Brian Niemietz | New York Daily News
The family of O.J. Simpson announced last week the former football star died on April 10 “surrounded by his children and grandchildren.”
But according to Simpson’s longtime lawyer Malcolm LaVergne, the 76-year-old father of four was a sole visitor away from dying alone.
LaVergne declined to tell The Associated Press who was at Simpson’s bedside when the acquitted double-murder defendant succumbed to cancer, other than saying it was “a close family member.”
Simpson left behind two daughters and two sons, ranging in age from 35 to 55. He also had a daughter who died shortly before her second birthday.
The youngest of the the remaining four — Sydney 38, and Justin, 35 — were his children with Nicole Brown Simpson, whom the ex-Buffalo Bills running back was tried for murdering in 1994. He beat the rap following a dramatic trial that lasted nearly a year and destroyed Simpson’s reputation.
“At first they shared good O.J.,” LaVergne told The Associated Press Tuesday. “Then, in 1994 on, they kind of had to share bad boy O.J. with the world. But at the end of the day, these children just lost a father.”
LaVergne said Wednesday that Simpson had been cremated in a downtown Las Vegas mortuary where “others were present,” but he wouldn’t give names.
The attorney also said he last spent quality time with his infamous client in Sin City just a few weeks before Simpson’s death.
“He was awake, alert and chilling,” LaVergne said. “He’s on the couch … drinking a beer and watching TV.”
A week later, LaVergne saw Simpson for the last time. The weakened accused killer — who was eventually held responsible for his wife’s death in a civil case — was watching golf and drinking water.
Rumors of Simpson’s physical decline began in February with reports he was being treated for prostate cancer. Simpson addressed those rumors with a Feb. 9 video showing him laughing at the idea he was in hospice care.
He would post one more message before dying. It was an incorrect prediction that the San Francisco 49ers would win this year’s Super Bowl.
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