OJ Simpson appeared to know the end was near — as the former NFL star’s friends visited to say their goodbyes over the past week. Simpson, who became infamous during his murder trial in the 90s, received visits from a slew of his friends who flew into Las Vegas to say farewell, sources told TMZ.
It was not immediately clear which friends dropped by to visit the former running back, who was in Sin City receiving treatment for prostate cancer.
Sources told the outlet that Simpson was communicating well, but it was clear that there was not much time left to say goodbye. His family announced his death Thursday from his social media accounts.
“On April 10th, our father, Orenthal James Simpson, succumbed to his battle with cancer,” his family wrote.
“He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren. During this time of transition, his family asks that you please respect their wishes for privacy and grace,” the brief statement added.
Simpson was survived by four children from two marriages – including the two youngest, Sydney and Justin, whom he shared with his second wife Nicole Brown Simpson.
Simpson, who spent 10 years in the NFL before moving on to acting, had a difficult life at home.
After divorcing his first wife in 1979 after the two lost a son who drowned, he married Brown, who would go on to accuse him of vicious spousal abuse that included verbal vitriol and physical beatings.
Simpson and Brown divorced in 1992 — two years before she and her friend, Ron Goldman, were found stabbed to death outside of her home.
Simpson was arrested for the killings a few days later following a slow-speed car chase in his white Ford Bronco.
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Simpson’s blockbuster murder trial the following year quickly became tabloid and media fodder, as the former football star’s “Dream Team” of high-profile lawyers tried to refute a seemingly damning stack of evidence.
Simpson was later acquitted on Oct. 3, 1995. Despite charges being dropped, he was ordered to pay the families of Brown and Goldman over $33 million in civil proceedings for wrongful death and battery.
Two months before his death, Simpson was pictured looking frail but assured the public he was in good health in a brief social media video.
The former athlete also sparked health concerns when he was seen limping out in Las Vegas in November.
