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Chapter 3 Murder 101
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On June 12, 1994 in Brentwood California someone
murdered Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Lyle Goldman in a bloody knife attack. Nicole was
the The people who reported the story and wrote the best-selling accounts of what happened never summed up the identity of the victims, the accused and the chief accuser in those terms. They never considered the fact that Nicole was a German citizen, Ron was a Jew and O.J. was an African-American to be significant clues to the killers identity. Moreover, they attacked anyone who did because the evidence against O.J. was so obvious and because there was so much of it. The lack of intelligence and character of the non-believers, which included 70% of the African-American population, thus became an integral part of the story. No one of any color could so much as mention Mark Fuhrmans racism, much less his nazism as relevant to the case without being accused of substituting the emotional issue of race for the pertinent facts. Lets get one fact straight right now. Mark Fuhrman was a nazi (small n). I am not saying that he was a member of the American Nazi Party (capital N) or that his interest in collecting German Nazi paraphernalia made him one. Im saying that he collected Nazi paraphernalia, wore a swastika lapel pen to work, kept a cartoon of a swastika flag rising out of the rubble of the Berlin wall on his desk and made anti-Semitic statements. Im saying that he advocated genocide as a solution to the "problem" of black men consorting with white women, he preached Nazi ideals and he practiced what he preached. Thats what made him a nazi. For anyone in the media who had invested a great deal of professional and emotional capital in promoting the idea that O.J. was guilty the tapes Fuhrman made for University of North Carolina screenwriter Laura Hart McKinny were devastating. Not because they indicated a possible frame-up or a possible motive for a frame-up, but because they vindicated O.J. defense attorney F. Lee Baileys cross-examination of Fuhrman. Bailey had struck hard on the issue of Fuhrmans racism. By all mainstream media accounts, with the lone exception of NPR reporter Rene Montagne, Bailey had simply "played the race card" with a cynical appeal to the passions of the "black" jury. According to those same sources Fuhrman had made a monkey out of Bailey by his polished performance on the stand that showed him to be an exceptionally bright, observant and articulate witness as well as an outstanding investigator. Laura Hart McKinneys taped interviews of Mark Fuhrman showed him to be everything Bailey said he was and worse. They recorded him lamenting the outlawing of the choke hold which had killed an "extraordinary" number of "niggers" and the demolition of the old 77th police station that he saidwith unmistakable pleasure"smelled of all the niggers that we killed there." He told of his love for bloody, violent action and his ability, with the help of his "good" partners, to kill people, to frame them, to plant evidence and to lie convincingly in court. Fuhrman claimed that he was "play acting" and deliberately going over the top to shock Laura Hart. He "confessed" to having had a sexual affair with her after meeting her "by chance" in February 1995 at an outdoor restaurant and agreeing to be her technical advisor on a screenplay. He said that he was assuming the role of a character made up of characters from the movies, from characters on network TV like Andy Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) in NYPD Blue as they would speak if they were on cable, from people he had known and from his imagination. If the name Andy and the actor who plays him didnt figure so big in movie and television connections to the Bundy killings he might have a case. But they do.
Memory and imagination are made up of bits of information in separate parts of the brain all joined by a flexible network of brain cells. A great memory calls for as little variation as possible in the pattern of associations the brain cells can make on cue. A great imagination requires the opposite. You wouldnt be wrong to call memory an inflexible imagination or to describe imagination as a flexible memory. The Bundy killers memory was more flexible than his imagination. Dennis Franz served in the U.S. Army’s 101 Airborne Division101 in Vietnam. The number 101 appeared so frequently in the Fuhrman collection that I knew it had to mean something. At first I thought it was a variation of the number 11. Then I noticed it in association with the Army's Screaming Eagles (101) but not often enough or in a context drawn tightly enough to make a strong link to ex-marine Fuhrman and the Bundy murders. Lee Marvin, an ex-marine playing a paratrooper in The Dirty Dozen and a regular soldier in an episode of Combat with Jennifer Jason Lees father Vic Morrow, is the kind of connection I mean. Marvin and Jennifer share a name. Fuhrman and Jennifer share a birthday. In Country with Bruce Willis and Stephen Tobolowski was
the closest I came to seeing a 101 link to Fuhrman. Tobolowski is Pete, a former combat
soldier in The light didnt go on for me until I turned to Court TV recently and saw a promo for a 1991 made-for-television movie called Murder 101. I saw it when it first aired but none of my digging for 101 links brought it to mind. Thats Functional Fixedness at workthe psychological quirk we are all subject to that limits our ability to see alternate solutions to a problem once we have seen enough clues to reach a familiar conclusion. Functional Fixedness is why frame-ups dont have to be perfect to work. Its why the particular clues left behind at Bundy and Rockinghamsupplemented by what Fuhrman said about themworked so well against O.J. We have seen them before, again and again, in the movies. As an art student enrolled at a nearby college in the early 80s, Fuhrman had to know that an introductory college class in any subject carries the suffix 101. I was sure that the connection I was looking for involved the course in creative writing that Laura Hart taught in North Carolina. After awhile, I thought that what I had with the University of North Carolina link in Bedroom Window and the college professor links in Brotherhood of the Bell and D.O.A. were all I would find in the 101 network. Youd think that once I realized Murder 101 was an
obvious link in the 101 network I would recall who the killer was even though I
