OJ Simpson’s youngest daughter has broken cover outside her Florida home days after the infamous NFL legend and ex-jailbird was cremated in a lonely ceremony in Las Vegas.
Sydney Simpson looked somber as she carried a child’s car seat outside her modest apartment in St. Petersburg – the first time she has been publicly photographed for nearly six years.
Dressed casually in jeans and a gray sweater, the 38-year-old realtor was accompanied by a male companion as she set off to run errands.
Sydney was just eight when her mother Nicole Brown Simpson was stabbed to death and her NFL Hall of Fame father was then sensationally acquitted of the murder in America’s ‘trial of the century’ in 1995.
Now she lives a quiet life on the southern tip of the coastal city where she and her brother Justin, 35, moved with OJ after he was found not guilty of slaying Nicole and her friend Ron Goldman at his estranged wife’s Los Angeles condo.
Her father, who died of prostate cancer in his later home in Vegas on April 10, was at first reported to have been surrounded by family when he passed away.
However, his attorney Malcolm LaVergne subsequently revealed he had only one person – a ‘close family member’ – with him as he died, and refused to name them.
Days before the cremation, DailyMail.com was met at the door of Sydney’s apartment by the man now pictured with her. He told us she was ‘not around’ but refused to say if she had traveled to Sin City for her father.
There are no reports of any current romance or of her having children, although it appeared there may have been a child with Sydney when DailyMail.com caught up with her. Meanwhile, she keeps a very low profile on social media.
Her small two-bed home in a white stucco block is a far cry from the early childhood of wealth and privilege she enjoyed before her parents’ split and her mother’s still – officially unsolved – murder.
According to records, Sydney bought the place for $135,600 in December, 2020 and it’s now worth an estimated $208,000. In 2021, she sold a three-bedroom house nearby for $334,900.
The later state of her relationship with OJ are not known. Although she was photographed with him near St. Petersburg during Thanksgiving in 2018 in a series of exclusive DailyMail.com pictures.
Sydney and her father were also joined by realtor brother Justin at waterfront seafood eatery Tierra Verde. At the time it was reported Sydney has several rental properties.
OJ had been given permission to visit from his Vegas home by the Nevada Department of Corrections following his 2017 parole after serving nine years for armed robbery, assault and burglary.
One of the conditions was that he stuck to his parole terms of not drinking alcohol ‘to excess’. Casually dressed in athletic gear and a sun visor, he later sipped a tropical fruit cocktail as the group strolled along a nearby beach.
The previous year Sydney was snapped with then boyfriend Robert Blackmon, while he was successfully running for a council seat in St. Petersburg.
At the time, he described Sydney as a very private person who has ‘got his back’.
He continued: ‘She’s been selflessly supporting me and not worried about herself.
‘The entire Simpson family are great people. They’ve been great friends to me.’ Blackmon won a place on the council, but resigned in 2022.
Former 49ers running back OJ died aged 76 following a lengthy cancer battle and was quietly cremated last week. If Sydney or Justin weren’t there, that could leave the surviving children from his first marriage to Marguerite Whitley – Arnelle Simpson, 55, and Jason, 54.
According to attorney LaVergne, he died a happy man. ‘OJ wouldn’t want anyone to feel sad for him,’ said the lawyer. ‘
‘He’d tell you straight up, man, he’s had a great life, happy life. Certainly he had his trials and tribulations, but his last seven years were fantastic, so he couldn’t want anyone feeling sorry for him.
‘He would have liked a few more years to see his grandkids get a little bit older. But he was basically content at the end.’
Justin now lives in Vegas and is executor of his late father’s will. OJ, who spent his final year living in a luxurious golf court neighborhood in the city, is reported to have been worth $3million when he died.
He made the Nevada city his home after early release from Lovelock Correctional Facility, where he’d been serving a 33-year sentence for stealing sports memorabilia at gunpoint from a dealer at the Palace Station hotel.
His first home on leaving prison was $1.4million mansion owned by a friend on a golf course belonging to the Red Rock Country Club.
He then moved on to another property at the Canyon Gate Country Club before moving to the Rhodes Ranch Golf Club in Summerlin last spring.
A family friend said: ‘He wanted to be close to Justin – he just had a baby. She’s about a year old now.
‘Justin’s a really nice guy. They didn’t live together but they did have homes close together.’
According to Justin’s godfather, David Brobeck, the youngest Simpson is married to artist Alycia Browne and their child is called Lana
Simpson’s older daughter Arnelle also owns a $795,000 home in the same sprawling golf compound as her father.
His final video, posted shortly before Super Bowl LVIII on February 11, was shot in Arnelle’s backyard with the golf course clearly visible behind him.
In it, he attempted to reassure fans about the state of his health, following reports that he was in hospice care – saying ‘my health is good’.
He added: ‘Obviously I’m dealing with some issues, but I think I’m just about over it, and I’ll be back on that golf course hopefully in a couple of weeks.’
OJ’s astonishing 11-month trial for the murder of former private club waitress Nicole, 35, and restaurant waiter Goldman, 25, gripped the world.
Key moments included the NFL legend-turned-actor trying on black leather gloves in the court that were allegedly used by the killer. They didn’t fit, proving crucial to his acquittal.
But over the years ‘The Juice’ was repeatedly hauled back to court over damages awarded at the end of his 1997 civil trial for the murders.
He was ordered to pay $33,500,000 in total, with $8.5million in compensatory damages to the Goldman family and $25million in punitive damages.
He never paid and died owing more than $100million to the Goldman and Brown families.
Both families are now expected to pursue claims against his estate, with LaVergne telling DailyMail.com the claims are likely to be accepted, setting up a new court fight.
