Mark Fuhrman (February 5, 1952 – May 12, 2026) was an American law enforcement officer, author, and commentator. As a detective for the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), he became known for his role in the Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman murder investigation and the subsequent prosecution of O. J. Simpson. After his retirement from the LAPD, Fuhrman wrote several true crime books and hosted talk radio.
In 1995, Fuhrman was called to testify regarding his discovery of evidence in the Simpson case, including a bloody glove recovered at Simpson's estate. During the trial, witnesses claimed that in the 1980s, Fuhrman frequently described African Americans as "niggers", claims he denied. In response, Simpson's defense team produced recorded interviews with Fuhrman and witnesses, which proved that he had repeatedly used racist language during those interviews. Fuhrman maintained that he did not plant or manufacture evidence in the Simpson case, and Simpson's defense team did not present any evidence to contradict this claim.
Life before the O. J. Simpson murder trial
Fuhrman was born in Eatonville, Washington, on February 5, 1952. He attended Peninsula High School in Gig Harbor, Washington. Fuhrman's parents divorced when he was seven years old, and his mother remarried briefly. In 1970, at the age of 18, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, where he was trained as a machine gunner and military policeman. although his service in the Vietnam theater was restricted to being assigned to the , an amphibious assault ship stationed offshore. Having attained the rank of sergeant, After leaving the military, Fuhrman entered the Los Angeles Police Academy and graduated in 1975.
In 1981, Fuhrman requested leave for workers' compensation. During a psychiatric interview regarding this claim, Fuhrman expressed racist sentiments, stating that he stopped enjoying military service because of alleged insubordination from Mexican-Americans and African-Americans, whom he described as "niggers". Fuhrman received workers' compensation and remained on paid leave until 1983. During this time, Fuhrman attempted to leave the police force permanently and receive a stress disability pension. In a 1982 psychiatric interview, he claimed that he had "tortur[ed] suspects and con[ned] internal affairs detectives", that he would choke suspects and break their arms and legs "if necessary", and that he had pounded suspects' faces to "mush". In 1989, a statement by Fuhrman about this call resulted in Simpson's arrest for spousal abuse. Fuhrman was promoted to detective in 1989.
Role in the O. J. Simpson murder trial
Background
During Simpson's and Brown's eight-year marriage, Simpson repeatedly physically abused her and threatened to kill her, leading her to call the police on several occasions. Fuhrman responded to one of these calls and encountered Brown hiding in her Mercedes as Simpson was trying to break the windshield with a baseball bat. In a 2016 interview with Ezra Edelman in O.J.: Made in America, Fuhrman claimed that he twice asked Simpson to put the bat down, and when Simpson refused, Fuhrman got his baton out and threatened him with violence if he continued. Simpson then obeyed and apologized, and Fuhrman offered Brown the chance to press charges so he could arrest Simpson; when she declined, Fuhrman went away telling her, "It's your life."
Brown and Ron Goldman were murdered outside Brown's Brentwood, Los Angeles, condominium on the night of June 12, 1994. Robert Riske and his partner were the first police officers on the scene in the early morning of June 13, and Riske found a bloody left-hand glove at the scene. At least 14 officers and supervisors, some of whom arrived on the scene before Fuhrman, reported seeing only one glove. Fuhrman and his superior, Ronald Phillips, were the first detectives to arrive; Fuhrman's partner, Brad Roberts, arrived later. Fuhrman was familiar with Simpson and Brown because of the 1985 domestic violence call. Fuhrman left Brown's condominium with Ronald Phillips and lead detectives Tom Lange and Philip Vannatter and went to Simpson's Rockingham residence. At the Simpson residence, Fuhrman found a number of blood drops in and on a white Ford Bronco parked outside. The glove found on the Simpson estate, which, according to DNA testing, was soaked with the blood of both victims, was considered to be one of the strongest pieces of evidence for the prosecution. When Simpson was asked to put on the gloves during the trial, they appeared to be too small for him. The reasons for this have been debated; leather can shrink if exposed to water and heat. Simpson was arrested on June 17. On July 8, a preliminary hearing determined that there was sufficient evidence for Simpson to stand trial. On July 22, Simpson pleaded not guilty. the New Yorker article was published before jury selection was finalized or jury sequestration had taken place. Potential jurors were asked how much exposure to the Simpson case they received from The New Yorker (among other media outlets) as part of the jury selection process. They were also asked their opinions of Fuhrman and other witnesses who had testified at the preliminary hearing. and Fuhrman took the witness stand for the prosecution on March 9. During cross-examination on March 15, attorney F. Lee Bailey asked Fuhrman whether he had used the word "nigger" in the previous 10 years, to which Fuhrman replied that he had not. The defense tried to introduce witnesses and audiotape evidence to prove that Fuhrman had lied under oath, that he had a particular animus against interracial couples, that he had a history of perpetrating violence against African-Americans, and that he had a history of being willing to fabricate evidence or testimony. the prosecution sought to exclude this evidence by arguing that it was too inflammatory and could prejudice the predominantly black jury. Although they conceded that Fuhrman used racial epithets on the tape, the prosecution suggested that the remainder of the material was merely exaggerated "puffing and blowing".
