O. J. Simpson Accused of Beating Wife

Former football star O. J. Simpson has been charged with beating his wife during a New Year’s Day argument in which he hit and kicked her as he yelled, “I’ll kill you,” authorities said.

Simpson, 41, allegedly struck his 29-year-old wife, Nicole, with open and closed fists and pulled her hair during the incident at 3:30 a.m. Jan. 1 at the couple’s Brentwood home, according to police records.

Simpson downplayed the incident Wednesday.

“My wife and I had a fight, that’s it,” he said. “We put it behind us.”

Simpson is scheduled to answer the charges, filed Monday by the city attorney’s office, Feb. 17 in West Los Angeles Municipal Court.

Simpson is charged with one misdemeanor count of spousal battery, said Mike Qualls, a spokesman for the city attorney’s office. If convicted, he faces a maximum of one year in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.

Police reports state that officers who arrived at the Simpson home New Year’s Day were kept outside by a security gate. They telephoned the home and were told by a housekeeper to go away, that no one was hurt.

Soon after police hung up, the reports said, Nicole Simpson ran across the front yard to the gate and admitted officers, saying that Simpson had beaten her up. Her face was marked with bruises and scratches, but she did not require medical treatment, police said.

Simpson at first denied the beating to police, telling officers he did nothing more than push his wife out of their bedroom, records say.