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Saturday, June 16, 2018

879 South Bundy Drive: The Murders Of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. Updated On February 12th, 2020.

Nicole Brown Simpson And Ron Goldman
Nicole was bubbly, always happy and smiling. She always put other people in front of herself. She cared so much about her kids, Sydney and Justin, and her family. She was such a warm woman.  Nicole grew up on the beach and loved to surf. She was also a fantastic photographer.

She was born on May 19th, 1959, in Frankfurt, West Germany, to Juditha Anne Brown and Louis Hezekiel Brown.
She was the wife of retired professional football player and actor O. J. Simpson and the mother of their two children. 

On June 13th, 1994, she was found murdered at her home in Brentwood, Los Angeles, California, along with her friend, restaurant waiter Ron Goldman.
Ron was always a good kid with a good heart. He was fun, he had a good sense of humor, always laughing. He had a zest for life. Ron aspired to open his own restaurant one day and have a family of his own. He liked to surf and enjoyed playing beach volleyball, rollerblading, and nightclubbing.

Ron Lyle Goldman was born on July 2nd, 1968, in Buffalo Grove, Illinois to Fred Goldman and Sharon Rufo.

O.J. was charged with both murders, but after a controversial trial, was found not guilty in 1995. 
However, he was found liable for both deaths in a civil suit in 1997 and ordered to pay $33.5 million in punitive damages to the Brown and Goldman families.


Image result for Nicole brown simpson's father
Nicole's father, Lou was serving in the Air Force when he had met  Juditha. 
Image result for Nicole brown simpson's sister denise
When Nicole and her older sister, Denise Brown, were toddlers the family of four moved back to the United States and settled in the Orange County city of Garden Grove, California. 
                
Lou and Juditha had two more daughters, Dominique and Tanya.

When the older girls were in high school, the family moved to Monarch Beach in the coastal city of Dana Point. Nicole was crowned homecoming princess in 1976 at Dana Hills High School.

In 1977, Nicole was 18 years old and living with her friend, David LeBon. She was working as a hostess at a Beverly Hills private club called "The Daisy"  when she met O.J. She had just graduated high school three weeks earlier. 

She had didn't really have an idea who O.J. was and had to ask around to find out. O.J. kept coming back to the restaurant and finally won Nicole over. The two began dating, even though O.J. was still married to his first wife, who was pregnant with their third child.

On their first date together, O.J. picked Nicole up in his black Rollsroyce that had the work"Juice" on it. When she arrived home at 2 a.m. David noticed that Nicole's pants had been ripped. When he asked Nicole what happened she told him that O.J. got a little rough on their date. David was angry and wanted to talk to O.J. Nicole told him no and that she liked O.J.

Nicole wanted to go on to bigger and better things so she enrolled at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo. Then a few months later she moved in with O.J. and dropped out of school, because O.J. "required that she be with him."

O.J. and Marguerite divorced in 1979. Their 23-month-old daughter Aaren drowned in the swimming pool at Rockingham, where Marguerite at first remained while O.J. rented a house with Nicole in Beverly Hills. The child spent eight days on life support at UCLA Medical Center before she died on August 26th.
She married O.J. on February 2, 1985 at the Rockingham mansion. The marriage lasted seven years. During the marriage they had two kids together, Sidney and Justin.

O.J. and Nicole's relationship was very passionate and very volatile. Even before they got married, O.J. was very possessive of Nicole. Nicole was never free to be herself or have friends. On top of that, O.J. was frequently cheating on her.

O.J. had a very bad temper and he was very violent towards Nicole. Nicole had called the cops on O.J. in the fall/winter of 1985. When the police arrived, she was crying and her Mercedes-Benz had a smashed in windshield. Nicole had told the police that O.J. had smashed it with a bat.

In 1987, O.J. and Nicole were having dinner with Nicole's sister, Denise, when O.J. grabbed Nicole's crotch and said, "This is where babies come from and this belongs to me." 

In another incident between O.J. and Nicole, O.J. ran upstairs of their home and grabbed some of Nicole's clothes. He ran back down the stairs and grabbed Nicole, told her to get out of his house and then picked her up and threw her against the wall. He grabbed her again and then threw her out of the house. 

Nicole would always stay at her parents' house after big fights and O.J. would always call and beg her to come home, which she always did.

Nicole grew close to O.J.'s friend's wife, Kris Jenner. In 1988, on a trip to New York, Nicole confided in her about the problems she was having with O.J.  Nicole told Kris about how O.J, was cheating and how he would get physically rough during fights. She told Kris that she wanted to leave O.J., but she didn't know how. She also told Kris that she was having a hard time getting along with her stepson, Jason, who was 19 at the time. 

Kris claimed that soon Nicole started to become more withdrawn and private and seemed anxious. She was biting her fingernails down to the quick and just seemed to be on edge all the time.