In Alan Dershowitz's book Reasonable Doubts that was released in 1996 he wrote that he was surprised that the prosecution team called Fuhrman as a witness to testify. Dershowitz wrote that for reasons that he thought of as both "ethical and tactical" that he would not have called him if he were on the prosecution. He wrote that Marcia Clark had to know that Fuhrman was going to lie about his use of racist language. By putting him on the stand it gave the defense the opportunity to give the jury reasonable doubt especially about some of the key evidence that Fuhrman had discovered like the glove at OJ Simpson's home.
On August 31, Judge Lance Ito ruled that evidence could be introduced to prove that Fuhrman had lied about use of the word "nigger", but that claims of violence and police misconduct were inadmissible. On September 5, the defense produced multiple witnesses and audiotapes to establish that Fuhrman had used the word "nigger" within the last 10 years. The tape eventually resulted in a perjury charge against Fuhrman, to which he pleaded no contest. First, Laura Hart McKinny took the stand. Between 1985 and 1994, Fuhrman gave taped interviews to McKinny, a writer working on a screenplay about female police officers. Fuhrman was working as a consultant for McKinny on the understanding that he would be paid $10,000 if a movie were produced. The recordings contain 41 instances of the word "nigger" used as recently as 1988, In the recordings, he also said that he thought it is sometimes necessary to lie as a police officer and that he gave testimony about events he did not actually witness. where she claimed that he expressed animus against interracial couples and said, "If I had my way, all the niggers would be gathered together and burned". Next, witness Natalie Singer, whose roommate had dated Fuhrman around 1987, testified that Fuhrman had told her, "The only good nigger is a dead nigger". However, Ito restricted her from giving her complete statement during the trial. Roderic Hodge then testified that while he was in police custody in 1987, Fuhrman had said to him, "I told you we would get you, nigger." Ultimately, the jury was allowed to hear only two excerpts from the Fuhrman tapes, which did not include the inflammatory violent content or material related to potential misconduct. Jurors heard Fuhrman say, "We have no niggers where I grew up", and "That's where niggers live".
During his closing argument, defense attorney Johnnie Cochran called Fuhrman "a lying, perjuring, genocidal racist", likening him to Adolf Hitler. He argued that Fuhrman had planted the bloody glove on Simpson's estate as part of a racially motivated plot against Simpson, which could be traced back to Fuhrman's first encounter with the interracial couple in 1985. and has been cited as one of the main reasons Simpson was acquitted.
Aftermath
Fuhrman's words on the tapes resulted in his being widely condemned, including by the prosecution. His use of racial epithets and accusations that he had planted evidence became a focal point of the trial and attracted enormous media attention that for a time eclipsed coverage of the crime itself, such that Ron Goldman's father, Fred Goldman, told the media, "This is now the Fuhrman trial. It is not the trial of O. J. Simpson, the man accused of murdering my son and Nicole."
