that he used to beat her whenever she confronted him with the affairs. That's what she said.
Q. Did she tell you - again, before April of '93 - how she was beaten during her pregnancies with Justin and Sydney?
A. No, she did not.
Q. Like, did she describe the blows that were delivered?
A. No, she did not.
Q. Did Nicole - again, same time frame - tell you that she feared Mr. Simpson?
A. Yes, she did.
Q. What did she say about that?
A. She always said that she was - she felt that their relationship was too volatile and that he would hurt her. She was always in fear of that.
Q. Did you ever ask her, during this time period, well, if you were in fear of him, why did you stay with him, why didn't you leave sooner? Did you ever ask her questions like that?
MR. LEONARD: Objection to the leading.
A. Yes, I did but I didn't ask her those questions until after '93.
Q. I see. Prior to April of 1993, did Nicole ever discuss with you why she had not left Mr. Simpson sooner, given her fear of him?
A. Prior to '93?
Q. Yes.
A. She - prior to '93, she just said she loved him and, you know, she was afraid of losing her children.
Q. Now, earlier in your testimony, when you first mentioned Mr. [Name Deleted], I believe you were telling us about a discussion that you and Nicole had about her relationship with Mr. [Name Deleted]. Do you remember that?
A. Mm-hmm.
Q. Did - were you and Nicole discussing whether she should continue or discontinue her relationship with Mr. [Name Deleted]?
A. No, we weren't. We were discussing - we were discussing - I'm sorry, this is very, this conversation was really funny, actually - why he didn't want to be with her and then it later turned into that we found out that he was afraid of seeing her-
Q. Did Nicole tell you that?
A. Mm-hmm.
Q. You have to answer audibly.
A. Yes, yes, she did.
Q. Did Nicole tell you why Mr. [Name Deleted] was afraid of continuing to see her?
A. Yes, she did.
Q. What did she say to you?
A. This was later in the day.
Q. This is July of 1992.
A. Okay. We are not talking about one specific day.
Q. Did the conversation - when did the conversation occur, the one that you are relating?
A. The conversation occurred July 4th, 1992, and there were two parts to the conversation. The first part was me explaining to her just, you know, how to, how to get him back. I knew him for a long time. And then he came to the party, he joined the Fourth of July party, and he had discussed that he was nervous about seeing her because of O.J. Simpson.
Q. Now, who told you that, Nicole?
A. Ron. Ron, Nicole and Joseph and I had a conversation about it.
Q. You and Joseph had a conversation?
A. Joseph and I maintained a very nice friendship.
Q. Are you saying that Joseph told you that he was afraid to see Nicole because of O.J. Simpson?
A. He said he felt that it was better, that O.J. was too much in love with Nicole and had not let go of her yet.
Q. Joseph told that you?
A. Mm-hmm.
Q. You have to answer audibly.
A. Yes, he did. He said that.
Q. Did Joseph tell you whether Mr. Simpson did anything to make him afraid of Mr. Simpson?
MR. LEONARD: Object to the leading.
A. No, he did not. And Joseph did not tell me that O.J. did anything to him to make him afraid. He was just afraid.
Q. Did Joseph tell you why he felt Mr. Simpson was still in love with Nicole?
A. Oh, yeah.
Q. What did Joseph say?
A. That he had heard about the stalkings, he had heard about what happened, you know, with Alessandro, the threats to Alessandro. O.J. made it very clear to everybody around that Nicole was, even though she was separated, she was not single, and the men that were around at that time were very well aware of it. It was as if enter at your own risk, you know. They all were very aware that O.J. Simpson was volatile, that he was angry, and that he felt that he owned Nicole and that they had no place.
Q. Did Nicole share those feelings with you also?
A. Yes.
Q. Starting around the time that you got to know her in July of 1992?
A. Yes.
Q. Did you ever, yourself, observe, from July of '92 to April of '93, Mr. Simpson during that time period?
MR. MARKS: Observe him doing what?
Q. Did you see him at all?
A. No, I did not. No, I did not. During that time, I just didn't.
MR. LEONARD: Can - that's the same period we have been talking about?
MR PETROCELLI: Yes.
Q. When Nicole was dating Marcello or Alessandro, was that before you and Nicole were friends?
A. Yes, it was.
Q. And was it later in time that she told you about this relationship?
A. They both told me about the relationship. Alessandro was also a friend of mine.
Q. I see. What did Alessandro do?
A. What did he do?
MR. MARKS: In terms of work, you mean?
A. Oh, I am sorry. He is a hairdresser for Christophe salon in Beverly Hills.
Q. Did you ever have a conversation with Nicole in which she discussed the reasons why she and Marcello, or Alessandro, broke up?
A Yes, we did.
Q. When did that occur, generally speaking?
A. It occurred right after they broke up. It would have occurred right in the time frame of, you know, right after we really became friends.
Q. Sometime after July of '92?
A. Probably July 5th.
Q. What did Nicole tell you about the breakup of her relationship with, and let's call him Marcello, since that's how he's referred to in your book?
A. She said that O.J. had threatened him, called him at Christophe's and threatened that he would beat him up if he didn't stop seeing his wife.
Q. Nicole told you that?
A. And Alessandro told me that.
Q. You had conversations with both Alessandro and Nicole where you were told that?
A. Yes. At different times. Can I take a break, please?
Q. Sure.
THE VIDEOGRAPHER: The time is 2:44 and we are going off the record.
(Recess taken.)
THE VIDEOGRAPHER: The time is 3:06 and we are back on the record.
BY MR. PETROCELLI:
Q. Ms. Resnick, did Nicole ever discuss with you the reasons for her breakup with Keith [Name Deleted]? And I am focusing on this pre-April 1993 time period.
A. Yes, she did.
Q. What did she say? A. I need to clarify -
Q. Please.
A. - before I answer. Nicole - there wasn't really a breakup because there wasn't a relationship established. It was essentially a friendship that manifested physically, but there wasn't a romantic relationship, but I will say what she had said was that during the time that she was - that she had a physical relationship with Keith, O.J. had entered her home uninvited on one occasion and tried to intimidate Keith and on another occasion that he had told Nicole and Keith that he was watching them through the window of her house while they were having a romantic interlude.
Q. And that's what Nicole told you?
A. Yes.
Q. Did she tell you how Mr. Simpson tried to intimidate Keith [Name Deleted]?
A. He said he would basically stalk them and made sure that Keith was very aware that he was watching them at all times and that he would follow them and made it so uncomfortable for them that Keith felt nervous.
Q. Did you ever discuss this with Keith?
A. No, I did not.
Q. Nicole had a relationship with Brett [Name Deleted], correct?
A. Yes.
Q. And they broke up at some point, correct?
A. Yes.
Q. Did that break up have anything to do with Mr. Simpson?
A. Not to my knowledge.
Q. Nicole eventually broke off her relationship with Grant [Name Deleted], I take it?
A. Yes.
Q. Did that have anything to do with Mr. Simpson?
A. Grant -
Q. Can you answer that yes or no?
A. No, I can't answer that yes or no.
Q. Okay. Then answer it in any way you can.
A. Grant was very fascinated by the relationship between Nicole and O.J. He would constantly question Nicole regarding their relationship. Grant felt, because he was also in therapy with us, in group therapy that I had mentioned earlier, that he was aware of the abuse and Grant felt he wanted no part of the situation, that it was intimidating for him.
Q. Is that what Grant told you?
A. Yes.
Q. You mentioned several times about group therapy. Where did this occur?
A. It occurred in West Hollywood, on Larrabee Avenue, above Sunset Plaza.
MR. MARKS: I don't - just to be clear on the record, I do not want to go into questions, detailed questions about group therapy sessions and so forth, that's privileged. If she had a conversation with Mr. [Name Deleted], that's fine, but I am not going to get into any conversations with any therapists and so forth.
