Different Story Told by Kaelin Than at Trial

Brian “Kato” Kaelin, declared a hostile witness by prosecutors in O.J. Simpson’s double murder trial, now has told attorneys pressing wrongful death lawsuits against the former football star that Nicole Brown Simpson believed her ex-husband would murder her and that he would escape punishment.

A transcript of Kaelin’s three-day deposition was obtained by The Times on Tuesday. The 717-page document portrays a relationship between Simpson and his ex-wife--as well as of O.J. Simpson’s demeanor on the night Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Lyle Goldman were murdered--that differs markedly from the testimony Kaelin gave under oath at the criminal trial.

During the course of his recent sworn testimony, Kaelin characterized the couple’s relationship as “stormy,” contradicting his description to prosecutor Marcia Clark that they had a “good” marriage.

Kaelin described how he had become Nicole Brown Simpson’s confidant while living in her guest house. During one of the conversations they conducted over tea, he alleged, Nicole predicted that her former husband would kill her.

On the deposition’s second day, attorney Daniel M. Petrocelli, who represents Goldman’s father, Fred, asked: “How did she say O.J. would kill her?”

“She said with scissors,” Kaelin answered.

Kaelin, who was most recently employed as a radio talk show host, also alleged that Nicole told him that if Simpson did murder her, he would use his position to avoid prosecution.

“She had said that ‘if O.J. would ever kill me, he’ll get away with it because he’s O.J. Simpson,’ ” Kaelin testified.

At that point, according to the transcript, Simpson’s lead attorney, Robert C. Baker, interjected, “I think this is very entertaining. Not true, but entertaining.”

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Earlier in the proceedings, Simpson became vocally upset when Kaelin testified that the onetime Heisman Trophy winner “had been upset about Nicole not letting him see the kids” after their daughter’s dance recital, which the couple attended on the day of the murders.

According to Kaelin, the conversation’s tone so unnerved him that he had to use Simpson’s hot tub to recover.

Petrocelli responded to Simpson’s intervention by demanding that he “not make comments on the record that are audible.”

Kaelin also testified that Nicole told him Simpson was so abusive and “jealous” that he not only spied on her, but tapped her phone. Her fears in this regard led her to urge Kaelin not to say anything that might upset Simpson while in her home.

In response to another of Petrocelli’s questions, Kaelin described a conversation that he said he had with Simpson while watching television at the former football star’s home on the day before the murders. They were watching a scene in the film “The World According to Garp,” in which the protagonist unexpectedly discovers his wife engaged in oral sex with another man.

Kaelin testified that Simpson then began talking about “an incident that Nicole was performing that act on someone else in [her] house . . . and O.J. had saw it [from] outside.”

The next evening--the night of the murders--according to Kaelin’s testimony, he invited himself along for a ride with Simpson in his Bentley. During the trip, Kaelin said, Simpson was virtually silent, not even informing him of their destination, a McDonald’s restaurant.

There, Kaelin testified, “Simpson did not order for him at the drive-through,” forcing his passenger to yell his order across the driver’s seat to the speaker. When the food arrived, Simpson simply tossed Kaelin’s order onto his lap.

Upon their return to the Rockingham mansion, Kaelin said, Simpson remained standing near the Bentley while Kaelin walked toward the house.

“I looked and I was surprised that he was at the door of the car,” Kaelin testified.

Kaelin was vigorously questioned by Baker, who elicited the admission that the sometime actor had failed to tell either the grand jury or prosecutors about Nicole Brown’s alleged prediction that Simpson would murder her.

“I don’t believe I was ever asked that,” Kaelin responded to one of Baker’s inquiries.

Kaelin did say that he had recounted the incident to Marc Eliot, the writer with whom he collaborated on an aborted book project.

Baker also asked Kaelin whether he had abandoned Nicole Brown Simpson to go and live with the man she believed might kill her simply to save on rent?

“So it was a better deal and you forsook Miss Simpson for $500 a month. Right?” Baker inquired.

“Yes,” Kaelin answered.

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At another point, after Kaelin had described his efforts to effect a reconciliation between Simpson and his ex-wife, Baker asked, “Are you telling us, Mr. Kaelin, what you wanted to occur was that Nicole Brown Simpson would be reunited with Mr. Simpson, who had had a physical altercation with her and, further, that she thought that person was going to kill her with scissors? Is that what you wanted?”

Once again, Kaelin’s response was a simple “yes.”

Meanwhile, as the second phase of Simpson’s own deposition moved toward a close, Baker spoke with reporters for the first time since the process began, demanding that people recall that his client was acquitted of murder.

“He’s an American citizen. He deserves the same respect and the same fundamental rights as every other American citizen,” Baker told reporters camped in the rain outside the law offices where Simpson was being deposed.

Simpson stood silently at his lawyer’s side. His deposition, which has consumed nine days, is expected to conclude today.