UPDATED at 6.35 p.m. PT: NBCNews reported that the retired LAPD officer is named George Maycott.
There was no apparent blood on the knife, only dirt and mud, Maycott’s attorney, Trent Copeland, said.
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A knife that was buried at the former estate of O.J. Simpson is currently being tested by the LAPD, TheWrap has learned.
A construction worker is said to have found the knife buried at the Rockingham residence several years ago. He subsequently turned it over to an off-duty police officer who happened to be nearby, but rather than turning it over the officer kept it, according to the LA Times.
The officer, since retired, planned to frame the knife and reached out to a friend at the LAPD for the case number of the murder investigation of Simpson’s ex-wife Nicole Brown-Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman, whom Simpson was tried and acquitted of murdering in 1995.
The officer wanted to engrave the case number on the frame, but his friend alerted higher-ranking LAPD officers, who demanded the knife be turned over as evidence.
The LAPD held a press conference on the discovery of the knife on Friday morning, saying that it has been turned over to the robbery-homicide division for investigation. LAPD Capt. Andrew Neiman says he does not know at this time if the officer who possessed the knife will face any criminal charges.
“I would think that an LAPD officer-if this story is accurate-any time you come into contact with evidence you should and shall submit that into evidence,” he said.
Even if the knife proves to have any blood, hair, or fingerprint evidence which links Simpson to the murders of his ex-wife and Goldman, he cannot be retried due to double jeopardy.
“Double jepoardy would be in place here so we could not charge Mr. Simpson with crimes for which he’s been acquitted,” Neiman said.
Neiman also corrected himself when he referred to this as the “OJ Simpson case.” “This is the Nicole Brown case, a double homicide case that is still ongoing,” he said.
No murder weapon was ever found in the case, but a bloody glove was found on Simpson’s property by Det. Mark Fuhrman. The glove proved central to the case, as it appeared to not fit Simpson’s hand when he tried it on in court. Defense lawyer Johnnie Cochran famously quipped, “If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit.”
Simpson is currently serving a 33-year prison sentence in Nevada stemming from an incident at a Las Vegas hotel in 2007. He was charged with armed robbery and kidnapping after confronting men he claimed had stolen memorabilia from his NFL days.
The news comes as FX is airing “American Crime Story: People v. O.J. Simpson.” The 10-episode drama takes viewers inside the murder trial from the perspective of the lawyers on Simpson’s defense team and the prosecutors. Cuba Gooding Jr. plays Simpson in the series.