Q. Who was the therapist?
A. I don't know his last name. I know his first name is Carl.
Q. Did you attend any sessions with Nicole?
A. Yes, I did.
Q. How many?
A. Three sessions.
Q. And without getting into what was said were who were at these sessions, besides Nicole and you?
A. On one occasion it was Nicole, Grant, myself, other people that I am not aware of their names, the facilitate tore or the therapist, Carl. On another occasion, I believe that I brought Christian Reichardt to one of the therapy groups with us.
Q. Did the three sessions you attended with Nicole all occur before Nicole's reconciliation with Mr. Simpson?
A. Yes, they did.
Q. Did Nicole -
MR. PETROCELLI: Withdrawn.
Q. Did Nicole discuss the reasons for her break up with Marcus Allen? Again, this is the first time that they were seeing each other.
MR. MARKS: Are you talking about -
MR. LEONARD: Are you referring to after-
MR. MARKS: You are talking about conversations between Nicole and Faye?
MR. PETROCELLI: I guess the question was unclear. Let me ask it again.
Q. You said that Nicole and Marcus Allen had a relationship before April of 1993?
A. Yes, they did.
Q. And that relationship came to an end at some point before then, right?
A. Yes, it did.
Q. Did Nicole ever discuss with you the reasons why that relationship ended?
A. Yes, she did.
Q. Did those reasons have anything to do with O.J. Simpson?
A. Yes, they did.
MR. LEONARD: Object to the form.
Q. Excuse me?
A. Yes, they did.
Q. What reasons did Nicole relate to you?
A. O.J. - Nicole had told me that due to the reconciliation, she was not going to see anyone else. Nicole's relationship with Marcus was right before the reconciliation and it was a relationship that had to be hidden because it was so volatile. They, yes, indeed, went out publicly, but rarely. It was a relationship that was secretive, due to the friendship between Marcus and O.J. She cared for Marcus very much, very much. Marcus was engaged and she felt that due to the relationship, there could be no future in it for the both of them.
Q. These are things that Nicole told you?
A. Mm-hmm. Yes.
Q. Did you ever go out with Nicole and Marcus Allen?
A. Yes, I did.
Q. On numerous occasions?
A. Not many. I would say three different occasions.
Q. Did you ever discuss with Marcus Allen his feelings towards Nicole?
A. On one occasion. I discouraged the relationship.
Q. Tell - was that right around the time when Nicole was deciding whether to go back with Mr. Simpson?
A. No. That was when she started seeing - when she was - the conversation that I am going to be talking about occurred at Nicole Simpson's home on Gretna Green; Marcus was in her home, I walked in her home and I saw her sitting on Marcus's lap.
Q. Tell us what you and Marcus discussed.
A. I had said that I felt it was dangerous that they were together and Marcus said that they never make it obvious, and I said that O.J. peeks in windows and Marcus just - they both looked at me and laughed and acted as if I was -
MR. MARKS: May I ask what they said? Not how they acted but what they said, if anything?
MR. PETROCELLI: That's what she's relating, I believe.
A. They both knew - they both expressed to me that they knew it wasn't the right thing to do.
Q. When did this conversation occur, in Gretna Green?
A. Before the reconciliation.
Q. Is that the only time that you had a conversation with Marcus about his relationship with Nicole?
A. Yes, it is. Yes, it is.
Q. Now, in April 1993, as you previously testified, Nicole attempted a reconciliation with Mr. Simpson, correct?
A. Yes.
Q. Did Nicole discuss with you her reasons for doing so?
A. Yes, she did.
Q. What did Nicole say to you?
MR. LEONARD: Can we have a date for this conversation?
A. The conversation was -
MR. MARKS: Approximately.
A. - I would say, it was during the time we were in therapy, so that would have been early April.
Q. 1993?
A. 1993.
Q. Okay, so in early April 1993, tell us what Nicole said to you about her reasons for attempting a reconciliation with Mr. Simpson.
A. She said that in - that Candace Garvey had told her that O.J. had promised to be faithful and that he had learned his lessons of infidelities through the divorce of Nicole, and that he had told Candace that he would be monogamous to whichever woman he was with from now on and then Nicole, in therapy, felt due to the fact that she had a better understanding of herself in therapy, that she could keep their relationship intact, since there was not going to be any infidelities any longer and she felt that that was their - she said that that was their biggest problem and that he wouldn't be there anymore.
Q. He would not -
A. He would not beat her anymore.
Q. Nicole told you that she felt she believed there would no longer be a problem about Mr. Simpson's infidelity, that she also believed there would be no more beatings?
A. Yes.
Q. Now, is what you are saying is Candace Garvey told -
A. Nicole.
Q. - Nicole, about a conversation Candace Garvey had with Mr. Simpson, in which Mr. Simpson said he intended to be monogamous in his relationships?
A. Yes.
Q. And that's the basis on which Nicole began to hold out some hope that he and Mr. - excuse me, that she and Mr. Simpson could reconcile?
A. Yes.
Q. Did you have a number of conversations with Nicole about this before she contacted Mr. Simpson to discuss this?
A. No, I did not.
Q . Did you say anything to her one way or the other?
A. Yes, I did.
Q. What did you say?
A. I said that men don't change, that I would support her decision.
Q. Did she then initiate a reconciliation with Mr. Simpson, to your knowledge?
A. Yes, she did.
Q. And did that occur roughly in April of 1993?
A. Yes, it did.
Q. Did she tell you what Mr. Simpson's response or reaction to her asking him to reconcile was?
A. Yes, she did.
Q. What did she say?
A. She said that initially he had said that he was happy with Paula.
Q. And who is Paula, for the record?
A. Paula Barbieri, a woman that he was dating at the time, and that she called me and said that it was not - that he was not responsive, but she felt good for trying to put her family back together.
Q. Before you go on, on Paula Barbieri for a moment, during the period of time before this April 1993 conversation, did Nicole and you discuss Paula Barbieri from time to time?
A. Yes, we did.
Q. So Nicole knew that Mr. Simpson was dating Miss Barbieri?
A. Yes, she did.
Q. Did Nicole express any feelings about that relationship?
A. Not really.
Q. Did she - was she jealous?
A. No. She - the one or two times we discussed Paula, Nicole felt sorry for her.
Q. Is that what Nicole said to you?
A. Yes.
Q. Why did she -
MR. PETROCELLI: Withdrawn.
Q. Did she say to you why she felt sorry for Paula?
A. No, she did not.
Q. Did you understand what she meant by that?
A. Yes, I did.
Q. What did you understand her to mean?
A. I understood it to be that he was an aggressive man.
Q. Physically?
A. Physically.
Q. Now getting back to where we were, Nicole told you that the first time she called Mr. Simpson, he was not responsive?
A. Yes.
Q. And did she tell you about another conversation that she had with him?
A. Yes. She called me a half hour later and said that Nicole - said that O.J. had just left her house, and I said, a half hour ago you said he wanted nothing to do with it, with the relationship. She said he had changed his mind and he had called her a couple of times between then, between that time, and said he wanted to come over and discuss it, and Nicole said to him, we have plenty of time, let's take this slow, let's do this right. And -
Q. That's what she told you?
A. Yes.
Q. Did she ever tell you later on that day or the next day whether Mr. Simpson came over to her house?
A. Yes. She told me he had come over, in that conversation.
Q. He had already been over?
A. He had already been over. And that he - she expressed hesitation because he was starting again already.
Q. Starting what?
A. He was becoming - now that it was in his head, he was calling her, coming over, the day that she initiated the reconciliation, I guess she had talked to - she said she had talked to O.J. five times and he had appeared at her house and she became nervous already.
Q. Did you and she discuss whether she should call it off at that point in time?
A. No. She discussed with me that she felt that he hadn't changed in his obsessive ways.
Q. Did she indicate to you that she was going to therefore not proceed with the reconciliation?
A. No. She did not indicate she was not going to proceed. She indicated that she had informed him to just slow down, that she wanted to have a sane relationship, this time could only be a sane relationship.
