O.J. SIMPSON faced a third day on the witness stand in his civil trial yesterday, after spending the second fending off a barrage of accusations that he murdered his ex-wife and her friend.
Mr Daniel Petrocelli, the lead attorney for the plaintiffs in the case, contended Mr Simpson was planning to kill himself during the infamous Bronco freeway chase on June 17th, 1994, "because you knew you were going to spend the rest of your life in jail."
"No, that's incorrect," Mr Simpson responded, although he admitted he was contemplating killing himself on that day, but not for those reasons.
Mr Simpson, who was acquitted of double-murder charges in October 1995 but now faces a lawsuit brought by the victims' families alleging wrongful death, appeared to lose some of the composure which has marked his testimony as Mr Petrocelli ended with a rapid salvo of charges.
Earlier Mr Simpson testified that he could not explain the blood found inside his Bronco car and at his estate, or account for some of the cuts on his hand after the June 12th, 1994, murders of Nicole Simpson and Ronald Goldman.
Mr Petrocelli also attacked Mr Simpson's alibi for the night of the murders and accused him of failing a lie detector test.
But the lawyer saved his most dramatic performance for the day's finale. "You know you committed those murders ... You went there (Nicole Brown Simpson's townhouse) that night and you confronted her and you killed her. True?" Mr Petrocelli asked.
"That's totally, absolutely incorrect," Mr Simpson shot back.
"And Ron Goldman came upon you when you were there with Nicole and you didn't expect him," Mr Petrocelli continued, his voice getting louder.
"Untrue," said Mr Simpson.
"Ron Goldman got in a fight with you and you cut him and you sliced him until he died and collapsed in your arms," Mr Petrocelli persisted.
"Untrue," Mr Simpson said.
During Monday's session, Mr Petrocelli contended some of the unexplained injuries to Mr Simpson's fingers and hand were caused by fingernails "ripping into your skin", suggesting it happened in a death struggle between Mr Simpson and his alleged victims.
Mr Simpson said he recalled seeing only one speck of blood on the little finger of his left hand just before he went to the airport for a flight to Chicago on the night of June 12th, 1994, but could not remember how he sustained the injury.
He admitted he could not explain how his blood got in his Bronco or how the blood of Nicole Simpson got onto the carpet.
Mr Simpson's lawyers are expected to claim that blood at the murder scene and at his estate was planted by police in a conspiracy to frame him.