O.J. pleaded no contest to spousal abuse in 1989 stemming from an incident that took place on January 1st of that year. At 3:58 a.m., Nicole had called 911. At first the operator could only hear screams and what sounded like someone being hit. When officers arrived at Rockingham, Nicole, wearing sweatpants and a bra, emerged from the bushes and yelled, "He's going to kill me!" After being asked who was going to kill her, she answered, "O.J."

She had a black left eye, a cut lip and a bruised forehead, and there was a hand print on her neck. 

When officers questioned O.J. he denied hitting Nicole and claimed that he had just pushed her out of bed and that they had a drunken fight after a New Year's Eve party. The officers then told O.J. that he had to go with them to the police station. O.J. didn't go with them however and drove off in his Bentley.

Nicole told one of the officers, "You guys never do anything. You never do anything. You come out. You've been here eight times. And you never do anything to him."

It was true, police had now been called 9 times over domestic violence to their home.
Nicole documented her abuse with photos and a diary. She stated that if she was ever found dead, that O.J. killed her.

The day after O.J. attacked Nicole, she went to the police station and told them she didn't really want to press charges. However, Nicole had already signed the police report and so the police were obligated to kick it upward to the L.A. City Attorney's Office, which filed domestic violence charges against O.J.

In 1990, around Christmas, Nicole bought two pairs of brown, extra-large "Aris Lights" leather gloves.
Citing irreconcilable differences, Nicole filed for divorce on February 25th, 1992.

When Nicole and O.J. separated, she moved with the kids nearby to a $5,000-a-month rental home on Gretna Green Way in Brentwood, where she later rented the guest house to friend Kato Kaelin for $500 a month. Sometimes the aspiring actor would babysit Sydney and Justin.

During a court-ordered meeting with a career counselor, Nicole had said that the only goal she had was to raise her kids well. "Beyond that I haven't thought about me," she said. "I'm sure I will get a goal someday."

O.J. and Nicole settled their divorce in October with O.J. agreeing to pay Nicole a lump sum of $433,750, plus $10,000 a month in child support. Nicole also retained the deed on a rental property in San Francisco.

It seemed that Nicole started enjoying life again. She relished being a full-time mom, driving the kids to school and karate and dance lessons. She reconnected with her girlfriends and enjoyed both fancy nights out and hosting potluck dinners at home. She went on trips, skiing in Aspen and sunning in Cabo San Lucas. Nicole also started jogging regularly and would get sitters so she could go clubbing at night after her son and daughter went to sleep.

Nicole started to go to therapy.

After a while, Nicole started to miss O.J. and told a friend that she wanted him back. Nicole called O.J. but when he wouldn't take her call, she went to his house. He dismissed her, said he was fine without her. By the time she got him, he was calling to say yes, he too wanted to get back together.

On October 25th, 1993, a terrified Nicole once again called 911. She told the dispatcher, "Could you get someone over here now to 325 Gretna Green? He's back. Please...  He's O.J. Simpson. I think you know his record. Could you just send somebody over here? He's f--king going nuts." 

Nicole was told to stay on the line. Nicole replied that she didn't want to stay on the line because, "He's going to beat the s--t out of me." 

The call was 13 1/2 minutes long. Through most of it, O.J. could be heard vaguely in the background. However, at one point, when Nicole told him the kids were sleeping. O.J. could be heard clearly saying, "You didn't give a s--t about the kids when you was sucking his d--k in the living room. They were here. Didn't care about the kids then."

The incident O.J. was referring to happened the year before. O.J. would frequently spy on and stalk Nicole as witnessed by her neighbors.

Despite the latest act of violence that O.J. showed against Nicole, she was on the sidelines with O.J. when he reported from the Dolphins-Cowboys game on Thanksgiving in 1993. They also spent that Christmas together. At the same time, Nicole allegedly told Kris several times that O.J. was planning to kill her and he was going to get away with it.

Also in 1993, Nicole sold the San Francisco property and, in order to avoid paying taxes on the sale income, quickly purchased a condo at 875 S. Bundy Dr. She moved there in January 1994.

She was going to rent a room to Kato, but O.J. told him he could live in his guest house rent-free because it wasn't appropriate for him to live inside Nicole's house while they were supposedly in the process of working out their relationship.
OJ Simpson, Nicole Simpson, Sydney Simpson, Justin Simpson, Jason Simpson, Sydney Brooke Simpson
In March 1994, O.J., Nicole, Sydney, Justin and his older kids, Arnelle and Jason, all went to the L.A. premiere of Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult. Also that month, Nicole and O.J. and their kids went to Mexico for Easter with Kris, then-husband Bruce Jennerand kids Kourtney, Kim, Khloe and Rob Kardashian.

On May 19,1994, Nicole's 34th birthday, O.J. gave her a bracelet studded with diamonds, rubies and sapphires. She gave it back a week later. She wanted to be free of him and to live her life with the children and raise them away from O.J.
Ron met Nicole weeks before they were killed, when he borrowed her Ferrari. They grew increasingly close. According to police and friends, their relationship was platonic.