Q. And thereafter, did Nicole proceed to enter into this phase of reconciliation with Mr. Simpson?
A. Yes, she did.
Q. And do you know whether they began to see each other or talk to each other on a frequent basis after that point in time?
A. Yes, they did.
Q. Can you give me the best of your recollection, when this initial discussion between Mr. Simpson and Nicole occurred, in April of 1993? Do you remember what day it was?
A. I think it was in mid-April.
Q. Mid-April?
A. Yes. To the best of my recollection it was in mid-April.
Q. Did Nicole tell you about any ground rules or that she and O.J. agreed to?
A. Yes, she did.
MR. LEONARD: Object to the leading.
Q. What did Nicole tell you about whether there were any ground rules in their attempted reconciliation?
A. When Nicole saw O.J.'s behavior to be similar to the behavior when she was married to him, she had said to him there were - that she would keep her friends; she said to him that he was not able to choose her friends, that they would be faithful to each other, that - she asked him to stay away from drugs, she asked him to calm down on his drinking. She asked him to - she said she was not willing to put up with any physical abuse.
Q. These are things that Nicole said that she told O.J. Simpson?
A. Yes.
Q. Did she tell you what O.J. Simpson's reaction was?
A. He was responsive, at first.
Q. Meaning he would attempt to abide by these rules?
A. Yes.
Q. Now, thereafter, did you start seeing less of Nicole because she started seeing Mr. Simpson?
A. No.
Q. Who at this time, April of '93, were Nicole's close friends?
A. Cici Shahian.
Q. In addition to yourself, of course.
A. Cici Shahian, Cora Fishman, Kris Jenner, Robin Greer.
Q. Did Nicole tell you whether or not she intended to be monogamous with Mr. Simpson during this relationship?
A. Yes.
Q. During this attempted reconciliation'?
A. Yes.
Q. And the answer was, she was going to be monogamous ?
A. Absolutely.
Q. And did she tell you that Mr. Simpson also said he would be monogamous ?
A. Yes, she did.
Q. Now, is this around the period of time that you began to know O.J. Simpson?
A. Yes, it is.
Q. During this period of time now - now we are into a new period of time, April of 1993, all the way through the rest of that year and into '94, until Nicole's death, that will be the time period we will be focusing on for the most part, okay? You began to go out with Nicole and O.J.?
A. Yes, I did.
Q. Did you ever spend any time alone with O.J. Simpson?
A. Not much.
Q. Did you ever go out alone with him?
A. Not to my - I can't recall.
MR. MARKS: Is your question spending time together? Would that be telephone conversations or -
MR. PETROCELLI: No, I was not talking about telephone conversations.
Q . Just the two of you going someplace together, being alone together.
A. Only in Cabo San Lucas, that I can recall.
Q. When others were with you, but not present at that time, you mean?
A. Right, others were with us but not - there was plenty of times when we were together having conversations, but for O.J. and I to go and have dinner together alone, that's something that we never did.
Q. Okay. You had conversations alone with him, right, in person?
A. Too many times.
Q. And you had telephone conversations with him as well?
A. Yes, I did.
Q. Now, there came a period of time, jumping ahead for a moment, when this attempted reconciliation came to an end; is that right?
A. There was a couple of times when it came to an end.
Q. There came a period of time when it came to be a end [sic] for the last time; is that right?
A. Yes.
Q. When did that occur?
A. The last time?
Q. Yes.
A. The very last time, the reconciliation? It's a difficult question to ask, only because in the last month and a half there had been three different times where he kept, even though she tried to end it, he kept coming back.
Q. Okay. Well, we will get back to that later on. Let me tell you why I am asking this question now. Now, during that last month and a half of Nicole's life, you and Mr. Simpson - did you and Mr. Simpson have a number of telephone conversations ?
A Yes, we did.
Q. Okay. Now, before that last month and a half, so generally speaking, April of '93 to early May of '94 -
A. Yes.
Q. - did you and Mr. Simpson speak frequently on the telephone together?
A. Yes, we did.
Q. Even during that period of time?
A. Yes, we did.
Q. In these various and numerous telephone and personal conversations you had with Mr. Simpson, before the last month and a half, did he ever discuss with you his feelings about Nicole?
A. Yes, he did.
Q. Was that pretty much the subject matter of the conversations?
A. Always.
Q. Can you tell us what he would say about Nicole, what feelings he would express to you about Nicole?
A. Yes He had a way of saying the same thing over and over and over and over again. It's very - his - he admitted to being obsessed with Nicole. He admitted to being so in love with her that he didn't know how to handle it. He felt that he no longer had control over Nicole during their reconciliation as he had when they were married. He felt that - he said that he would do everything in his power to keep their relationship intact. He said that he had never loved any woman like he loved Nicole. He said that Nicole makes him crazy. He said that he has - there were so many things that he said. We can go on and on and on, but he was - to sum it up, I would say that the majority of the time he felt that he didn't possess Nicole during the reconciliation. He felt he didn't, he wasn't able to control her.
Q. And did he say that he wanted to?
A. Yes.
Q. Now, these are all things that O.J. Simpson said to you?
A. Yes.
Q. In numerous conversations, in 1993 and 1994?
A. Numerous.
Q. In these conversations, when he would talk about how much he wanted to control Nicole and how he loved her and so forth, did you ever ask him about his infidelity?
A. Yes, I did.
Q. What did you ask him?
A. When he would tell me - when he said to me - and when I say "tell me," because it was the same phone calls over and over again, and the same line of answers, I would say to him, you say you will do anything to keep the relationship together. At the same time you are continuing to see Paula Barbieri and you expect Nicole to believe you and she's aware of the fact that you are still seeing Paula. His response was that he had to see Paula every now and then because he had left her so abruptly to go back to Nicole and that she kept calling him and she said that - I mean, he said that it really had nothing to do with his relationship with Nic.
Q. Nic, meaning Nicole?
A. Yes.
Q. Did you ask him about infidelity before his divorce from Nicole, in these various conversations?
MR. LEONARD: Object to the leading.
A. Yes, I did.
Q. And relate to us what you asked him and what he said to you in those discussions or in the discussion of his infidelity during the marriage.
A. He said that Nicole didn't like the things that he liked, that Nicole didn't go places with him, that Nicole didn't travel with him, so how was he supposed to be faithful. He said that it was - that he was unfaithful, because that's what he did. He didn't justify it other than to say, you know, it was Nicole's fault because she wouldn't travel with him.
Q. Did you discuss with Mr. Simpson specific names of women he had dated during his marriage to Nicole?
A. Paula Barbieri, I -
Q. No, during his marriage, if you recall.
A. No, I don't believe I had any conversations with him as far as names.
Q. Now, how did you know that he was seeing Paula Barbieri during this attempted reconciliation with Nicole?
A. We had heard that he had been seen by one of the tabloid magazines, with Paula. Nicole confronted O.J. with it and he lied, he denied it.
Q. Nicole told you she confronted O.J. with it?
A. Yes, she told me he -
Q. Did Nicole tell you what O.J. said?
A. She said he denied it.
Q. Did he deny it to you on the telephone when he talked about Paula?
A. No, he did not.
Q. Did Nicole at any time ever break off the relationship during this approximate one-year period because Mr. Simpson was seeing Paula Barbieri again?
MR. LEONARD: Object to the leading.
A. I wouldn't say she didn't - I wouldn't say she broke it off. I would say she did confront him and spent maybe a week without him and they would talk it out and get back and try to continue with the reconciliation.
Q. Are you aware of any other relationships that Mr. Simpson had during this reconciliation period, other than Paula Barbieri?
A. No, I am not. Q. Would Mr. Simpson, during this period of time, this one-year or so period of this attempted reconciliation, call you more than one time a day?
