THE O.J. SIMPSON MURDER TRIAL : Nicole Simpson Foundation Gives Shelter $10,000

The Nicole Brown Simpson Charitable Foundation on Tuesday wrote its first check--a $10,000 donation--to Human Options, an Orange County domestic abuse shelter, to pay for a playground at a shelter under construction.

The play area, Tyler said, would be named after Simpson “because of her love for her children,” Sydney, 8, and Justin, 6.

She and Ronald Lyle Goldman were found slain June 12, 1994, outside her Brentwood condo. Football great O.J. Simpson, her ex-husband, is standing trial on murder charges.

The charity, founded seven months ago, has been the subject of questions about its fund raising and lack of contributions, despite having raised about $200,000.

In March, the family ousted founding President Jeff C. Noebel amid concerns over his legal troubles. Noebel, a 40-year-old Dallas businessman, is awaiting sentencing in federal court for lying to authorities in a savings and loan investment scam.

At a news conference with family members at which the check was presented, Simpson’s sister Denise Brown said the media have overblown the controversy.

“Hey, we just began the foundation on Dec. 6, 1994. How long has it been? Six months?” Brown said in a frustrated tone. “We had said a long time ago that the first of our monies were to go to Human Options.”