Years before Nicole Brown Simpson was killed, Joseph Perrulli says she shared a chilling fear about what might happen to her — a warning he still wishes had never become reality.
Perrulli said the two were out to dinner when Brown Simpson opened up about her estranged husband, former football star and actor O.J. Simpson, claiming he had beaten her so severely that she lost consciousness.
Through tears, Perrulli recalled, Brown Simpson told him, “I just prayed something like that would never happen again. But it did. I’d rather die than go back to that man.”
Joseph Perrulli dated Nicole Brown Simpson in the spring of 1992, while she was separated from O.J. Simpson. He later chronicled their brief relationship in a book titled “The Forgotten Briefcase.” (Courtesy of Joseph Perrulli)
On June 12, 1994, Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman were found stabbed to death outside her home in Los Angeles’ Brentwood neighborhood. Thirty-two years later, Perrulli has revisited their short-lived romance in his memoir, “The Forgotten Briefcase.”
“To hear those words — how do you even process it?” Perrulli told INC News. “It disturbed me that night. I’ll never forget waking up and remembering everything she said to me. But I felt confident she would never go back to him. I saw such strength in her eyes. I figured she wouldn’t go back to him.”
Perrulli said he fell in love with Nicole Brown Simpson, but at the time, he did not fully understand the long-term impact of domestic abuse — an issue that was far less openly discussed then. (Courtesy of Joseph Perrulli)
Perrulli first crossed paths with Brown Simpson in 1989 through mutual friend Kris Jenner. They reconnected in 1992, after Brown Simpson filed for divorce from O.J. Simpson, and Perrulli said the woman he saw then seemed dramatically changed from the person he had met years earlier.
“The Forgotten Briefcase” by Joseph Perrulli is available now. (4 Pillars Publishing)
“When I first met her, I suspected something was going on in her life,” Perrulli said. “She was very secretive. Her demeanor was unlike anything I’d seen in Beverly Hills at the time. But I remember I was drawn to this inner sadness. I don’t know why. But when we reconnected in 1992, she had completely transformed herself. She was a vivacious woman taking control of her life. It was so mesmerizing to me.”
After having dinner with the Jenners, Simpson invited Perrulli back to her new rental home in Brentwood. Once she checked on her children, Sydney, then 6, and Justin, 3, she lit candles, and the pair quickly bonded on the couch. There, Perrulli learned about her favorite music — “everything but country,” she told him — and her favorite restaurants across Los Angeles. Between laughter, they kissed.
Kris Jenner attends the Pioneer Awards honoring Terry Semel on Dec. 10, 1990, at the Century Plaza Hotel in Century City, California. Jenner introduced Joseph Perrulli to Nicole Brown Simpson in 1989. (Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
Perrulli also remembered a warning from Jenner’s husband, then known as Bruce Jenner, after he sensed sparks were flying between the pair: “O.J. will always be her problem.”
Joseph Perrulli and Nicole Brown Simpson are seen here at a dinner with Kris Jenner (right) and mutual friends. (Courtesy of Joseph Perrulli)
“Those words have always stayed with me,” Perrulli said. “Caitlyn Jenner said it almost in passing, but with such a serious look. We were mountain biking in Malibu when I spoke about how incredible Nicole was. I could never let those words go.”
When Perrulli left Simpson’s home that night, he recalled catching the scent of Paco Rabanne cologne and feeling compelled to look over his shoulder. He also remembered that Simpson wore the scent herself.
Although Nicole Brown Simpson and O.J. Simpson finalized their divorce in 1992, they briefly reconciled before separating again ahead of the 1994 murders. According to Perrulli, Simpson remained fiercely devoted to her two children and would have done anything to protect them. (Robin Platzer/Getty Images)
Days later, Simpson told him a neighbor had seen O.J. lurking outside her home while Perrulli was there. Perrulli said he realized the scent he’d noticed belonged to the same cologne O.J. was wearing.
Nicole Brown Simpson and O.J. Simpson married on Feb. 2, 1985. (Gary Leonard/Corbis via Getty Images)
As their relationship deepened, Perrulli said he also began to learn more about the darker side of Simpson’s marriage to O.J.
“She didn’t always talk about the abuse she endured,” Perrulli said. “She was very private and held it very close to her chest. We were having dinner when, out of nowhere, she confided in me. I had my suspicions, but it was entirely different hearing it from her.”
During their brief romance, Joseph Perrulli and Nicole Brown Simpson traveled to Cabo San Lucas in 1992. (Courtesy of Joseph Perrulli)
“I was unprepared for it,” Perrulli admitted. “I didn’t know how to react. All I could do while she was crying in public was hold her hands and make sure I listened. I never spoke about that to anyone. Ever.”
Denise Brown, sister of murder victim Nicole Brown Simpson, cries on the witness stand in Los Angeles as a picture she took of an injured Nicole Brown Simpson is shown on a screen. (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
According to the book, Simpson told Perrulli, “He totally lost control, yelling and screaming at the top of his lungs. Then he started hitting me, hard … I thought for sure he was going to kill me. The pain was so intense, I must have gone into shock because even though I could still hear him yelling and I could still hear his fists hitting me, I was numb. I totally blacked out from the pain.”