A. Sometimes Mr. Simpson, O.J., would call me six and seven times a day, sometimes more, sometimes less.
Q. And would he call at all hours of the day or night?
A. All hours. He used to call at 2 o'clock in the morning, 3 o'clock in the morning.
Q. While you were sleeping?
A. Yes.
Q. And did you ever confront him with the fact that it's 3:00 in the morning and you are sleeping and why is he calling you?
A. Every single time he called and woke me up I confronted him with it.
Q. What did he say?
A. "I just have to talk, I can't take it, l can't take it." Sorry.
Q. That's what he would say?
A. He had to talk. He had to talk. He had to release his anger, he had to release his frustrations.
Q. Would you hang up on him?
A. At times, I would.
Q. Would you, at times, talk to him?
A. Most of the times I would talk to him. I felt he was - when I would hang up on him, he would just call back, so I tried to talk him through it.
Q. Would you tell Nicole about these conversations that you and Mr. Simpson would have?
A. Yes, I did.
Q. Did Mr. Simpson, to your knowledge, know that you were relating the information to Nicole?
A. No, he did not.
Q. Did he ask you not to?
A. Yes, he did.
Q. Your loyalty was to Nicole?
A. Yes, it was. He used code names when he called my house.
Q. He did?
A. Yes, he did.
Q. What do you mean by that?
A. Because [Name Deleted] and Sydney were good friends. He did not want [Name Deleted] saying to Sydney, oh, your daddy is calling so much, your daddy called 10 times or your daddy called five times. So he used to say his name was Charles or James when he would call.
Q. For the record, Sydney is whom?
A. Nicole's daughter.
Q. O.J.'s daughter?
A. Yes, O.J.'s daughter.
Q. So he didn't want his own daughter to know that he was calling so often when Sydney was at your home with [Name Deleted]?
A. Yes. And he also didn't want [Name Deleted] telling Sydney when [Name Deleted] was at their home, that her father was calling our house all the time.
Q. So he would leave the name -
A. James or Charles.
Q. Are these names that he told you were designated code names for O.J. Simpson?
A. Yes.
Q. Did you have a code name, too?
A. No.
Q. Did you tell Nicole about these code names?
A. Yes, I did. She was furious.
Q. Do you know whether Nicole -
MR. PETROCELLI: Withdrawn.
Q. Did you, during this period of time when Nicole and O.J. were seeing each other again, ever see them get into arguments together?
A. Many.
Q. You witnessed them?
A. Yes.
Q. Did you ever see O.J. get really angry at Nicole?
A. Yes, l have.
Q. Did you ever see him up close get angry at Nicole ?
A. Yes, l did.
Q. More than once?
A. Yes.
Q. Many occasions?
A. Three that really stick out in my mind.
Q. That you personally witnessed?
A. Yes.
Q. Did O.J. Simpson, in your opinion, have a quick temper?
A. Yes, he did. He had a very volatile - he was very volatile.
Q. You have seen him fly off the handle?
A. Yes, I have.
Q. Now during those occasions when you saw Mr. Simpson get very angry toward Nicole, describe what his face would look like when he would get angry. And for that matter his - you can describe, like, his whole body. You know what I mean?
A. Yes, I know. O.J. would get very - his facial structure, his jaw would protrude, his teeth would clench, sweat would come pouring from his head. You could see that his body, that he would perspire through his clothing. His eyes would get narrow and black. He became - and the only way to describe it is animalistic when he would become angry at Nicole.
Q. And would this happen suddenly?
A. It would happen within minutes.
Q. You could visibly see these changes in his face?
A. Yes.
Q. What about his body? Was there any body language that also changed?
A. He just became bigger than life. He just got big.
Q. Dominant?
A. Very - it was very aggressive, just, you -
Q. Did it frighten you?
A. Absolutely.
Q. How did you feel when you saw O.J. Simpson get that way? How did it make you feel?
A. I felt very small and insignificant. I felt afraid for myself also.
Q. Would he yell?
A. Yes.
Q. What tone of voice? Loud?
A. He would be very deep but very loud. It was as if a different person just took over and it was like watching a possessed man.
Q. Would he use profanity?
A. Oh, yes, the worst. The worst.
Q . Were any of these three occasions where you witnessed Mr. Simpson in this way in public places?
A. Yes.
Q. Did he - and he did this even though he was in public?
A. He had no control over it. Yes.
Q. You are saying he would use loud profanity, yelling, in public?
A. Yes, he did. And one particular, the first time I had seen it was in Hermosa Beach at a sushi restaurant.
Q. California Sushi?
A. Yes.
Q. Describe that incident, please?
MR. LEONARD: Can we get a date, please?
MR. PETROCELLI: If you don't, you have the-
Q. Give us your best recollection. We also can refer to your book if you want to refresh your recollection.
A. To the best of my recollection, it was after we came back from Cabo San Lucas in 1993.
Q. Would you turn to page 7 of your book, please, Exhibit 78 -
MR. BREWER: Yes. That is the first one, 78.
Q. On page 7, there is a chapter, there is chapter 2. Do you see that?
A. Yes.
Q. What is the title of that chapter?
A. "Rage."
Q. And underneath "Rage," it says "Hermosa Beach, California, May 1993." Do you see that?
A. Yes.
Q. And in the second paragraph, it refers to California Beach Sushi.
A. Yes.
Q. Is this the incident you are now going to describe to us?
A. Yes, it is.
Q. Why did you entitle this chapter, describing this incident "Rage"?
A. Because I had never seen anything like that in my life, and that's all you - that's all it was, it was rage, it was rageful, it was frightening, it was frightening beyond belief for me.
Q. Rage by O.J. Simpson?
A. Rage by O.J. Simpson. I had never experienced seeing anyone like that in my life and it's the only way to describe it.
Q. Okay. Tell us about the incident.
A. We had - it was - that evening, O.J. had invited Nicole, Christian and myself to meet him in Long Beach at a taping, at an NBC taping where he was commentating. We met him, he finished his taping, and he said, let's go to this restaurant that I really like. So we did. It started out nice. Christian and O.J. had essentially just - we all, essentially Christian and myself, had just established a new friendship with O.J. and we were just - people were sending drinks to him and we were having a nice time, a really nice time, actually.
Q. Christian got to know O.J. during this time of attempted reconciliation?
A. This was essentially a month after they had reconciled.
Q. Had Christian known Mr. Simpson before?
A. No, never met him before.
Q. Continue. Christian was your fiancé then, right?
A. Yes, he was. Nicole had mentioned, under her breath, the name Joseph and - to me.
Q. Not to O.J. Simpson?
A. No. To me. And O.J. overheard it.
Q. Before you go on, Joseph is whom?
A. Joseph [Name Deleted] is a man she had dated when she was single.
Q. But all Nicole said was "Joseph"?
A. All she said was "Joseph."
Q. In reference to this matter. Continue.
A. When she said it, O.J. became rageful, he went through all of these bodily contortions that I just described. He was - he just wouldn't stop and it was right at the sushi restaurant, we were at the sushi bar. I had not been used to this man's behavior, it was the first time I had ever seen that, and I said to Nicole, get him under control, and I went downstairs to the ladies room and O.J. followed me down and kept screaming in the bathroom, fucking bitch, how could she say that name? Why does she ruin everything? I mean, he called her every name under the sun, every name you could call a woman that was degrading, he called her, to me, while we were in the rest room.
Q. Let me stop right there for a moment, Ms. Resnick. Did Mr. Simpson use loud profanity at the table before you went downstairs to the rest room and before he followed you?
A. Yes, he did. He followed me down with the same routine, as I had just left.
Q. So at the table, when he became rageful-
A. It wasn't a table, it was a sushi bar, so there were many people witnessing it, yes.
Q. So before he went downstairs, when he became rageful, as you described it, at the sushi bar, he began using loud profanity?