Ron's parents divorced in 1974 when he was six. After spending a brief time in the custody of his mother he was raised by his father and lived with him and his younger sister, Kim.

He grew up Jewish. Ron had worked as a camp counselor and had volunteered to help disabled children. He attended the Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Illinois. He was a student at Illinois State University for one semester. He planned to major in psychology and a pledge to Sigma Nu fraternity, but then he decided to moved with his dad, sister, stepmom and her three children to Southern California. 

Ron then took some classes at Pierce College. He lived independently from his family and supported himself by working as an employment headhunter and tennis instructor. He then worked a string of waiter jobs. He also occasionally worked as a model for Barry Zeldes, owner of Z90049 in Brentwood Gardens. 

Ron wanted to act. He appeared as a contestant on the short-lived game show Studs in 1992. He had dated Jacqui Bell for nearly two years before she broke off their relationship three months before his death.

Not long before his death, Ron had earned an Emergency Medical Technician's license but decided not to pursue that career. He decided he wanted to open a bar or restaurant in the Brentwood area. He his future restaurant to characterized by the ankh, an Egyptian religious symbol of life that matched the tattoo on his shoulder. He wanted to learn all facets of the restaurant-bar business, and occasionally worked as a promoter at a Century City dance club called Tripps. For Memorial Day, he participated with a group of event promoters in organizing a party at Renaissance, a club and restaurant on the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica.

Also on Memorial day, Nicole had an angry encounter over the phone with O.J., which she wrote about in her diary on June 3rd. Nicole wrote, quoting O.J., "'You hang up on me last nite, you're gonna pay for this bitch, you're holding money from the IRS, you're going to jail you f--king c--t. You think you can do any f--king thing you want, you've got it coming [sic]--I've already talked to my lawyers about this bitch--they'll get you for tax evasion, bitch, I'll see to it. You're not going to have a dime left bitch' etc."

Nicole had the place were she was staying as a rental property on her tax forms and she was using the Rockingham address as her permanent home. This didn't set well with O.J. And on June 6th, he sent sent her a formal letter instructing her to stop using the Rockingham address.

On June 7th, Nicole called a Santa Monica women's shelter for victims of domestic abuse and said she was being stalked by her ex-husband.

A friend of Nicole's, Faye Resnick, stayed with Nicole from June 3rd until June 8th. Faye allegedly had a cocaine problem and checked herself into rehab.

On June 9th, Nicole's friend and real estate agent Jeane McKenna put the condo up for lease at $4,800 a month and then they went looking for new places for Nicole to live. By the end of the day, they found a one-story home with a pool and a view of the ocean, in Malibu for $5,000 a month. 

O.J. had been dating model Paula Barbieri. 

On Sunday, June 12th, 1994, Nicole got up early and went for her morning run. She then made the kids breakfast and then took them shopping. She also stopped by a florist to get flowers to brighten up the house along with a bouquet of yellow roses for Sydney for after her dance recital later that evening. Later, Nicole went with Lou and Juditha, Denise and some other family members to Sydney's recital. Afterward they went to dinner at Mezzaluna, an Italian restaurant in Brentwood. O.J. had been at the recital but was not invited to go to dinner.

Meanwhile, Ron played in his usual weekend softball game and then went to work.

Shortly after 9 p.m., O.J. called Nicole. Then Faye called from rehab. The call lasted 15 minutes. Nicole said that she just wanted everyone to have a happy and healthy life and that Faye had her support.

At 9:40 p.m., Juditha called her daughter to say she'd left her glasses at the restaurant. Nicole called Ron at the Mezzaluna, where Ron worked as a waiter, and asked him if could drop off the sunglasses at her house. Ron agreed and said that he would drop them off after work on his way to meet some friends in nearby Marian Del Ray.

Ron punched out at 9:33 p.m. and stayed to have bottled water at the bar. He left the restaurant at 9:50 p.m. Before returning the sunglasses, he stopped by his Brentwood apartment at 11663 Gorham Avenue and spoke briefly to his roommate, Mezzaluna's bartender Stewart Tanner.

At 10:15 p.m., a neighbor who lived diagonally across the alley behind Nicole's place heard a dog start barking.
                                    
At 10:55 p.m., Steven Schwab, another neighbor out walking his own dog, came across a big white Akita barking in the alley. Schwab didn't know the dog, but saw it had an expensive collar, as well as blood on its paws. The Akita followed Schwab home, and he and his wife gave the dog some water outside their place.

Another neighbor, Sukru Boztepe, returned to the complex at 11:40 p.m. and volunteered to keep the dog overnight. But the dog, Kato, was too restless, so Boztepe and his wife, Bettina, went out for another walk. It was now in the early the morning of June 13th, 1994, and the dog led them back to the front of 875 Bundy. That's when Boztepe looked past the front gate and saw a woman lying in a pool of blood. That woman turned out to be Nicole.
Nicole Brown Simpson, Condo
Nicole and Ron were found stabbed to death at her town home in Brentwood, Los Angeles, California.

