Thousands Marsh Simpson Hot Line
The Houston Chronicle
July 29, 1994, Friday, 2 STAR Edition
LOS ANGELES — Encouraged by the promise of a large reward or the chance to contribute to a historic investigation, 250,000 callers have flooded a newly created hot line with tips about the O.J. Simpson murder case, while similarly besieged police have designated a full-time “”clue chaser” to run down the leads coming to them.
“It’s beyond belief,” Simpson’s lead attorney, Robert L. Shapiro, said of the hot line deluge. He said calls have become “so overwhelming” that the operators have had to install a backup recording system to keep up with the crush.
Tipsters have included private investigators with clues based largely on news reports, amateur detectives with theories implicating other would-be suspects and people claiming to have witnessed the events surrounding the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson, 35, and Ronald Lyle Goldman, 25, on June 12 outside her apartment in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles.
Although some of the tips are seemingly credible, many appear to be the products of overactive imaginations. One Maryland woman has called repeatedly to tell of dreams in which she sees another killer. To her frustration, Simpson’s camp has not gotten back to her.
“We’re hearing from every psycho and every crazy person,” said Bill Pavelic, an investigative consultant for the Simpson team. “But if I get one call in a hundred that’s a good lead, it’s worth it. ”
Investigators on both sides of the nationally publicized probe are chasing down each of their leads, reluctant to pass up information that could prove important.
The pace of tips has convinced Los Angeles Police Department officials that Simpson’s camp may be fueling the fires in part to occupy detectives who could be building a case against Simpson, 47.
Any tip that is not checked out could be used against the prosecution at trial. Simpson’s camp has made clear its intention to attack the thoroughness and competence of the investigation into their client.