A. Yes.
Q. That other people could hear?
A. Yes.
Q. What did he say at that time?
A. The same thing he said downstairs, That fucking bitch, why does she make me get like that, why does she mention that word? He-
Q. Where was Nicole when Mr. Simpson said this?
A. Nicole was sitting right next to him and she was making herself small and just trying to, you know, Stop, O.J., stop. I haven't - you know, it's not that big of a deal. Nicole just sat there and I tried to get her to apologize, you know, but - the only reason I tried to get her to apologize was to calm him down.
Q. You went down into the ladies room?
A. Mm-hmm. I went to the ladies room. He followed me down there.
Q. Into the ladies room?
A. He bypassed three women who were waiting in line and went into the ladies room and started urinating in front of me and he was screaming and he just wouldn't stop and I just said, I don't like this, I am not used to this, this is what you guys do, that's fine. I don't like this. And I left.
Q. When he entered the ladies room, were you already in the ladies room?
A. Yes.
Q. Did you see how he came through the door? Did he open it? Did he kick it? How did he come through ?
A. He just pushed it open. It was a really flimsy lock, it wasn't even like a little lock. It was one of those small things that obviously I hadn't attached very well, not knowing somebody was going to try to get in, and he just bashed in the door, and I was washing my hands, which the door - and I was right here, the door was here, and he went and he started going to the bathroom in front of me and screaming. I left the ladies room and a couple of people had commented on how dare he, and I went upstairs, he followed me very brief, he was just briefly in there, and I said, I have to go, I can't be around this. I said - you know, I asked - I just wanted to go, so we all started leaving and we went downstairs - and I was really glad, as I was leaving, the manager was standing there, and I could see him, like, cringing for us, and we went downstairs and he started screaming again, continuing his screaming, his car was right in front. He grabbed Nicole, he said, Get in the car, you fucking cunt. And he grabbed her arm and - Nicole was saying to him, Please, O.J., calm down, I don't - I am too afraid to go with you right now, you are making me nervous, please, you're drunk. I didn't know what to do. I tried to calm him down. Christian was stunned. All of a sudden, the police - we saw a police pull up and I was so glad, and he asked us if we were okay. Nicole would not get in the car. He said, um, what's going on. O.J. started going into his loud, obnoxious continuation of, you know, it's all her fault, you know, she is this, she is that, she is this, degrading her, and the police officer asked him to get - to leave her alone, to calm down, to get in his car and to drive home, and we had made some comment that he was drunk, and he just didn't even respond to that, which upset me. The police officer had Nicole go home with Christian and I because Nicole had told him she was too afraid that he would beat her up, and that's how the evening ended.
Q. Did Mr. Simpson appear to be drunk, to you?
A. Oh, yes. He was very drunk.
Q. You drove Nicole home that evening?
A. Yes.
Q. To Rockingham - no, excuse me, to Gretna Green?
A. I believe it was Rockingham.
Q. This was May of 1993, when Nicole was living at Gretna Green?
A. I believe so.
Q. But you drove her back to Rockingham?
A. No, pardon me, did I say Rockingham? I meant Gretna Green. He wouldn't have taken her to Rockingham in that condition.
Q. So you drove her back to her own house?
A. To her own house.
Q. That's the first time you saw O.J. Simpson in a rageful condition?
A. Yes.
Q. Is that one of the reasons it sticks out in your mind?
A. Yes. And I will never forget that.
Q. Now, you said there were some other incidents in which you also saw him exhibit the same kind of rage. When did they occur? When was the next one?
A. The next one was in Toscana restaurant.
Q. Before we go on into Toscana's, we are five minutes from a tape break, so I would rather just break it here, okay? So why don't we take a short break, you can stretch your legs.
THE VIDEOGRAPHER: The time is 3:08. This is the end of the tape 1 in the deposition of Faye Resnick.
(Recess taken .)
THE VIDEOGRAPHER: Is it is 4:15. We are back on the record.
BY MR. PETROCELLI:
Q. Now that we have changed to a new tape, let's go back to where we were. You were going to tell us about the other two incidents in which you saw O.J. Simpson act in a rageful manner. One of them is an incident at Toscana's, and what is the other one, so we can get them in order?
A. After an evening of being at the Harley Davidson Cafe in New York -
Q. Which one occurred first?
A. The Toscana incident occurred first, and the Harley Davidson incident occurred on October 16th.
Q. In 1993?
A. Yes.
Q. Why don't you tell us about the Toscana's incident.
A. Toscana - this was after July 4th, spending a long weekend in Laguna.
Q. In 1993?
A. In 1993, with O.J. and Nicole. We went to - Nic had called and said, Let's go to dinner. We had had a bad experience in Laguna Beach on July 4th with O.J. controlling us women - and this has - I am trying to be brief but I just want to make you understand quickly. I had, at that point, after the Laguna beach conversation over dinner at Las Brisas restaurant, said I had to question whether or not I wanted to be around O.J. in the future because he started interfering in my life that night by telling us girls that we, you know, we shouldn't smoke cigarettes and that we shouldn't - you know, we should be more attentive to our mates and -
Q. I see you are trying to put this in the proper context, right?
A. Yes.
Q. Before you get to Toscana's, do you think it would be helpful to relate an incident that occurred at Las Brisas, right?
A. Yes. Q. That occurred shortly after July 4th, 1993, when you and O.J. and others had gone to Laguna Beach, right?
A. Yes.
Q. And there was an incident at Las Brisas that you are now going to relate to us that you personally observed?
A. Yes. I just briefly wanted to say one last thing about that incident -
Q. At Las Brisas?
A. At Las Brisas. I had told O.J. that if this is how he planned on having a friendship, I wasn't interested in being told how to behave.
Q. Was O.J. complaining about people smoking?
A. He was complaining about people smoking and he was complaining about the fact that we would go out to dinner. He was complaining that we had gone out dancing.
Q. "We," being whom?
A. Nicole, Cora and Cici and me.
Q. So O.J. was complaining to you about you, Nicole, Cora and others all going out dancing, going out eating and smoking and things like that? Is that right?
A. Yes. Yes.
Q. Okay.
A. And he was complaining to the men to control their women.
Q. He was saying that?
A. He was saying to the men, can't you control these - you know, can't you get them to behave, essentially.
Q. You heard him say that?
A. Yes. He said it to all of us, the entire table. And I had said that I didn't think our behavior was bad and I didn't think it was any of his business what I do in my personal life.
Q. Okay.
A. I had a problem with going the next night, the next time they asked me because I wasn't sure what he was going to do next. You know, I became nervous to go out with them because I never knew what was going to happen and I did agree because Nicole had said that, you know, he understood what I had said to him. I agreed to go that night, and I'm sorry I did.
Q. What night?
A. The night of Toscana. This is the next -
Q. Now, who was present at Toscana's?
A. Ron Fishman, Cora Fishman, Cynthia Shahian, Nicole, Christian Reichardt and O.J. Simpson.
Q. And yourself?
A. And me, yes.
Q. Describe what happened.
A. We were talking about golf, golfing, and it was okay, and then suddenly it - and then, Alessandro walked into the restaurant.
Q. Marcello?
A. Marcello walked in -
MR. LEONARD: Objection. Correcting the witness.
Q . Is Alessandro the same person you referred to in the book as Marcello?
A. Yes.
Q. Okay. Please continue.
MR. MARKS: May we just make it clear as to what the real name of the person was?
MR. PETROCELLI: Well, I had said earlier we would refer to him throughout as Marcello. If the witness is more comfortable -
MR. MARKS: Just so the record will be clear as to what the real name of the person is.
Q. What is his real name?
A. Alessandro.
Q. What did you call him?
A. Alessandro. Q. And what did Nicole call him?
A. Alessandro.
Q. Well, let's call him Alessandro, then.
MR. PETROCELLI: Is there any difficulty with that, Mr. Leonard? Are you clear that Alessandro is one and the same as Marcello?
MR. LEONARD: Yes.
MR. PETROCELLI: Okay.