An autopsy revealed that Nicole had been stabbed in the neck and head seven times. She also had a long gash across throat, which severed both her left and right carotid arteries and breached her right and left jugular veins. She was nearly decapitated. She also had defensive wounds on her hands.

Ron also had his throat slit, severing the left jugular vein. He was stabbed multiple times to the scalp, face, neck and chest. He also had stab wounds on his left hand and abrasions upper extremities and hands. In all Ron had been stabbed 22 times. 
Police believed he had arrived during or shortly after Nicole's death. Ron's family believed that Ron died trying to save Nicole from her attacker and that he was the man whom eyewitnesses heard shouting that night.

While their mother and Ron were murdered, 8-year-old Sydney and 5- year-old Justin had been asleep upstairs. A bath had also been drawn and there was a partially eaten bowl of ice cream left behind.

When the children were ushered out of the house through a back door by police that morning, they had no idea what had happened. Sydney called the house phone from the police station, leaving a message asking her mom. "Mommy, please call me back. I want to know what happened last night...Please answer, Mommy!"

One of the officers found a single bloody glove, a knitted hat and a bloody footprint.

Detectives went to Brentwood estate to O.J.'s estate, to inform him that his ex-wife had been murdered. One of the detectives hopped over the gate and unlocked it for the other detectives. The detectives argued that they entered without a search warrant because of exigent circumstances. O.J. was not present when the detectives arrived early that morning.
Brian "Kato" Kaelin, who was staying in Simpson's guest house, was briefly interviewed.

A walk around of the property, discovered a second bloody glove; it was later determined to be the match of the glove found at the murder scene. The blood on this glove was determined to have come from both victims. The hat had O.J.'s hair in it. And the foot print was from a shoe, like the one he wore. Also was the same size. Nicole's blood was found on one of O.J.'s socks. Her blood was also found in his driveway. O.J. also had purchased a knife, the same kind that the corner believed to have left the marks on Nicole and Ron. The knife and shoe were never found.
Nicole's funeral was June 16th.

With the evidence collected at both scenes, was determined to be probable cause to issue an arrest warrant for O.J. 
Lawyers convinced the LAPD to allow O.J. to turn himself in at 11 a.m. on June 17, 1994.

At 2 p.m., the LAPD issued an all-points bulletin, because O.J. still hadn't arrived at the police station.

At 5 p.m, a letter was read to the media.
Robert Kardashian, a friend of Simpson's and one of his defense lawyers, read a letter.

"First everyone understand I had nothing to do with Nicole's murder ... Don't feel sorry for me. I've had a great life."

Some people think this was a suicide note.
At around 6:20 p.m., O.J. was spotted riding in a white Ford Bronco that was being driven by his longtime friend Al "A.C." Cowlings. At 6:45 p.m., police officer Ruth Dixon saw the Bronco head north on Interstate 405. Cowlings yelled out that Simpson was in the back seat of the vehicle and had a gun to his own head. The officer backed off, but followed the vehicle.
Former USC football coach John McKay went on the air and encourage Simpson to end the pursuit.

"My God, we love you, Juice. Just pull over and I'll come out and stand by you all the rest of my life", he promised.
LAPD detective Tom Lange, had Simpson's cell phone number and called him repeatedly. Lange repeatedly pleaded with Simpson to "throw the gun out the window" for the sake of his mother and children. Simpson apologized for not turning himself in earlier. He said that he was"the only one who deserved to get hurt" and was "just gonna go with Nicole." The chase ended at 8:00 p.m. at his Brentwood estate. Simpson was allowed to go inside for about an hour.

Police found $8,000 in cash, a change of clothing, a loaded .357 Magnum, a passport, family pictures, and a fake goatee and mustache in the bronco. The contents of the bronco and the police chase footage, were not shown in court, along with a surprising amount of evidence. 


On July 8, 1994 , at his preliminary hearing, judge ruled that there is enough evidence to proceed with trial.

On September 26, 1994 the process of selecting a jury begins. On November 3, 1994, the jury selection is completed. On January 11, 1995, the jury was sequestered. 

On January 23, 1995, the trial began with opening statements.

On February 12, 1995, jurors are taken on a tour of the crime scene under heavy police presence.

On September 29, 1995 the closing arguments begin.

October 3, 1995 - Less than four hours of deliberation, he unanimous, not guilty verdict was watched by more than 100 million people as it was seen live during a television broadcast.

Simpson was released from jail after spending sixteen months awaiting a verdict.
A civil suit was filed against Simpson and he was ordered to pay $33.5 million to the families of Brown and Goldman. Which he has had yet to pay.

He wrote a book titled "If i did it."
Besides O.J., there was other suspects in their deaths.
His son, Jason Simpson. He was on probation after having attacked his boss with a knife. He attacked a former girl friend with a knife as well. Another girlfriend claimed he almost broke her back with getting angry and throwing her in a bathtub. He also cut her hair off with a knife.

