Yahoo Lifestyle Nicole Brown Simpson and O.J.’s Kids Justin and Sydney 'Prefer to Stay Low-Key and Raise Their Families,' Aunt Says (Exclusive)
“They lost their mother, and it was everywhere in the world,” Nicole Brown Simpson's sister Dominique says of the trauma experienced by her niece and nephew
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O.J. Simpson, Nicole Brown Simpson with their two children, Sydney and Justin, in March 1994.Nicole Brown Simpson’s two children were upstairs sleeping at their mother’s Brentwood, Los Angeles, townhome at the time of her violent 1994 murder.
Sydney, then 8, and Justin, then 5, were soon thrust into the spotlight when their father, former NFL running back O.J. Simpson was accused of fatally stabbing their 35-year-old mother and her friend, 25-year-old Ron Goldman on June 12, 1994. Days after the murders, O.J. led police on a wild chase while a passenger in a white Ford Bronco driven by friend Al Cowlings, holding a gun to his head.
O.J. was eventually found not guilty in the so-called “Trial of the Century,” which was televised from start to finish and received an unprecedented amount of media coverage. O.J. was later found liable for the deaths in a lawsuit filed by the families of his ex-wife and Goldman in 1997 and lived the rest of his days in infamy until his death from cancer in April.
Today, Sydney, 38, and Justin, 35, are both parents and work in real estate — and prefer to stay out of the spotlight.
“At this point, I think they would prefer to just stay low-key and raise their families,” Nicole’s sister, Dominique Brown, 59, exclusively tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue.
Roger Sandler
Dominique with son Aaron (left) and niece Sydney in 1995.She continues, “I think that Nicole was that way. Nicole preferred to be behind the camera. I think that when she was younger and they would do videos, she would try to hide herself from the camera like, ‘Don't take my picture.’ And she ended up having a completely different life before and after her death.”
Dominique adds that the publicity didn’t make things easier for the children.
“They lost their mother, and it was everywhere in the world,” she says.
In the immediate aftermath of Nicole’s murder, Dominique dedicated herself to shielding the children from the pain and chaos.
For more on the life of Nicole Brown Simpson, as shared by her three sisters, subscribe now to PEOPLE, or pick up this week's issue, on newsstands Friday.
“I knew that was the role I was supposed to undertake,” she says. “There was Denise’s son, my son, Sydney and Justin. We played together, ate together, went to the beach together—everything together. It was to help them heal and do things that were fun.”
Roger Sandler
Denise Brown with nephew Justin in 1995.And, she says, “the things that were being said, they didn’t need to be exposed to any of that.”
The sisters eventually lost touch with their niece and nephew, and only by watching an upcoming Lifetime documentary series titled The Life & Murder of Nicole Brown Simpson, did they learn about the difficulties Sydney and Justin have faced.
Courtesy Brown Family
From left: Nicole Brown Simpson's mother Juditha Brown feeding grandson Aaron (Dominque's son), Nicole Brown Simpson, O.J. Simpson and Sydney Simpson in Hawaii in December 1988.“We found out a lot of things went down in Florida—911 calls with the kids saying, ‘Daddy, stop,’ their house getting raided, just chaos,” says Dominique.
If Nicole was still here today, Dominique says she would be a proud grandmother.
“I see so much pride in their families just like [Nicole] had in her children,” she says. “I see that with the kids now with their own.”
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
The Life & Murder of Nicole Brown Simpson airs over two nights on June 1 and June 2 on Lifetime.
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