Thirty-one years after O.J. Simpson was acquitted of murder, there are new developments regarding the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. A new New York Times report looks into the possibility that Simpson might have had an accomplice if he did the alleged crime. And a random anecdote from New York rapper Fat Joe might bolster the theory.
In 2007, Simpson published the book If I Did It: Confessions Of The Killer, in which he details what could possibly have happened on the night of the murders. In the book, he writes about an accomplice that could have aided in the crime. Although no major credence has been given to an accomplice theory in the past, the NYT's report exposes the possibility of this theory and that the LAPD did take this theory seriously.
One of the names and possible accomplice suspects that appeared throughout their investigation was Joseph Ippolito — "a mafia associate, a serial felon, a prison escapee" who was also friends with Simpson, who later passed away in 2006. During their investigation Ippolito's brother Sam told the NYT that he was confident that Joey was with Simpson the night of the murders because he came home with blood on his hands. In a follow-up interview, the brother said he would only be doing paid interviews moving forward. As this is against the NYT's ethics, the reporters handling the story said they would not comply with this and the brother then recanted the statement.
An unearthed podcast interview with Fat Joe corroborates the possibility that Ippolito aided in the murders, although his casual delivery and hearsay feels like a chaotic contribution to evidence.
"So, I got a friend, right? He passed away. We used to call him Joe Bentley cuz he owned so many Bentleys," he began explaining on an August 2025 episode of the Joe And Jada Podcast, the podcast he hosts with Jadakiss and comedian Aries Spears. Fat Joe continued:
So the man tells me that when OJ Simpson was in the Bronco, he was in the airport with the private that OJ Simpson is his man, right? He was the one waiting for him for him. The man telling me all this shit! I could not believe!
So one day it’s his wife’s birthday. His wife’s name is Nicole. So, he says, "Yo, we throwing her birthday party in my other house" up in like where Trump lives, Palm Beach or some shit. I go with the Terror Squad. It's me, Remy, Pistol Pete. We go in there and OJ Simpson is in the house.
He then talks about how Remy, Pete, and Simpson were smoking blunts. "When they came down to cut the cake. Happy birthday Nicole. Joe Bentley puts the machete in O.J.’s hand and says you did it n****. You did it. And O.J. starts chasing him around the house with the fucking knife," Joe continued. He then asked Jadakiss and Spears, "Who would be the O.J. Simpson of 2025?"
Fat Joe and Ippolito's widow both declined to comment to the New York Times. However, Malcolm LaVergne, executor of Simpson's estate, shared a statement with TMZ, saying that it should all be put to rest to give the victims families and loved ones some peace. Read the full report here and check out clips from the podcast below.