The robbery trial of former US football star OJ Simpson is due to get under way in Las Vegas on Monday.

Mr Simpson, 61, is accused of robbing two sports memorabilia dealers at gunpoint a year ago.

He faces 12 charges including kidnap, armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon. If found guilty of kidnapping, he could receive a life sentence.

Mr Simpson, who denies the charges, was acquitted of murder in 1995, in what was dubbed the Jury pick starts OJ Simpson trial ...
Phelps wins eighth gold, Jamaicans sweep track ...
Women 'using web for abortions' ...
Merger forms transatlantic union ... trial of the century.

He had been accused of murdering his former wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman. The verdict shocked many in America.

Mr Simpson was later found liable for the deaths in a civil case and ordered to pay millions to the family of Mr Goldman.

The sporting icon has remained a polarising figure in American popular culture ever since, correspondents say.

Jury selection

The charges against Mr Simpson and co-defendant Clarence Stewart, 54, stem from a confrontation with two collectibles dealers in a Las Vegas hotel last September.

Mr Simpson is accused of storming the room with five other men - some of whom were armed - and leaving with hundreds of items largely relating to Mr Simpson's sporting career. The dealers say the items were theirs to sell.

Defence lawyers are expected to argue that Mr Simpson was at the hotel to retrieve personal property that had been stolen from him years before. He has denied guns were involved.

An all-white jury was sworn in last week to hear the case.

Only those jurors who said they could put aside any strong opinions about Mr Simpson's previous trial were allowed to serve.

The trial is expected to last five weeks.

(BBC)

<< Back