Jason supposedly was diagnosed with intermittent rage disorder. Around the time of the murders, Jason was off his anti psychotic drugs.

He had a hat similar to the one found as evidence in the crime.
Serial killer Glen Rogers came forward after O.J. being found innocent.

The first rumor came In the documentary My Brother the Serial Killer when Rogers’ brother Clay said, “I’m absolutely certain that my brother Glen killed Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman. I know my brother did it because I’ve seen proof that he was there.”
Rogers claimed he was hired by Nicole to paint her house. He then claimed he was hired by O.J. to do the crime.

Prosecutors wanted to go forward with their case against O.J. Simpson since they had more evidence.


O.J. Simpson’s former manager, Norman Pardo claims that O.J. murdered Nicole and Ron, but didn't act alone.

Lyle Menendez along with his brother Erik, was imprisoned for the shotgun murder of their parents in 1994. By the time O.J. arrived on the cell block in June of 1994, the Menendezes were already veterans of the California penal system. Allegedly Lyle took O.J. under his wing, and the two of them quickly developed a close friendship. While Lyle and O.J. were both waiting for their lawyers in the prison's "attorney room," O.J. admitted to killing Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman after he “snapped in the heat of passion.” Lyle advised O.J. he should consider taking a plea deal. O.J. told Menendez he couldn’t do that because it would ruin his reputation and he would never work again.

RadarOnline.com supposedly uncovered evidence, including legal documents tying the would-be killer and drug dealer, Bill Wasz, to Robert Kardashian.

Months before Nicole and Goldman were found murdered outside of Nicole's condominium, Robert, the late father of reality TV sisters Kim, Kourtney and Khloé, allegedly hired an unemployed 31-year-old cocaine dealer and career criminal, Bill Wasz, to take Nicole out.

Robert was O.J.’s best bud and closest confidant throughout his infamous trial. He even reactivated his law license to get client-attorney privilege and carried O.J.’s suit to court every day.Robert was so loyal to O.J. that Robert sneaked that garment bag, which a lot of people have speculated it contained the murder weapon, out of his house.

Wasz claimed the scheme to wack Nicole began to unfold in January, 1994, when Kardashian paid him $1,000 to spy on Nicole and take pictures of any men she met. Wasz took pictures of Nicole kissing O.J.’s pal, retired NFL player Marcus Allen, on January 6th and 7th, 1994, in a restaurant parking lot in Encino, California. Waz gave two rolls of undeveloped film to the Rob.

When Rob showed the pictures to O.J., he flipped out.
Wasz claims that , “He told me O.J. went ballistic. Robert said, ‘That bitch Nicole is costing O.J. $35,000 a month. She’s the mother of his kids and she’s still [having sex] with everybody. I want her gone, a bullet to the head.’ ”

Wasz said that Robert offered him $15,000 to carry out a bizarre two-part murder plot.

In documents allegedly seen by Radar, a email from 1998 from an anonymous whistleblower included a leaked proffer from Wasz’s lawyer, Larry Longo.

It read: “On about January 14 Bill Wasz met Robert Kardashian at his Encino home. At this meeting Kardashian offered Wasz $15,000 if he would kill Nicole with a .25 caliber bullet to the head. Robert Kardashian also told Wasz he was to steal [O.J.’s then-lover] Paula Barbieri’s car and use it during the murder.”
The same document also claimed Wasz later met Robert and was given $7,500, “which was to be a partial payment for the killing.”
Wasz began to wonder if he’d be framed for the murders, so he didn't go through with the plan.

Wasz did steal the SUV, but then robbed four stores across Los Angeles on Jan. 31, 1994, making off with $500 and a case of beer.
He led police on a high-speed chase, fled on foot after crashing into several cars and was arrested.

When Wasz was finally apprehended, inside the SUV, a small notebook was found, in which Wasz had detailed his earlier surveillance of Nicole. The notebook also contained unlisted 1994 phone numbers for O.J. and Barbieri, and was retained by police as evidence.

Wasz’s attorney said: “There’s no reason for him to steal that car, except as part of a plan for something else.”

Wasz interviewed after Nicole and Ron's death in 1994. According to official documents, during that meeting, the officers asked Wasz if he knew Robert.


His reply was recorded as: “Mr. Wasz advised the detectives to look into the background of Mr. Kardashian as he is not all that clean.”

Wasz was sentenced to 20 years and served ten for his crime spree and his allegations were under the carpet.

Apparently a murder conspiracy didn’t fit with the district attorney’s case, which argued an enraged O.J. acted alone in the murders.

Deputy District Attorney Bill Hodgman made moves toward indicting Robin,but no charges were ever filed against him.

Investigative journalist Joseph Bosco met with Wasz and presented his findings to Time magazine, but they canceled the story just minutes before going to print in 1998.

In jailhouse interviews, Wasz continued to blame Robert and claimed the police were trying to suppress his story that including how he’d sold cocaine to Robert and O.J. was a bookie in his spare time.

