Nicole Simpson’s Family Attend Shelter Fund-Raiser

Slowly emerging from their seclusion, the family of Nicole Brown Simpson made a brief appearance Saturday night at a charity ball to raise awareness about domestic violence.

The issue of aiding abused women “is something that is a current topic,” said Lou Brown, Nicole Simpson’s father. “And we are here to let you know we believe in it and the family supports it in every way. And that’s all we have to say.”

Brown read his brief statement during a press reception at a black-tie fund-raiser for the Interval House Crisis Shelters, which has four facilities in Orange County. He declined to answer questions as the family was escorted to the hotel’s main ballroom. Brown was accompanied by his wife, Judy, daughters Tanya and Dominique and two bodyguards.

The annual event was expected to raise $150,000 for the shelters, which provide emergency housing and counseling for victims of domestic violence.

Nicole Brown Simpson’s older sister, Denise Brown, did not attend the event, but has spoken several times recently about her interest in helping victims of domestic violence, and about an evolution in her views of her sister’s marriage to murder suspect O.J. Simpson.

“Now I realize that Nicole was a battered woman, something I never knew before,” she Brown said in a recent interview with The Times.

The change in her thinking, Denise Brown said, came after she and other family members discovered notes among Nicole’s belongings that described apparent incidents of abuse. Denise Brown would not elaborate on their contents.