Naman Shrestha
Taking a look at one of the most infamous murder cases and trials of the century, Netflix’s ‘American Manhunt: O.J. Simpson’ revisits the 1994 murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald “Ron” Goldman, followed by the investigation and trial of O.J. Simpson. The captivating case is explored in the four-part true crime documentary series, including the courtroom drama that surrounded the testimonies of the criminalist working on the case — Dennis Fung. Being responsible for handling the evidence from the crime scenes, he was one of the witnesses who was questioned the most by the defense attorneys.
Dennis Fung Was Responsible For Collecting and Analyzing Crime Scene Evidence of the O.J. Simpson Case
In October 1984, Dennis Fung became a criminalist or criminologist at the Los Angeles Police Department and worked on approximately 500 cases until the OJ Simpson case of 1994. As a criminalist, his responsibilities included collecting pieces of evidence from crime scenes and analyzing them for leads. Given the significance of the DNA evidence found in various items and areas of the two LA properties that were declared crime scenes, Dennis Fung served as a witness who testified for the prosecution during the trial in April 1995. He was questioned by the ruthless defense attorneys of OJ Simpson for a total of nine court days.
While accusing Dennis and the LAPD of allegedly attempting to frame OJ Simpson for the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman, the defense asked him a series of tough questions, cornering him into giving vague answers in the courtroom. The criminalist walked everyone present through the process of collecting blood evidence from the white Ford Bronco and Simpson’s home. However, upon cross-questioning from the defense, he admitted that there were a few procedural errors. Dennis was repeatedly asked about the contamination of evidence and how he handled every piece of evidence.
At first, Dennis testified that he used rubber gloves, but when the defense showed proof of him handling the evidence with his bare hands, he admitted to not using gloves. He also testified that he missed collecting a few drops of blood from an area near the bodies and returned to collect them about three weeks later. However, the defense presented the image of the area without any sign of blood after the murders. He also claimed that the blood evidence found on the socks was not visible to the naked eye, which is why they were not considered as evidence at first. At the end of his time on the stand, he was seen hugging and shaking hands with the defense attorneys of OJ Simpson, which caused a controversy on its own.
Dennis Fung Continued Being Part of LAPD Post the O.J. Simpson Trial
Although the former NFL player was found not guilty of the murders, he was punished for his alleged crimes at the civil trial that followed. At the civil trial, Dennis Fung testified that he observed a tear in the leather on one of the gloves’ ring finger right after he collected it for analysis. Despite the damage, he claimed that the glove was kept as evidence that had no sign of damage. The defense argued that the authorities had replaced the original glove with a fake one to frame OJ Simpson for the crime. However, the criminalist denied the claims and testified that it was the same glove.
A week later, Dennis recanted his testimony and claimed that he was mistaken about the glove evidence. He admitted he got confused due to the police photo that the defense showed him that exhibited a white mark on the glove’s ring finger. After being viewed as a controversial figure post-trial, he reportedly remained tied to the LAPD as a criminalist for a few years. However, Dennis appears to have since preferred to remain away from the spotlight, thus keeping the details of his personal or professional life away from the prying eyes of the media.
Read More: Carl E. Douglas: Where is OJ Simpson’s Defense Attorney Now?
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