Q. Let's go.
A. Alessandro walked with us into Toscana, as he had many times before because that's where he used to eat all the time. But this time we were sitting there. And it was uncomfortable for me, because Alessandro was a good friend of mine, he was a good friend of Christian's, he introduced Christian and I together, initially, and he had also dated Nicole, and I was aware of the threat. So it was very uncomfortable, O.J. told everybody at the table not to turn around, not to - not to validate his presence, to look at him.
Q. He said that?
A. Uh-huh. And he started perspiring and he started going to his, his mood. It wasn't as bad as the sushi restaurant, it was not nearly as bad. But Nic had to hold him down on one side and I had to hold him down on the other side because he said he was going to beat him up. He said that he had threatened him before, that if he ever saw him again, he would beat him up. And there he was.
Q. You are talking about what O.J. Simpson said?
A. Yes.
Q. To you?
A. To me.
Q. And he said he was going to beat Alessandro?
A. Yes.
Q. And he said he had threatened him before?
A. Yes. And I said to him - Nicole and I tried to keep him under control and we essentially pleaded with him to compose himself and he sat there, I would say, for 10 minutes in, just like this, shaking. The maitre d' noticed it. I got up, I went to the rest room. Alessandro was sitting at the counter where he was having, where he was dining, and I briefly said to him, Alessandro, you should leave, O.J. is threatening to beat you up. Toncredi, the maitre d', also noticed O.J.'s behavior, and he said to Alessandro, You should go. When I came out of the restroom, Alessandro was gone. O.J. was, at that point - he was calming down. He - I had never heard him, face-to-face, physically threaten somebody. That was threatening to me to watch. It was threatening to all of us to see his behavior.
MR. LEONARD: Can I just interject? Was there a name of the maitre d'? I didn't catch that.
THE WITNESS: Toncredi.
Q. Let me ask you a question about smoking. Is O.J. Simpson a smoker?
A. No, he is not.
Q. Was he antismoking?
A. Yes, he was.
Q. Did he express that view to you and others?
A. Over and over again.
Q. Did he encourage Nicole to smoke?
A. No. He put up a sign -
Q. Excuse me?
A. He put up a sign in the bathroom telling her that she couldn't, no smoking.
Q . Do you know if O.J. Simpson ever gave Nicole a gold cigarette lighter?
A. I have never heard of him giving her a gold cigarette lighter.
Q. Do you know whether O.J. Simpson bought a gold cigarette lighter and had his children, Sydney and Justin, give it to Nicole as a birthday present in May of 1994?
MR. LEONARD: Objection.
A. Absolutely not. Why would he do that? He hated her smoking. He would never do such a thing.
Q. Did you ever hear O.J. Simpson say, complain to Nicole about smoking, in your presence?
A. Yes. Many times.
Q. And what did O.J. Simpson say on those occasions, to Nicole?
A. He said that it was bad for her health and he didn't like the smell. He didn't think it was good for her image publicly. He felt - he said that he was an athlete and he didn't want her, his wife or future wife, to be ruining his image.
Q. Did O.J. Simpson ever speak to you about his public image?
A. Many times.
Q. Could you tell us what O.J. Simpson said to you about his public image, and the importance of his public image?
MR. LEONARD: I object. That's vague. At what point, at what time?
MR. PETROCELLI: Just to attempt to cure your objections, which I don't think are valid, let me try to reframe the question again.
Q. During the period of time from April of 1993 until Nicole's death, you testified that you had innumerable telephone conversations and personal conversations with O.J. Simpson?
A. Yes.
Q. And in any of those conversations did the subject of his public image ever come up?
A. Many of them.
Q. Okay. Do you remember each and every conversation or do they run together in your mind as all one?
A. I have a very vivid memory.
Q. So describe to us what he said to you in those conversations about his public image. A. I will give you the best example that I can think of.
Q. This is a good illustrative example?
A. Yes.
Q. Okay.
A. We were in Cabo San Lucas in April of 1994. O.J. Simpson was driving a van and Bruce Jenner was in a seat - Bruce Jenner was in the car, Nicole was in the car, Christian was in the car, the children were in the car, there was probably 15 people in this van; it was jammed. We were going into town, and a car cut us off, and O.J. said, can you imagine if we had just been killed by that car. They would think we were in a van like a bunch of Mexicans, crammed in here, and Bruce, who do you think would get top billing, you or me? My comment to that was, our children were in the car, I think that would be the most important, if something happened. That was one incident where his image was all important. O.J. always said that we were to behave a certain way, Nicole in particular, because his image was very important to him. He told her that she could not leave him again because she had already ruined his public image when she called 911, then when she left him, and she felt - he felt that it was her fault that he - that she exposed it by calling 911, and then intensifying that by divorcing him, and these were all bruises to his public image.
Q. Is this something that he said to you?
A. Yes.
Q. Did O.J. Simpson, in these conversations with you about his image, make clear to you what kind of public image he wanted to project?
A. Mm-hmm. Yes.
Q. Tell us what O.J. Simpson said to you about the type of public image that he wanted to project.
MR. LEONARD: Same objection as before. Without a foundation as to when, the time.
MR. PETROCELLI: We are referring to the same time period.
MR. LEONARD: Just -
MR. PETROCELLI: We are talking about her conversations with Mr. Simpson in this time frame.
MR. LEONARD: You are not talking about any particular conversation?
Q. Did you have a number of conversations on this topic?
A. A number of conversations.
Q. Okay. In summarizing them, tell us what O.J. Simpson said to you on the type of public image that he wanted to project.
MR. LEONARD: I object to the summarizing.
Q. You may answer. If you can recall more specifically what he said, that's fine. As best you can recount.
A. I think the smoking conversation, I'll go back to that, where he wanted to portray the clean, all-American athlete. Colorless. He didn't want to be - he just didn't want - he wanted to be - he wanted to be loved.
Q . By whom ?
A. By the public.
Q. Is this what he said to you?
A. Yes. He wanted to be loved and he enjoyed that. He said that he enjoyed the adoration that he gets from the public. I can understand that.
Q. Did he say that to you?
A. Yes.
Q. Did he try to avoid being seen in public?
A. Never.
Q. Did he use disguises to conceal his identity in public, the times that you were with him?
A. No. Never. Au contraire.
Q. Did he ever don a fake goatee or mustache in conceal his identity in public?
MR. LEONARD: Objection.
A. O.J. Simpson wanted everybody to notice him. He liked - if people didn't notice him, he would raise his voice level for people to know he was there.
Q. How do you know that?
A. I was with him on many occasions when he wasn't getting enough attention, he would up the volume of his voice, so that people would realize that he was there.
Q. And when - you mean, would he shun people who would come up to him in public?
A. No. He was very gracious to people that came up to him in public. He was - I will say this: That from the plumber to the whoever, whatever, O.J. was very gracious, very charming, always took pictures with them, always made them feel important.
Q. Just so I get an answer to this question, did you ever see him wear a fake goatee or mustache in public?
A. Never.
Q. Did you ever see him wear any disguise in public?
A. Never.
Q. Did he ever tell you that he was going to buy a disguise or use a disguise in order not to be recognized in public?
A. He loved the public. He loved to be seen, he loved it.
Q. So he -
A. He never said that he ever would even - he never said that at all.
Q. Did he ever tell you that when going out with the children to places like Disneyland or Knotts Berry Farm, that he would don a disguise to conceal his identity?
MR. LEONARD: Objection. Leading.
Q. Did he ever tell you that?
MR. LEONARD: Objection.
A. He never told me that. I have been with O.J. Simpson in public numerous - too many times to count and he - I have been with him to all of these public places. He never - he enjoyed the attention. He never said he would ever not enjoy it. He didn't even like to go to other countries because he didn't get the attention in other countries .
Q. Is that what he said to you?
A. Yes.
Q. Focusing on the children for a moment, did he ever discuss with you the subject of using a disguise when with the children in public?
MR. LEONARD: Objection.
Q. Did he ever discuss that topic with you?
MR. LEONARD: Objection.