Robert Kardashian died in 2003 from cancer of the esophagus.

Wasz was released from prison in 2004 and was discovered dead, at age 41, in “mysterious circumstances” in March 2005.

A coroner estimated Wasz had been dead three days by the time he was found. The death was never investigated by West Los Angeles homicide detectives and remains a mystery to this day.
                                       
Wasz's memoirs are available in a book you can find on Amazon.com

The Charleston church shooting

Also known as the Charleston Massacre 

On the evening of June 17, 2015, a white supremacist  murdered nine people during a prayer service at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in downtown Charleston, South Carolina, United States.

Three other victims survived.

The morning after the attack, police arrested Dylann Roof in Shelby, North Carolina. 

He confessed to committing the shooting in the hope of igniting a race war.

 It is the oldest African Methodist Episcopal Church in the South, often referred to as "Mother Emanuel".

Has long been a site for community organization around civil rights.

An hour before the attack 13 people including the shooter participated in the Bible study.

The survivors say when the shooter walked into the historic African-American church, he immediately asked for rev. Clementa C. Pinckney and sat down next to him, initially listening to others during the study.


After waiting for the other participants to begin praying, the shooter pulled a  Glock 41 .45-caliber handgun from his fanny pack.


26-year-old Tywanza Sanders, tried to talk him down and asked him why he was attacking churchgoers.


The shooter responded, "I have to do it. You rape our women and you're taking over our country. And you have to go." 

When he expressed his intention to shoot everyone, Sanders dove in front of his aunt 87-year-old Susie Jackson. and was shot first.


He reloaded his gun five times.


Sanders' mother and his five-year-old niece, survived the shooting by pretending to be dead.


According to the son of one of the victims, the shooter allegedly turned the gun to his own head and pulled the trigger, but only then discovered he was out of ammunition.


The entire shooting lasted around six minutes.


All the victims were Methodist African Americans.


Of the dead there was  six women and three men.


Eight died at the scene and one died at MUSC Medical Center.


Five individuals survived the shooting unharmed.

The victims were later collectively referred to as "The Charleston Nine" and "The Emanuel Nine".



According to the FBI, a police report detailing Roof's admission to a narcotics offense should have prevented him from purchasing the weapon used in the shooting.

The shooter reportedly told friends and neighbors of his plans to kill people, including a plot to attack the College of Charleston, but his claims were not taken seriously.

Interrogations with Roof after his arrest determined he had been planning the attack for around six months.
At 10:44 a.m., on the morning after the attack, Roof was captured in a traffic stop, approximately 245 miles from the shooting scene.

Roof was charged with nine counts of murder and one count of possession of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime on June 19.

At a bond hearing later that day, shooting survivors and relatives of five of the victims spoke to Roof directly, saying that they were "praying for his soul" and forgave him.

The judge set a $1 million bond for the weapons possession charge and no bail on the nine counts of murder.

The governor called on the prosecutors for the death penalty.

On July 7, Roof was indicted on the nine murder charges and the weapons charge, as well three new charges of attempted murder, for each of the survivors.

He also faced hate crime charges, with 18 of the charges carrying the federal death penalty.

On July 31, Roof pleaded not guilty to the federal charges against him on the advice of his lawyer.

On September 16, Roof's attorney that he was willing to plead guilty in exchange for a sentence of life in prison without parole.

His trial began on December 7, 2016.
On December 15, 2016, he was found guilty of all 33 federal charges against him.

Roof composed a white supremacist manifesto, writing: "I would like to make it crystal clear, I do not regret what I did. I am not sorry. I have not shed a tear for the innocent people I killed."

He was sentenced to death on January 10, 2017.

And then to life in prison without parole on April 10, 2017.

Until  the 2017 Sutherland Springs church shooting, this was the largest mass shooting at an American place of worship, alongside a 1991 attack at a Buddhist temple in Waddell, Arizona.

Friday, June 15, 2018

Things you need to know about Medusa

Medusa means "guardian, protectress"

She was considered a monster, a Gorgon, generally described as a winged human female with living venomous snakes in place of hair.

People that looked into her eyes would turn to stone.

She wasn't always that way.

She is a very misunderstood Greek legend.

She was born to the sea god Phorcys and Ceto.

Medusa's two sisters were immortal but she was mortal.

Medusa was a beautiful virgin maiden. 

She had men come from afar just to gaze at her.

She was a priestess at Athena's temple.

In order to do so, Medusa must remain chased.

She always turned down advances from men.

One day she caught Poseidon's eye.

One day he became restless and resentful of Medusa turning him down.

Poseidon also was forever at odds with Athena.

He chased Medusa in Athena's temple.

Medusa begged for Athena's help to no avail.

He had his way with her.

Later Athena appeared.  

Instead of showing kindness to Medusa, so was vengeful.

After all, attacking other gods were forbidden.

She turned Medusa's  beautiful locks into venomous serpents. 

