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Dominick Dunne Of Vanity Fair Discusses The Latest Developments In The O. J. Simpson Murder Trial

CBS News Transcripts
March 03, 1995, Friday

SHOW: CBS EVENING NEWS (6:30 PM ET)

ANCHORS: DAN RATHER
LENGTH: 397 words

DAN RATHER, anchor:
This was the week the murder trial of O.J. Simpson turned into the credibility trial of Rosa Lopez, the woman Simpson is counting on to provide him with an alibi. Writer Dominick Dunne of Vanity Fair magazine tells us Simpson was not at all pleased with the performance of his defense team this week. Dunne has a full-time seat in the courtroom. He joins us now as he does every Friday, our expert witness in the O.J. Simpson case.

Dominick, let’s talk about Rosa Lopez’s testimony. What do you make of it?

Mr. DOMINICK DUNNE (Vanity Fair): Well, I think Rosa Lopez has been an utterly fascinating character to watch. I mean, she has held this jury–this courtroom in the palm of her hand for over a week now. She’s been calling the shots. Judge Ito has–has–has been very deferential to her. What we have seen is a woman who took the stand and told lie after lie, or what appeared to be lie after lie. And it has caused a total breakdown, I understand, in the defense.

The other night, after it came out about the tape that Bill Pavelic said he had, after Carl Douglas said there was no tape–it is my understanding from someone on the defense team that O.J. Simpson went ballistic and he wanted to call the entire defense team together to read the riot act. He was furious that they had looked so bad by first saying that they didn’t have a tape and then later saying that they did have a tape.

RATHER: I want to talk about this investigator, Bill Pavelic. What do we know about him, the defense investigator who found the alibi provided, allegedly, supposedly, reportedly, by Ms. Lopez?
Mr. DUNNE: Well, he is a–a former member of the LAPD. And it’s my under-standing he has many, many gripes against the police department.
RATHER: What can we expect next week?
Mr. DUNNE: Well, next week, we still have to finish off with Detective Lange, and then we go into, finally, America’s most famous house guest, “Kato” Kaelin. And I think that could be very, very interesting. There’s all these stories about–in which Kato has told friends, elsewhere, that–a–a different version of the facts than what he told at the preliminary hearing.

RATHER: Interesting stuff.

Mr. DUNNE: OK.

RATHER: Thanks.

Coming up next on the CBS EVENING NEWS, the troupe of Russian ice dancers, now starring in Oklahoma?

LOAD-DATE: March 03, 1995, Friday

LANGUAGE: English

TYPE: Analysis