Hair Found on Body Reportedly Like Simpson’s

Microscopic analysis shows that a hair discovered on the body of Ronald Lyle Goldman has similarities to samples taken from O.J. Simpson, sources close to the case said Thursday.

The tests performed on that hair are not as definitive as DNA analysis being conducted on blood samples and thus cannot show as precisely the source of the hair, sources said. Nevertheless, the results show that the hair came from a black person and that the sample has other physical characteristics that suggest similarities with Simpson’s hair, sources said.

That could bolster the prosecution’s case by suggesting that Simpson had contact with Goldman at the murder scene--a scenario that would contradict the football great’s statement to police that he was home waiting for an airport limousine when the slayings occurred.

Officials from the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office declined to comment on any scientific tests connected to the Simpson case. Simpson, who was arrested in June, has pleaded not guilty in the slayings of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and Goldman.

As they build their case against Simpson, prosecutors have amassed dozens of pieces of physical evidence--most notably a collection of bloodstains at the murder scene and Simpson’s Brentwood estate. The blood samples are being subjected to DNA analysis, and some of those tests have been completed, sources said Wednesday. According to those sources, final test results that have been produced so far show that bloodstains from at least two drops near the bodies contain genetic markers identical to those found in Simpson’s blood.

Those results confirm preliminary findings, but defense sources Thursday downplayed their significance, saying Simpson’s lawyers already are prepared to wage an aggressive attack on the reliability of the tests and the procedures used to collect the samples. The latest results, those sources said, do not change that.

Other tests are being performed on blood found in Simpson’s car and at his home, as well as on a pair of leather gloves--one found at the crime scene, the other outside Simpson’s residence.

In addition to the DNA tests, a number of items have been combed for hair and fibers. A knit cap found near the bodies, for instance, had hairs inside and out, including some that sources say resemble Simpson’s hair, some that appear to be Nicole Simpson’s hair, and some that appear not to come either from Simpson or the victims.

It is the hair discovered on Goldman’s body that has attracted the greatest interest because it would be the most difficult for Simpson to explain. Still, experts warned that microscopic hair analysis is far less exact than DNA analysis. Hairs can sometimes be subjected to DNA analysis, but only if there is enough follicle for scientists to analyze.

According to the “Handbook of Forensic Science” used by the FBI, microscopic examination of hair samples can determine whether a hair could have originated from a particular person and can show the race and sometimes the gender of the person.

In some cases, hair will reveal more specific detail about the possible source because some hairs have unusual characteristics--cracks, splits or diseases--that allow more precise identification, according to an FBI law enforcement bulletin on the subject. But hair cannot reveal other identifying details such as the person’s age.

The handbook describes microscopic hair analysis as: “Not positive evidence; however, (it) is good circumstantial evidence.”

Even if the hair on Goldman’s body closely resembles Simpson’s in many respects, experts say there could be explanations other than the suggestion that Simpson was at the murder scene.

For one thing, Simpson’s lawyers could argue that the presence of a single hair on Goldman’s body raises doubts about the prosecution theory that he and Simpson struggled violently. Such a struggle would almost certainly have caused Simpson to lose a number of hairs, sources close to the case say. So why would only one show up on Goldman?

In addition, Goldman’s body was found outside a condominium belonging to Nicole Simpson. O.J. Simpson visited there frequently and thus could have left hairs on another occasion, sources noted. One of those hairs could have stuck to Goldman when he fell, according to that scenario.

With Superior Court Judge Lance A. Ito on vacation, the legal maneuvering in the Simpson case has unfolded mostly behind closed doors in recent days. Thursday, prosecutors filed a motion in response to the defense’s argument against sequestering the jury, but they submitted the document under seal.

Prosecutors have asked that the jury be sequestered to prevent panelists from being exposed to the crush of publicity in the case. Defense attorneys countered with a motion filed earlier this week, but it also was filed under seal.

The case returns to court Monday, however, when Ito has scheduled the first of a week’s worth of hearings on several issues. Ito is expected to hear arguments and rule on a defense motion to dismiss the case for lack of evidence, another defense motion to suppress evidence seized during several searches, and the prosecution motion for a sequestered jury.

Despite the hiatus in hearings during the past two weeks, lawyers and investigators for both sides have been scrambling to put together their cases for trial. The defense investigative team, which suffered a brief setback when state authorities cracked down on several investigators for lacking state licenses, now is out from under that cloud, according to members of the team.

“When that controversy came up, they came over to me, and now they are basically my employees,” said John Dresden, a Los Angeles private investigator who said he has been licensed since 1974. “Now things are going very good.”

In other developments, families of the two victims, who have given interviews since the June 12 murders but have largely remained behind the scenes, spoke on national television for the first time.

In an interview that aired Thursday on the ABC News program “PrimeTime Live,” Nicole Simpson’s parents and three sisters told of the tensions they saw between Nicole and O.J. Simpson on June 12, hours before she was killed. They said O.J. Simpson did not speak to his ex-wife at a recital for their daughter that day, and that Nicole Simpson did not invite him to join them for dinner afterward.

Nicole’s mother described how she later stood beside her daughter’s coffin and asked O.J. Simpson directly if he was responsible for the murder. “He said, ‘No, I loved your daughter,’ ” Juditha Brown told interviewer Diane Sawyer.

The football great was “insanely jealous” of his wife, her sister Dominique Brown said. “He was real possessive. . . . He wanted her to be attractive, but for him, and that’s as far as it went. He was just very possessive of her.”

The Browns also provided telephone records confirming previous reports that Nicole Simpson’s mother called her daughter at 9:40 p.m. on the night of the murders. That is the last known time that Nicole Simpson was alive. The time of the call is potentially important because it could help establish whether O.J. Simpson would have had time to commit the crime and still be home to meet an airport limousine about 11 p.m.

The Goldman family is scheduled to appear tonight on ABC’s “20/20.” A transcript of that broadcast was released Thursday. In it, Goldman’s family members describe Ronald Goldman in detail and say they are worried that his life has been distorted by news accounts.

They also say they have not heard from Simpson, but Goldman’s sister Kim said she had not prejudged him. “You’re innocent till proven guilty,” she said.

Times staff writer Rebecca Trounson contributed to this report.