She bewitched Medusa's eyes to turn anyone that would gaze on her face into stone.

Many people heard of the monster than Medusa had become.

Instead of men coming from all around to look at her beauty, now they came for her head as a trophy.

All of them met the same fate, until Perseus. 

Perseus, son of Zeus, was sent on a quest.

Hades gave Perseus his helmet that made him invisible to Medusa.

Hermes gave him a pair of winged sandals.

Athena gave him a bronze shield that could deflect Medusa's gaze.

He was also given a special sword that could cut off Medusa's head.

Perseus was able to be head Medusa.

At the time of her death, she was pregnant by Poseidon.

From her severed neck, the winged stallion, Pegasus emerged.

Perseus would keep Medusa's head as a weapon in battle.
  



The Grenfell Tower fire.

Grenfell Tower was completed in 1974.


Wednesday, June 14, 2017, the fire broke out in the the 24-story Grenfell Tower block of public housing flats, in North Kensington, West London, United Kingdom.

Out of the 293 people in the building, Over 70 were injured, 72 people died including 2 who escaped and died in hospital.

The fire burned for 60 hours until finally being extinguished.
On September 14, 2017, the investigation for the cause of the fire began.

Investigators believe that the fire was accidental.

Started by a  by a malfunctioning fridge- freezer on the fourth floor.

The fire started in flat 16.

The flat's resident did not have a fire extinguisher but did call neighbors and the London Fire Brigade.

Some residents left early after being alerted by their neighbors, others that had called the fire brigade, where told to stay.

The fire fighters arrived after 6 minutes of the call.

The had the fire in flat 16 put out within minutes.

As fire fighters were leaving, they spotted flames rising up the exterior of the building.

Images later presented during the inquiry suggested that the fire may have reached the exterior via the 
kitchen window of the flat before the firefighters had begun to tackle the initial fire.

The flames spread up the side at a "terrifying rate",and  a rising column of flames had reached the roof and the fire was out of control.

The fire spread sideways and re-entered the building.

The fire rapidly spread, because of the insulation, the cladding.

The cladding is widely used and history of being highly flammable. 
Residents had expressed significant safety concerns before the fire.

In 2013, the Grenfell Action Group (GAG) ran a blog in which it highlighted major safety problems.

The group published a risk assessment by a TMO Health and Safety Officer which recorded safety concerns.

The on site fire fighting equipment hadn't been checked in four years.

The fire extinguishers were expired. 

Some of them had the word "condemned" written on them.

GAG attempted numerous times to contact  KCTMO management and council's cabinet member for Housing and Property but said they never received a reply.

The council threatened one of the bloggers with legal action, saying that their posts amounted to "defamation and harassment".

In January 2016, GAG pointed out that the building was dangerous.

They stated that the building had only one entrance and exit, and corridors that had been allowed to fill with rubbish, such as old mattresses.

The tower's Leaseholders' Association had also raised concerns about exposed gas pipes in the months before the fire.

Grenfell Tower did not have fire sprinklers.

After the fire leader of the council, Nicholas Brown, said that the Grenfell Tower residents did not have a collective view in favor of installing sprinklers during the recent renovations.

He said if they had been installed, it would have delayed the refurbishment and been more disruptive.

An ITV business editor stated that he had been told that the installation of sprinklers had not even been discussed.

The remains of the building was wrapped in plastic, and is set to be demolished sometime in 2018.
No word on what is going to be build there afterwards.

A mystery connected to this is the "Grenfell  Tower Baby."


A baby supposedly rescued from the fire, being drop by the baby's mother into a fire fighter's arms as the building goes up in flames. Here is a video on the subject.



Thursday, June 14, 2018

The Denver International Airport.

The Denver International Airport

It replaced Stapleton on February 28, 1995.

It was 16 months behind schedule and cost of $4.8 billion.

Which was nearly $2 billion over budget.
The airport is twice the size of Manhattan.

Its the largest airport in the United States.

A lot of people don't understand why the Denver International Airport replaced the Stapleton in the first place.

The Stapleton was a fully functioning airport closer to downtown.

The Denver International Airport is supposedly in the middle of nowhere.

Some people think that the runways look like a swastika.
The murals, painted by Leo Tanguma, look kind of creepy.
The dedication marker in the airport inscribed with the words "New World Airport Commission".
There is no official record of the "New World Airport Commissions."

There is large underground baggage system not being used. 

Some people thinks its really a bunker.

Allegedly, when the airport was first built, five of the buildings got screwed up. Instead of removing them, they're said to have been buried.
The Blue Mustang by  Luis Jiménez.

One of the earliest public art commissions for Denver International Airport in 1993.

Blue Mustang is a bright blue cast-fiberglass sculpture with glowing red eyes and is 32 ft tall.

Luis was killed while working on the statue, when a piece of it fell on his leg, hitting an artery.
There are gargoyles too.


