Kriti Mehrotra
On June 12, 1994, the entire world for the Goldman family turned upside down as 25-year-old Ronald “Ron” Goldman was found dead alongside Nicole Brown Simpson outside her condo, shortly after midnight. However, they never could have imagined that what would follow would be nothing short of a circus turned cultural phenomenon owing to once-NFL star OJ Simpson being deemed the prime suspect. They simply wanted justice as time passed, per Netflix’s ‘American Manhunt: O.J.Simpson,’ yet Kim Goldman soon realized she had to do more to keep her elder brother’s memories alive.
The Loss of Her Brother Shattered Kim Goldman in an Unimaginable Way
Although not much is known about Kim’s upbringing or early years, we do know she was “exceptionally close” to her elder brother Ronald, whom she remembers as energetic, funny, and gregarious. She also still vividly remembers how he was kind to a fault, yet no one could have ever imagined that’s how he would end up losing his life. After all, he had indeed relocated to Brentwood, California, a short time before to figure out what he wanted to do with his life. It’s here that he also came across Nicole Brown Simpson, considering it is a small community, and they became friends. The former was working at a restaurant on a fateful evening, only for the Brown family to be one of their patrons and their matriarch to drop her glasses on the way out.
Nicole called the restaurant regarding the same that night, and once the glasses were found, Ron volunteered to deliver them to her on his way home from his shift. It is believed he arrived at Nicole’s condominium while she was being attacked with a knife, which is why the killer turned to him too. As per his autopsy report, he grabbed the knife and fought for his life until the very end. The case was widely publicized within hours, but his sister didn’t hear about it until the next evening when she came home and her boyfriend asked her to call her father. At the time, she thought this was his innocuous way of getting her into her room for a proposal, but she was wrong.
Kim called her father when she realized the room was empty with no ring, and that’s when she learned her brother had been killed alongside his friend and O.J. Simpson’s ex-wife Nicole. However, it wasn’t until she was on her way to the airport that she learned the details through a radio channel, but she still could not fathom precisely how much the media would affect her. All she could think of at the time was her brother and being close to her family, and she admittedly did collapse in her father’s arms the second she saw him and sobbed. But alas, things only became real for her during Ron’s funeral.
Kim Goldman Attended the Trial for Ron’s Murder Case
While Kim was following the developments in her brother’s case through the news every day, she didn’t realize until much later how different her family’s experience was. That’s because, in most murder cases, investigators try their best to ensure no information gets out, but they have to deal with an outpour of details every day. They didn’t understand the celebrity matter of the case either; all they wanted was some answers and some justice, so she, her dad, and their family were right there in court to attend the trial of O.J. Simpson, unaware race would play a major role.
Kim and her father criticized the proceedings a few times owing to the focus on O.J.’s race, reportedly racist cops, and the alleged cover-up in the matter rather than the victims, but to no avail. In the end, on October 3, 1995, O.J. was acquitted of the criminal charges against him, which broke her heart all over again and drove her to file a civil wrongful death lawsuit against the man they believed responsible for the offense. This time around, they won the case and were actually awarded a total of $33.3 million in compensation alongside the Brown family.
However, as per Kim, they haven’t seen a penny of this compensation, and nor did they ever ask O.J. to pay them because all they truly wanted was for people to acknowledge him as a killer. In the end, it was only when the retired athlete was arrested on unrelated charges of robbery a few years later and sentenced to the maximum (33 years) that they felt a sense of relief. He was paroled after 9 years, but she has maintained that whatever she could do to make his life difficult, she did, including talking about the case even though she didn’t want to. It’s a vicious cycle for her – she doesn’t want to glorify the matter any further, but she wants it to be known so that her brother’s name lives on.
Kim Goldman Transformed Her Life Following Her Brother’s Murder
When Ron was killed, Kim was studying at the San Francisco State University to be a child psychologist. However, after he passed away, she decided to shift gears and rebuild her life in a way that would honor him in every way. She and her family thus established The Ron Goldman Foundation for Justice, just for her to realize working in the non-profit sector was her true calling. She has held several other positions over the years, but her happy place is admittedly in philanthropy. In fact, she worked at Pallotta TeamWorks to produce multi-day fundraising events for various diseases, served as the Communications Manager for Cure Autism Now (Autism Speaks), and was the State Director for Best Buddies California to help developmentally disabled people find friendships.
Furthermore, she was the Executive Director of the Santa Clarita Valley Youth Project, a non-profit organization that offers free services for teens dealing with mental health issues, abuse, neglect, etc. Thanks to this, she has most recently found her way back to counseling and currently serves as the Director of Development at CASA of Los Angeles, where she advocates for children and families from all walks of life. As if that’s not enough, she has even evolved into a public speaker on such matters, all the while also working with several different non-profit organizations in one way or another. She has been on the Advisory Committee for Crime Survivors, is a member of the California District Attorney’s Association and Victims Rights Committee, and serves as a co-chair for the National Center for Victims of Crime (NCVC).
Kim Goldman is Successful in the World of Entertainment Too
It was in 1996 that Kim kickstarted her career as a Facilities Coordinator at Brillstein Grey to serve in the production field before evolving into a Production Manager for Oxygen Media. She served at the latter until 2002, following which she mixed her experience with her passion at Pallotta TeamWorks, only to then follow the path of philanthropy. Yet, in 2018, she decided to begin dabbling into the world of entertainment again by evolving into an Executive Producer and Host at Glass Entertainment Group for the ‘Confronting: O.J. Simpson’ podcast. Then, in 2022, she joined Kast Media to host the ‘Media Circus’ podcast. All these endeavors have even led her to become close friends with neuroscientist, actress, author, and former game show host Mayim Bialik (‘The Big Bang Theory’).
As if that’s not enough, Kim is also an author. She published her first book ‘His Name is Ron: Our Search for Justice’ in 1998, which she followed by penning two chapters in ‘If I Did It, Confessions of the Killer’ (2007). Then, she published ‘Can’t Forgive’ in 2014 and ‘Media Circus: A Look at Private Tragedy in the Private Eye’ in 2015. Moreover, it’s imperative to note she is currently developing a new television show as well as a podcast, all the while embracing her life as a daughter, sister, partner, and mom.
The dark cloud of grief undeniably still hangs over Kim, yet she has been living her life to the best of her abilities because she knows it’s what her brother would have wanted. The sports fan, particularly an NBA/Chicago Bulls fan, has two adorable dogs, a loving partner, and a 21-year-old son (from her previous marriage) who are her entire life. We should also mention she still seems to be in contact with Christopher Darden, a co-prosecutor in O.J.’s trial, owing to the bond they built during the case and their efforts to focus on the victims rather than anything else. In other words, to this day, Kim makes sure to honor her brother in every way, both publicly and privately.
Read More: Marcia Clark: Where is the Prosecutor in OJ Simpson Case Now?
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