After the trial, there was widespread pressure on Los Angeles County district attorney Gil Garcetti to bring perjury charges against Fuhrman. Garcetti initially refused, saying that Fuhrman's use of racist language was "not material to the case", a major element of proving perjury. As many members of Garcetti's office made public statements on the issue, Garcetti, citing the high emotions in his office about the case, opted to give the decision on whether or not to prosecute to Dan Lungren, the California Attorney General, to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest.
On July 5, 1996, Lungren announced that he would file perjury charges against Fuhrman and soon thereafter offered Fuhrman a plea bargain. On October 2, Fuhrman accepted the deal and pleaded no contest to the charges. He was sentenced to three years' probation and fined $200. Fuhrman is the only person to have been convicted of criminal charges related to the Simpson case. His probation ended early in 1998, and his felony charges were expunged 18 months later.
In an October 1996 television interview with Diane Sawyer, Fuhrman said he did not plant evidence in the Simpson case. He said he is not a racist, and apologized for his use of racist language. He said he had forgotten about the existence of the audiotapes and that they were merely part of a misguided effort to have a fictional screenplay produced. A police investigation of the claims of violence on the tapes found that Fuhrman had grossly exaggerated, and many of his minority former co-workers expressed support for Fuhrman and said that they do not believe he was a racist. states that anyone who fabricates evidence in a death penalty case—as the Brown and Goldman murder case might have become—can be sentenced to death themselves. Bugliosi further argues that Fuhrman was one of the victims in the case and that his lying under oath about racial epithets did not rise to the level of indictable perjury, because it was immaterial to the actual facts of the case. Fuhrman felt that Ito should have been challenged by the prosecution or he should have voluntarily recused himself from the case on that basis. The book was adapted for a 2002 television movie starring Christopher Meloni as Fuhrman.
In 2001, Fuhrman published Murder in Spokane: Catching a Serial Killer (), which investigated a serial killer's spree in Spokane, Washington. In 2003, he published Death and Justice: An Exposé of Oklahoma's Death Row Machine (), critical of the state's handling of capital punishment cases. In 2005, Fuhrman published Silent Witness: The Untold Story of Terri Schiavo's Death (), which emphasized gaps in the medical and legal records that might allow for the possibility that Schiavo was murdered.
In 2006, Fuhrman published A Simple Act of Murder: November 22, 1963 (), about the John F. Kennedy's assassination. In it, Fuhrman advanced a theory challenging the single-bullet theory while still maintaining that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. He claimed that the Warren Commission was forced to ratify the single-bullet theory for political reasons. However, he said that a dent in the chrome above the windshield of the presidential limousine used that day vindicated the story told by John Connally that the first shot that hit President John F. Kennedy did not also hit him. In 2009, he published The Murder Business: How the Media Turns Crime Into Entertainment and Subverts Justice (), which addressed the fine line between crime reporting and entertainment.
Radio and television commentary
Fuhrman was a forensic and crime scene expert for Fox News, and he was a frequent guest of Fox commentator Sean Hannity.
Fuhrman began his radio career in Spokane, in January 1998, co-hosting the program, "All About Crime", with local veteran radio host Mike Fitzsimmons on KXLY-AM. Later, in 2001, he began solo hosting the twice a week show. When that show was cancelled in 2004, he moved over to host the "Mark Fuhrman Show" on KGA-AM in Spokane. The shows at both stations covered local and national topics and included guest callers. The KGA show ended after the sale of the station by Citadel Broadcasting Corp. of Las Vegas to Mapleton Communications, LLC, of Monterey, California.
Personal life and death
Fuhrman was married to Barbara Koop, Janet Sosbee, and Caroline Lody at different times between 1973 and 2000, with each marriage ending in divorce. At the time of his death, he was married to Kelly Fuhrman.
Fuhrman died from an aggressive form of throat cancer in Kootenai County, Idaho, on May 12, 2026, at the age of 74. His death was announced on May 18 with the Kootenai County Coroner Office confirming his date of death. In It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia he is described as a "hero cop" by Frank Reynolds, a character who frequently exhibits racist tendencies. In The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story, Fuhrman is portrayed by Steven Pasquale. He was portrayed by Alexander Man in Joshua Newton's film Nicole & O.J. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film Captain America: Civil War, he is mentioned by character Sam Wilson.