Nicole Brown Simpson's ex says O.J.'s abuse was an 'open secret'

Joseph Perrulli said he dated Nicole Simpson in 1992 after meeting her through Kris Jenner, and learned early that O.J. Simpson was violent. He has said people in the film industry and a Hollywood producer warned him about the abuse. Perrulli described a sense of powerlessness in Hollywood because Simpson remained a spokesperson for a major rental car company and worked as a sportscaster, and it seemed he could act with impunity.

Nicole told Perrulli that O.J. had beaten her so badly she feared for her life. Perrulli wrote a book called The Forgotten Briefcase about their relationship. He said he ended the romance after discovering O.J. spied on them and followed them while they jogged, and after a nightmare in which they drove off a cliff; he packed their mementos into a briefcase, hid it and distanced himself.

The two last saw each other at a Jenner family Christmas party in 1993, where Nicole was with O.J.; she wanted to remain friends, Perrulli said. He received a phone call six months later that she had been murdered.

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