A. O.J. Simpson never discussed ever using a disguise. As I said, I have been with him to a lot of different public places. I have been with him, with the Simpsons, to Disneyland. I have been with them to many public places. He never wore a disguise.
Q. Did you ever go anyplace with O.J. Simpson and Sydney and Justin Simpson in public?
A. Yes.
Q. And did he ever wear a disguise?
A. Absolutely not.
Q. Did he ever try to avoid people or publicity on those occasions?
A. Never. He loved it.
Q. Did O.J. Simpson ever discuss with you whether Nicole's conduct was hurting or helping his public image?
A. Yes, he did.
Q. What did he say on that subject?
A. O.J. had said, right before Nicole was murdered, in a conversation that I had with him over the phone, that Nicole had ruined his public image twice before and he was not about - not about ready to let her ruin it again by leaving him.
Q. Tell me when that conversation occurred.
A. The conversation occurred on May 2nd or May 3rd of 1994.
Q. And tell me as best as you can recall, what else O.J. Simpson said on that occasion.
A. That was the phone call that O.J. said he would kill Nicole.
Q. Tell us everything that was said in that telephone conversation by O.J. Simpson and by you.
A. O.J. was - there was a - their relationship at that point was very volatile and Nicole had told him she never wanted to see him again, and due to the fact that he had just - we had just gotten back from Cabo San Lucas and he had blatantly, in front of all of - in front of the Jenners, in front of myself, in front of Christian, in front of all of us, flirted with a blonde woman at the table that we were at, and then -
Q. In Cabo -
A. In Cabo San Lucas. And then O.J. that night or the next night had said, was making jokes about being a frogman, telling us about how he was learning all of these techniques with, you know, underwater night - you know. He was telling us about his filming of The Frogman episode and talking about the wet suit and talking about how his wife's biggest fear is frogs and he was now The Frogman, and saying, What do you think of this, and Nicole responded in a way, I don't think that's funny, O.J., I don't think it's funny at all. Nicole, from those two incidences, went from willing and ready to actually marry this man, in Cabo San Lucas, when we were there, to, I never want to see him again, I know he is going to kill me, I know this is all - that I cannot be with him anymore.
Q. Let me stop you right there. What you just described occurred in Cabo San Lucas?
A. Yes.
Q. And you were present?
A. Yes, I was.
Q. And you witnessed those statements by O.J. Simpson?
A. Yes, I did.
Q. And by Nicole Brown Simpson?
A. Yes, I did.
Q. And this was in late April 1994?
A. Yes.
MR. LEONARD: I'm going to object to your characterization of the statements. There was a rambling answer. It wasn't clear to me at all there were statements - there might have been some statements in there. Some of them were thought processes and so forth, so -
MR. PETROCELLI: Mr. Leonard, I don't believe you were listening to the testimony. Because I believe the witness described all kinds of statements by O.J. Simpson. In any event, the record will speak for itself.
Q. You said that Nicole Brown Simpson had a fear of frogs?
A. She had a phobia of frogs.
Q. Did she ever tell you that?
A. Oh, yeah.
Q. Describe what she said to you about her fear of frogs?
A. She said that - she said that she wasn't afraid of anything. This was - she didn't have phobias, she wasn't a girl that used to go in for - she was - let me just keep it brief. She said that she had a phobia against frogs. In fact, my ex-fiance had a frog collection, a ceramic collection, that she didn't even go close to. She was phobic. She was afraid of frogs and she - she was afraid of frogs.
Q. Did she ever tell you what it was about frogs that frightened her?
A. No, she never did.
Q. Who was this ex-fiance that had the frog collection?
A. Christian Reichardt.
Q. Now, back to Cabo. Did O.J. Simpson say anything to Nicole on the subject of frogs or the frogman?
A. He said - he explained to us the frogman episode. He explained that he loved the episode, that he felt like it was - it was exciting, and then he went on to make jokes about how Nicole feared frogs more than anything in the world and he was now the frogman.
Q. Did he say that?
A. Yes.
Q. What did he say?
A. He said -
MR. MARKS: Didn't you just ask her that?
MR. PETROCELLI: I want to make sure I am understanding.
Q. Just tell me, as best you remember, what did he say about being the frogman?
A. He said, Isn't it interesting or isn't it funny that my wife's biggest fear is frogs and I'm the frogman.
Q. You heard him say that?
A. Yes.
Q. And you saw Nicole's reaction?
A. Oh, yes.
Q. And what was it?
A. She said, That's not funny at all; I'm afraid of this. She - Nicole went - I think maybe Nicole was - he had just at that point, from that moment, Nicole stopped blocking any of the - she stopped fantasizing that the relationship could work.
Q. Now on this same trip in Cabo -
MR. PETROCELLI: Withdrawn.
Q. How did - did you see Mr. Simpson's reaction to Nicole's reaction to the frogman comment?
A. I didn't really notice his reaction.
Q. Okay. During this same trip, you said you saw, with your own eyes, Mr. Simpson flirting with another woman'?
A. Yes.
Q. Was Nicole present when Mr. Simpson did that?
A. Yes, she was.
Q. Did she see Mr. Simpson do that?
A. Yes, she did.
Q. Did she say anything to you about it?
A. She just - at the time, she didn't respond. She just looked like, in disgust.
Q. Did you see Mr. Simpson -
MR. PETROCELLI: Withdrawn.
Q. Did Mr. Simpson say anything to you or you to him, about this flirting episode?
A. Yes, I did. I had a conversation with he and Kris Jenner about it afterwards.
Q. And tell me what you said and what Mr. Simpson said in that conversation.
A. Nicole had went to the restroom and Kris and I had said, why are you doing this so blatantly, so openly? You are not only embarrassing us, you are embarrassing Nicole. Why are you doing this? I'm not doing anything. I'm just a little flirting. Our children are here, your wife is here. It's not funny.
Q. Were the children present at the restaurant when Mr. Simpson was doing the flirting?
A. Yes, they were. Yes, they were.
Q. And who were the children?
A. Sydney and Justin and I believe a couple of the Jenners' children.
Q. Can you describe the flirtatious activity that you saw Mr. Simpson do?
A. Yes.
Q. Please do so.
A. We were sitting at the very edge of the restaurant at the wall and O.J. and Nicole were sitting on this side, and the bar was here. I had my back to the bar, facing the Simpsons, and I could see, O.J.'s face started doing the - you know, he started flirting and I -you know, what is he looking at, so I turned around and looked, and there was this blonde girl that was flirting back with him. And they were waving, they were smiling and they were winking. It was disgusting. It was - it was blatant. And that was it.
Q. Okay. Did you - I think you said previously that when Nicole went on this trip to Cabo, she was prepared to remarry Mr. Simpson?
A. Oh, they were this close. They were both so ready to remarry.
Q. How long were the Simpsons in Cabo, during this trip?
A. We had stayed longer, Nicole and I. O.J., I believe, was there for three days, three or four days.
Q. And he left?
A. And he left to go to Puerto Rico to continue the filming of the frogman. He was strictly on break.
Q. And by the way, going back to the frogman incident, did Mr. Simpson describe to you and the others that were present, the - any particular episode or sequence in the frogman movie that he was filming?
A. Only that he loved the filming of it, that he got to - only what I had said earlier.
Q. Did he describe any scene, any -
A. No, he did not.
Q. -- any action by him?
A. No, he did not.
Q. Did he mention anything about using a knife?
MR. LEONARD: Objection, leading.
A. No, he did not.
Q. Did the subject of a knife come up?
A. No, it did not.
Q. Okay. Do you know whether Nicole told O.J. about her change of heart before Mr. Simpson left to go to Puerto Rico?
A. No, she did not.
Q. Do you know that she did not tell him -
A. Yes, I know that she did not.
Q. And how do you know that?
A. Because I had asked her.
Q. You asked her what?
A. I asked her if she had told him. She said, no, I'm not going to tell him yet.
Q. Now, you said that after these two incidents, namely the flirting incident and the frogman incident, that Nicole expressed to you her feeling that she was finished with Mr. Simpson?
