Black-Tie Benefit Puts a Spotlight on Spousal Abuse

They were more accustomed to seeing one another in the drab starkness of a Los Angeles courthouse, as the so-called Trial of the Century reached its stunning conclusion.

On Saturday night, they were together again, this time at a luxury hotel awash with black ties and glittering evening gowns.

Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Gil Garcetti and the family of Nicole Brown Simpson were attending a benefit gala for Interval House, which runs shelters for battered women and their children.

The prosecutor and the Brown family reunited under the shared desire to curtail domestic violence. O.J. Simpson had pleaded no contest to spousal abuse in 1989, but Garcetti’s office failed to persuade a jury during a trial that ended last month to convict Simpson of murdering his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Lyle Goldman in June, 1994.

Both Garcetti and Lou Brown, father of Nicole Brown Simpson, spoke briefly to guests in a salon at the Ritz-Carlton in Dana Point before the gala dinner and ball.

“Unfortunately there are still too many women who are safer on the streets than in their own homes,” said Garcetti, explaining why he accepted the invitation to the fund raiser. He said it was the first time he had been in the same room with the Brown family since a jury found Simpson not guilty nearly eight weeks ago.

The Browns, meanwhile, have worked to raise awareness of spousal abuse.

This marked the second year the Brown family has attended Le Bal des Papillons, or the ball of the butterflies, the annual celebrity Auction Ball for Interval House that drew more than 400 people.

Speaking to a roomful of elegantly dressed guests, Lou Brown sought their support for shelters for battered women and their children, describing one small shelter in Oregon that he said was forced to turn away more than 100 women in six months for lack of space.

He referred only once in passing to Nicole Brown Simpson. But he spoke of another death, that of a 6-year-old girl named Alisa in New York City last week. She was found covered with scars and bruises that officials believe were inflicted by her mother. Neighbors reportedly had suspected child abuse, but some apparently did not report it.

People must speak out and contact police when they think abuse is occurring, Brown said.

“When you hear something, when you see something, do something about it,” he said. “9-1-1. Use it.”

Garcetti, in an interview, said he believes public awareness of domestic violence has grown rapidly, comparing it to the change in societal attitudes toward drunken driving in recent years. He said that Saturday was the first time he has spoken at a shelter fund raiser, but that he will do it again if it will help the cause.

An estimated $150,000 to $200,000 from the $200-a-plate Ritz-Carlton event will go to support Interval House’s programs and services to battered women and their children, organizers said.

Interval House, based in Seal Beach, operates three Orange County shelters and an outreach center.