A television broadcast shows a photograph of Nicole Brown Simpson entered into evidence at the O.J. Simpson double-murder trial. The photo, from a 1989 incident, shows a cut lip and bruises on her face. It was presented during testimony by Los Angeles police detective John Edwards, who answered her call for help. (CBS Televisio/AFP via Getty Images)
Despite everything she had endured, Perrulli said Simpson remained determined to build a new life for herself. She poured herself into raising Sydney and Justin and embracing the independence she believed she had finally found.
O.J. Simpson, Nicole Brown Simpson and their two children attend the “Naked Gun 33 1/3” premiere at the Paramount Pictures Studio Backlot in Hollywood. (Barry King/WireImage)
As Perrulli fell deeper in love with Simpson, he also grew increasingly unnerved by O.J.’s continued presence in her life.
In the book, Perrulli said the turning point came during a run along San Vicente Boulevard. As he, Simpson and her friend Cora jogged, they unexpectedly encountered O.J. waiting nearby with his and Simpson’s children. Perrulli briefly locked eyes with O.J. as he ran past. He described feeling a chill as he saw “the monster from Nicole’s nightmare” in O.J.’s stare.
O.J. Simpson and Nicole Brown Simpson are seen here on March 16, 1994, in Los Angeles. She was murdered in June of that year. (Vinnie Zuffante/Getty Images)
“I saw something far different in his eyes that morning,” Perrulli told INC News.
Nicole Brown Simpson filed for divorce from O.J. Simpson in 1992. (Frank Edwards/Fotos International/Getty Images)
The encounter convinced him that remaining in Simpson’s life would only intensify the danger surrounding her, a realization he later summed up with the words, “Fear can supersede love.”
One night over dinner, Nicole Brown Simpson told her beau Joseph Perrulli that O.J. Simpson had beat her “really badly.” (Courte)
Perrulli said he also experienced what he believes was a prophetic dream in which he and Simpson died together in a car crash.
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As Joseph Perrulli and Nicole Brown Simpson’s romance deepened, Perrulli struggled to escape O.J. Simpson’s looming presence in their lives. (Courtesy of Joseph Perrulli)
“It felt like one of the most significant premonitions of my life,” he said. “The following morning, I knew the relationship had ended.”
“I regret not maintaining a friendship with her because she was such a beautiful spirit,” he said. “But I realized how difficult it was going to be for her to separate herself from him. And, of course, living about a mile from his home, I felt it was an impossible situation to be in.”
Nicole Brown Simpson gave Joseph Perrulli a copy of her favorite book, “Celebrate the Sun” by James Kavanaugh. (Courtesy of Joseph Perrulli)
Simpson wanted to stay friends. She even called him to say her divorce was finalized. She gave him a copy of her favorite book and dropped off a photo album with a goodbye note. She told him, “I want you to keep that, and I want you to look at it sometimes and see what you’ll be missing.”
Nicole Brown Simpson was killed along with restaurant waiter Ronald Goldman on June 12, 1994. (FILES/AFP via Getty Images)
Perrulli didn’t see Simpson again until the Jenners’ annual Christmas Eve party in 1993. There, he said he was stunned to discover she had reunited with O.J.
“I found out they’re back together,” he said. “I just remember the night when she said she’d never go back to him. She’d rather die than go back to him. I lingered there a little too long. Obviously, I upset him. I regret that last encounter because I thought I’d see her again and apologize.”
Nicole Brown Simpson’s grave. (Ted Soqui/Sygma via Getty Images)
Six months later, Simpson was murdered. She was 35 years old. Perrulli said he immediately believed O.J. was responsible.
O.J. Simpson’s mugshot. (Ted Soqui/Sygma via Getty Images)
“I knew exactly who did it,” Perrulli said. “But I couldn’t grieve. I did everything I could to detach myself, as if the spring of 1992 never existed.”
During the 1995 murder trial, Perrulli spoke with prosecutor Marcia Clark after tabloids revealed his relationship with Simpson. He wasn’t called to testify. O.J. was acquitted in the criminal case but was later found liable for the deaths of Simpson and Goldman in a 1997 civil trial. He was ordered to pay $33.5 million in damages.
A family photo of Ronald Goldman, who was murdered with O.J. Simpson’s ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson on June 12, 1994. (Lee Celano/WireImage)
For years, Perrulli attempted to lock away his memories of Simpson. It wasn’t until 2024 that he opened a briefcase he initially believed had been lost. Inside were the letters, photographs and keepsakes he’d packed away after ending their relationship — untouched for more than three decades.
Today, Joseph Perrulli hopes the public will remember Nicole Brown Simpson as more than a victim — and that her story will continue to raise awareness about domestic violence. (Caren Glasser)
“Nicole was seen as just a victim, and Ron Goldman, too, for that matter,” Perrulli said. “But she was a devoted mother who, at one point, felt she was finally free. I guess I needed some closure. And maybe, in finding this briefcase, Nicole wants the world to see her for who she was.”
Perrulli said he hopes readers remember not only how Simpson died but also who she was during the brief period when she believed she’d reclaimed her life.