Wednesday, June 13, 2018

Things You Need to Know About Edward Snowden

Edward Snowden

Patriot or Traitor?
Edward Joseph Snowden is an American computer professional, former Central Intelligence Agency employee, who copied and leaked classified information to the press.

He was granted permanent political asylum to Russia until 2020.

He was born on June 21, 1983 in Elizabeth City, North Carolina.

His father  is Lonnie Snowden, former Coast Guard officer.

His mother is Elizabeth Snowden, federal court administrator.

May 7, 2004, he enlists in the Army Reserve as a Special Forces candidate.

September 28, 2004 he broke both of his legs and was discharged from the Arny Reserve without completing any training.

He attended a inteligence based job fair in 2006, were he was recruited by the C.I.A. and assigned to the global communications division at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia.

In March 2007, the CIA stationed Snowden with diplomatic cover in Geneva, Switzerland, where he was responsible for maintaining computer-network security.

In February 2009, Snowden resigned from the C.I.A.

Snowden began work as a contractee for Dell in 2009.

Dell manages computer systems for multiple government agencies.

He was assigned to an NSA facility at Yokota Air Base near Tokyo.

He returned to Maryland in 2011, where he spent a year as lead technologist on Dell's CIA account.
Snowden began downloading documents describing the government's electronic spying programs while working for Dell in April 2012.

Dell reassigned Snowden in March 2012, to Hawaii as lead technologist for the NSA's information-sharing office.

 December 1, 2012,  Snowden first made contact with Glenn Greenwald, a journalist working at The Guardian.

Snowden then contacted documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras in January 2013.

On March 15, 2013, he quit his job at Dell, after he said he reached his breaking point of seeing the Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, directly lie under oath to Congress.

Snowden was offered a position on the NSA's elite team of hackers, Tailored Access Operations, but turned it down.

He started to work  at Booz Allen, where he sought employment in order to gather data and then release details of the NSA's worldwide surveillance activity.

Greenwald began working with Snowden in either February or April 2013.

At which point Snowden began providing documents to them.

Om May 16, 2013 he has his first direct exchange with Washington Post reporter Barton Gellman.
On May 20, 2013  Snowden leaves for Hong Kong.

He stayed there when the initial articles based on the leaked documents were published.

In a May 24, 2013 e-mail to Gellman, Snowden requests that the Post publish information about PRISM.

PRISM is  a surveillance program that gathers information from Facebook, Microsoft, Google and others.

On June 5, 2013, The Guardian reports that the US government has obtained a secret court order that requires Verizon to turn over the telephone records of millions of Americans to the NSA.

On June 6, 2013, The Guardian and the Washington Post disclose the existence of PRISM, a program they say allows the NSA to extract the details of customer activities.

This includes "audio and video chats, photographs, e-mails, documents" and other materials -- from computers at Microsoft, Google, Apple and other Internet companies.

On June 9, 2013 , The Guardian and Washington Post disclose Snowden as their source.

On June 12, 2013, The South China Morning Post publishes an interview with him in  saying that US intelligence agents have been hacking networks around the world for years.

On June 17, 2013, during a live online chat, Snowden insists that US authorities have access to phone calls, e-mails and other communications far beyond constitutional bounds.

On June 18, 2013, FBI Deputy Director Sean Joyce, argues before  the House Intelligence Committee, that the PRISM program has helped stop a number of alleged terrorist attacks.

On June 21, 2013, federal prosectuers charge him with espionage and theft of government property.
On June 22, 2013, the United States contacted authorities in Hong Kong to seek the extradition of Snowden.

On June 23, 2013, Snowden flies to Moscow from Hong Kong.

On June 30, 2013, German news magazine Der Spiegel reports details NSA bugging of European Union offices in Washington and New York, as well as an EU building in Brussels.

On July 16, 2013, Snowden applies for tempory asylum in Russia.

On August 1, 2013, his poltical asylum request is granted.

November 3, 2013, a letter entitled "A Manifesto for the Truth", written by Snowden is published in Der Spiegel.

It says "mass surveillance is a global problem and needs a global solution."

In a March 10, 2014 teleconference from Russia to an audience of thousands at the South by Southwest Interactive Festival in Austin, Texas, Snowden urges the audience to help "fix" the US government's surveillance of its citizens.

On May 28, 2014, NBC News airs an interview with Snowden in which he claims, "I was trained as a spy in sort of the traditional sense of the word."

On August 7, 2014, Snowden has been granted an extension to stay in Russia for three more years.

On June 4, 2015, he publishes an piece in The New York Times saying, "ending the mass surveillance of private phone calls under the Patriot Act is a historic victory for the rights of every citizen..." in response to President Barack Obama signing the USA Freedom Act .

On October 5, 2015, Snowden says he is willing to go prison, if he is allowed to return to the United States.

He and his lawyers are waiting to discuss a deal with the US government.

 The film "Snowden," directed by Oliver Stone, opens in US theaters on September 16, 2016.

On January 17, 2017, Russia extends Snowden's asylum until 2020.