Mark Fuhrman, the former LAPD detective whose role in the O.J. Simpson case became one of the most controversial elements of the trial, has died at 74.
According to TMZ, Fuhrman died on May 12 in Idaho from an aggressive form of throat cancer that he was diagnosed with last year. He was hospitalized for about a week and had undergone treatment before ultimately deciding to stop.
There will be no funeral, per the Kootenai County Coroner.
Fuhrman was best known for discovering the bloody glove at the O.J. Simpson crime scene, but his credibility later collapsed during the trial after the defense introduced a recording in which he used the N-word, contradicting his sworn testimony denying such language.
This became a major turning point in the case as Simpson's legal team attacked his credibility and raised questions about the handling of evidence.
After retiring from the LAPD in August 1995, Fuhrman wrote true crime books and worked in television and radio, including appearances as a Fox News contributor.
In 1996, he pleaded no contest to a felony perjury charge for lying about using a racial slur during his testimony in the O.J. Simpson trial.
TMZ reports that the defense's use of recordings of his language contributed to O.J. Simpson's acquittal and that Fuhrman became the only person ever convicted of a crime connected to the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman.
In 2016, Steven Pasquale portrayed Furhman in the FX limited series, American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson.
The outlet also notes he was barred from returning to police work in California in May 2024 due to his felony conviction.
