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Kato Kaelin: O.J. Simpson Murder Trial Witness Says Jury ‘Made A Mistake’

By Sandra Johnson
Published on: 12:18 PST, Nov 8, 2015

On Monday, an interview with famed O.J. Simpson trial witness Kato Kaelin will air on an episode of Barbara Walters Presents American Scandals, and the things Kaelin has to say may surprise some viewers.

According to People, Kato Kaelin believes NFL star O.J. Simpson is guilty of the 1994 murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. Brown Simpson and Goldman had been stabbed to death at Nicole’s Brentwood, California home. Nicole Brown Simpson was the ex-wife of the former NFL player.

Since the 1995 trial, Kato Kaelin’s name has been synonymous with the Nicole Brown Simpson murder case, as Kaelin quickly became a star witness after O.J. Simpson was arrested for the crime. At the time of the murder, Kaelin had been a struggling actor and was a house guest of the former professional athlete.

In 1995, after a lengthy criminal trial, O.J. Simpson was found not guilty of the murders of Brown Simpson and Goldman. After the verdict was returned in 1995, Barbara Walters had the opportunity to talk to Kato Kaelin off-camera, he says during the Monday-night interview. Even then, Kato said he’d had doubts about the decision made by the jury.

“I remember that because you asked me off camera, you said, ‘What do you think?’ and I whispered into your ear, I said ‘I think they made a mistake.'”

Kato Kaelin, now 56 years old, goes on to add that, though he obviously wasn’t a part of the jury, he believes that the jury should have found Simpson to be guilty.

“I could only say what I knew and that’s what I testified to, my opinion about his guilt is my opinion… In my opinion, yes, I think he’s guilty. In hindsight, and everything, 20 years later, I think that O.J. Simpson is guilty.”

In addition to speaking with Barbara Walters, Kato Kaelin also gave an interview to the Today Show to talk about the case, which concluded 20 years ago.

During his Today Show interview, Kaelin said that he believes O.J. Simpson pressured Kaelin to provide an alibi for the football player.

“(O.J. Simpson) had tried to talk to me one time and tell me, ‘You know where I was Kato, you know I was in the kitchen at this time. He was in the kitchen trying to convince me about what I believe now was an alibi for him.”

Kaelin also went on to say that, in some ways, life has been difficult for him since he became a key witness for the case so many years ago.

“One day I walk into a courtroom. I walk out of a courtroom and everybody’s shouting my name. I became this public figure and everybody had an opinion. I was Kato the character. Still to this day I can’t believe some of the hate that can come over social media. If I work, they say you’re capitalizing, still to this day, If I don’t, then I’m a bum.”

Still, Kaelin said that he wouldn’t have changed his role in the O.J. Simpson case 20 years ago, as he believes he shared the truth to the best of his ability.

“I testified to things that I knew, not what I thought happened. And that’s the God’s honest truth.”

O.J. Simpson was ultimately acquitted of the criminal murder charges, but O.J. was found liable for the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman in a civil lawsuit. In that case, O.J. was ordered to pay $33.5 million to the victim’s families.

Do you remember Kato Kaelin’s role in the O.J. Simpson case?

The Barbara Walter’s interview with Kato Kaelin is scheduled to air at 10 p.m. EST Monday on The Discovery Channel.

Find out more about Kato Kaelin and his role in the O.J. Simpson case in the video below.

[Photo by Mark Mainz/Getty Images Entertainment]

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