A. She expressed to me that she felt that all of the thoughts that she had had in the past all of the threats that he had made to her in the past of killing her, would some day come true and she wanted nothing more to do with him, nothing.
Q. She said that to you?
A. Yes.
Q. Did she -
A. She said it was over.
Q. She said it was over?
A. Mm-hmm.
Q. Between her and Mr. Simpson?
A. Yes.
Q. And what did she say to you about the subject of threats? What did she say specifically about that, to you?
A. This is when Nicole - the next day, that O.J. left, this is when Nicole told me about all of the abuse, and she also told me about all of the threats and she also told me about - from that night on, Nicole was a different person. Nicole was no longer in a fantasy world. She had realized that all of the threats, she remembered all of the abuse. She had broken through that pearl that she had formed around the abuse and was now having a catharsis by telling me about it.
Q. The two of you were alone?
A. Yes, we were.
Q. Where were you?
A. We were at the Palmilla restaurant in Cabo San Lucas.
Q. Was this a long conversation over dinner?
A. It was before dinner. We had left early and others had joined us after that for dinner.
Q. And Nicole sort of poured all of this out?
A. Everything.
Q. How long did that conversation last before the others joined you?
MR. MARKS: Approximately.
Q. Approximately. An hour?
MR. LEONARD: Object to the leading.
Q. How long did it last?
A. I couldn't tell you. I didn't - I -
Q. Well, as best you can recall, what did Nicole say about abuse and threats?
MR. LEONARD: I didn't hear the end of your question.
MR. PETROCELLI: About abuse and threats.
MR. LEONARD: Okay.
Q. What did Nicole say to you in that conversation about abuse and threats?
A. Nicole had said that - when I asked her, because - I knew she was afraid of frogs and I knew that there had been abuse, but it was such a dramatic change that she had made, and it was so quick, that I needed to talk with her about it, so I asked her, what is going on, explain to me the - you know, why you have suddenly changed your mind so abruptly when you knew all of this stuff in the past, this is the same man. And she said, it just all came pouring back to her the night he had talked of frogs, the night he was flirting, blatantly flirting, that he had threatened her life many a time, threatened to take her children away from her. He had beaten her too many times to count, he had locked her in a closet and beat her with wine bottles. He had bruised her, broken her ribs, sent her to the hospital, made her tell the doctor that she was - she had fallen off a bicycle; that on one particular occasion he had locked her in the closet and - he had locked her in the closet and he had beat her, kicked her, slapped her, pulled her hair, threw her in the closet and left her there for 15 minutes, and then she came back to - and he came back and opened the door and she thought he was going to let her out and he started beating her again and he continued doing that all night long to her; that every time she would think that he would come back he was going to kill her. She thought that he was going to beat her to death that night. And he would go and watch a football game between the times that she was left in the closet. And that was unbelievable to me. Nicole thought she was going to die that night. She had told -
Q. The night of the beating?
A. The night of that particular beating.
Q. That was what she was telling you?
A. Yes.
Q. Okay. Please continue.
A. She had told me about the pregnancy beatings, when he used to kick her in the stomach and tell her that she was worthless and he talked to her, he beat her. When she found the earrings that he had given to Tawny Kitaen, he - she had told me that she had had so many beatings over Tawny Kitaen that she couldn't even count them. And she said that - she said that Sydney saw some of them and, um -
Q. Take your time.
A. She - can I stop for a minute, please?
THE VIDEOGRAPHER: Are we going off the record?
MR. MARKS: Yes. Let's go off the record now.
THE VIDEOGRAPHER: The time is 4:56. We are going off the record.
(Discussion off the record.)
THE VIDEOGRAPHER: The time is 4:57. We are back on the record.
Q. I realize this is very difficult for you, Miss Resnick, and I apologize. We will try to get through this as quickly as we can. You were telling us about the evening when, in Cabo, Nicole was relating to you, really for the first time, the history of abuse and threats at the hand of Mr. Simpson. Is that right?
MR. LEONARD: Objection to the leading.
Q. Is that what you -
A. That is correct.
Q. Now, did she mention anything to you about an incident in Las Vegas?
A. Yes, she did.
Q. Can you describe what Nicole said to you about that incident?
MR. LEONARD: Object to the leading.
A. Nicole said that she had been at a party with O.J. in Las Vegas and there was a lot of important people there and she had embarrassed him in some way in front of Dean Martin, people that were important to him, and he told her that he wanted her to go to the room until she was - until he had joined her, until he was ready to come, and she did. And when he came to the room, he - she was in her panties, getting undressed, and he just attacked her because he said that she embarrassed him, and he viciously beat her that night and he threw her outside in the corridor of the hotel and left her there. That's what she said.
Q. In talking to you about the many beatings resulting from Mr. Simpson's relationship with Tawny Kitaen, did the subject of earrings ever come up?
A. Yes.
Q. What did Nicole Brown Simpson say to you about that?
MR. LEONARD: Objection to the leading.
A. I had mentioned the earrings prior. She was walking - she was cleaning up around the house and she was putting something in his dresser drawer and she saw a little red box and she opened the box and there was a beautiful pair of earrings inside and she -
Q. By "beautiful," do you mean expensive?
A. Yeah. She said they were very big, very expensive. She thought they were very expensive.
Q. More than a thousand dollars?
A. She said something like $20,000. And she was thinking it was - they were coming to her as a present because her birthday was coming.
Q. This is while she was married to Mr. Simpson?
A. This is while she was married to Mr. Simpson. And she put them back, you know, wanted to be surprised with them. And her birthday rolled around and she never received the earrings. And she had found out through a friend that O.J. had given those earrings to [Name Deleted] and she was - and Tawny was walking around town, flaunting them, this is my present from O.J. And Nicole eventually heard all of this stuff back. I mean, she heard all of the gossip. O.J., you know, was a star at the time, I guess, when it happened. Nicole had heard, and also a friend had mentioned it to her. And she got really upset about it and she asked him about it and he beat her up viciously that night because -
Q. That's what Nicole told you?
A. Yes. Because she was not supposed to ask questions about his private life and he - she said that he made it her fault, like he makes everything her fault. She told me that he had been beating her since she was 17. And that's all I can recall.
Q. This is the evening, and the conversation in Cabo when Nicole told you that she had had it with Mr. Simpson?
A. Mm-hmm. Yes, it is.
MR. MARKS: May we adjourn?
MR. PETROCELLI: Sure.
MR. MARKS: Are you finished with this area, at the current point?
MR. PETROCELLI: We can adjourn here, if you would like.
MR. MARKS: Okay.
THE VIDEOGRAPHER: The time is 5:03. This is the end of tape number 2 of the deposition of Ms. Resnick and we are adjourned for today.
(Time noted: 5:03 p.m.)
FAYE RESNICK
Subscribed and sworn to before me this day of, 1996.
(Notary Public) My Commission Expires:
CERTIFICATE
STATE OF NEW YORK
COUNTY OF NEW YORK
I, CARY N. BIGELOW, a Shorthand Reporter and a Notary Public within and for the State of New York, do hereby certify that the foregoing deposition of Faye Resnick was taken before me on the 10th day of February, 1996; That the said witness was duly sworn before the commencement of her testimony; that the said testimony was taken stenographically by me and then transcribed. I further certify that I am not related by blood or marriage to any of the parties to this action nor interested directly or indirectly in the matter in controversy; nor am I in the employ of any of the counsel in this action.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 13th day of February, 1996.
CARY N. BIGELOW February 10, 1996
EXHIBITS PLAINTIFFS' FOR IDENT 78 Book entitled Nicole Brown Simpson: The Private Diary of a Life Interrupted 21 79 Book entitled Shattered, In the Eye of the Storm 22