hadnt seen the movie in When the double doors open hes standing there ahead of two uniformed police officers. You glimpse his black leather gloves as he pulls the doors open. Assuming he ran all the way and no one noticed what direction he came from, and assuming that the officers fell in behind him when he got to the door, the timing still doesnt work. Assuming that the side door to the stage was only a step away and the door was already openwithout letting in any lighthe had at least two corners to turn. He had to start at zero, accelerate to full speed (assuming he accelerates very quickly and runs very fast) then decelerate, come to a walk before turning the second corner, turn again and come to a complete halt before pulling the doors open with his bloody gloves. No way. The makers of Murder 101 cheated, thus violating one rule
of mystery writing that Charlie gives to his creative writing class. He tells them not to
save all of the Charlie begins his first lesson by asking if anyone in his class has ever murdered someone. When he gets the expected silence in response he asks if anyone in the class has ever thought of killing someone. Charlie is a teacher with a flair for the dramatic. He understands human psychology well enough to know that the answer is yes and goads a student named John into showing that he is capable of such thoughts by singling him out and making fun of his black beret. He phrases his remarks so that he can be sure of getting the answer he wants. John lowers his glasses and hints that he is having thoughts of killing Charlie. The real purpose of the confrontation is for Charlie to show
that he is truly a master of his craft by demonstrating how well he can get into Johns
head. Getting into the heads of the readers well enough to send them off on the wrong Depending on who you are, you will see different possibilities in that situation. Look at it from the perspective of an ex-marine who has already decide to frame O.J. for murder with Nicoles brand of shoes, gloves like the ones she recently bought in New York, and lots of blood. Because Charlie is a professor and his Ph.D makes him a doctor, Johns beret together with O.J.s appearance on the docks in The Naked Gun and The Naked Gun 2 ½ could give you another idea. An ex-marine like Mark Fuhrman had to know that the Army Rangers represent an elite military unit, distinguished by its black beretand its proficiency in silent kills. In The Package, with Gene Hackman as Sgt. John Gallager, Army Green Berets, also noted for their proficiency in silent kills, wear black knit caps in the field. In O.J.s Frogmen TV pilot, Navy SEALs must have worn them, too. The question of why Fuhrman kept calling the blue knit cap on Bundy a black one long after its color was clearly established thus becomes less and less of a mystery with each revelation of core links in the Fuhrman movie collection. Charlie uses his staged confrontation with John as a launching pad to
get his Murder 101 course off the ground. He pulls from a bag a pistol, a
bottle of poison (D.O.A.) and a French garrote (Cape Fear). He offers two
quotes on For a moment it looks as though the "absent minded professor" has really severed his fingers. Then he holds up the prop hand and says, "Charlie Lattimores rule number 1: A mystery writer must be like a magician (the magic show that Fuhrman wrote about in his first book). Always keep the reader thinking about the inconsequential (how did O.J.s blood get on Bundy and in the Bronco if he wasnt there?) while taking his mind off the big picture (when did the magician switch the blood sample?)." He waves the fake hand and collects the fake fingers. "As the course goes on we will learn all the tricks of the trade Another quote. Plots, maguffins, and such are like carpentry. Making a wood cabinet into a work of art is something the carpenter cannot be taught. As writers, you have to get into the heads of each of your characters. In a mystery story that means understanding not just the victim of the crime, but the killer." Watching the movie, you may have noticed that the "fight"
involving the cap in Murder 101 is not the only prop in the classroom with a
counterpart in Murder 101 features a scene in which an insanely jealous
woman named Ann (Virginia Madsen's name in Moonlighting) pulls a butcher knife on
her lover (Virginia Madsen in Candyman) before he accidentally stabs her to death.
According to As the two men struggled, Ron pulled off O.J.s black knit cap and left-hand glove. Fuhrman says that O.J. accidentally cut one of his exposed fingers with his blade (Charlies guillotine demonstration) before cutting Rons throat. Nicole woke up and tried to fight him off leaving cuts in her hand before looking him in eye as he cut her throat. Fuhrman says in Murder in Brentwood that O.J. left behind the
glasses that Maybe this will help . Charlie ends his first class by handing out an assignment. His students are to plan a perfect murder in 10 pages or less (the length of a book proposal) in which the student is the killer. "To throw off the police you should have an airtight alibi as well as an alternative suspect who can take the blame for your actions." Fuhrman did not have an airtight alibi, only the appearance of one and the clues left at Bundy and Rockingham pointed first to O.J. If the frame-up was discovered, either Ron Shipp or Brian Kato Kaelin were in line to take the fall. Mark Fuhrman was perfectly positioned to be the hero who solved the murder in either event. Charlies final quote: "The poet W. H. Alden
clamed there was no such thing as the perfect murder. He said, Guilt, mans
need to atone, was the traitor within A student named Francesca brings up a point about Charlies eyes
and a killers calling card from a real murder case he was involved in. A doctor
called Tim The only printed message on the Bundy murder scene was in Mark Fuhrmans notebook. All of the detectives carried rubber gloves. As bad luck would have it for the killer in Murder 101
police in another state had the Satan worshipers when Ann Ryder was killed so the police
knew that her killer had to be someone with access to evidence known only to the police,
the coroner and himself. To almost everyones way of thinking the stolen report about
the pentagrams in Dr. Ryders possession could only mean that he was the killer. That
is the story Charlie tells in his book Family Man. The lead detective in the case
was Mike Dowling. At Charlies Family Man book signing Dowling points out a
minor discrepancy in the book involving the nickname "Dapper Dowling." He does
dress well (like Mark Fuhrman) but indicates that the name is Henry Potter (one letter removed from Porter) also attends the book signing. Hes the guy who gets stabbed in the wings of the college theater. He is also seeing Charlies estranged wife Laura (where have you heard that name before?). Laura is also a writing teacher. Henry compares Family Man unfavorably to Charlies fiction. When Charlie says, "We all cant be Shakespeare," Henry (Mark Taylor) says, "What the hell. The moneys good, right. Paperback rights, mini series down the line." Francesca Lavin, the murder-victim-to-be, is also present at the book signing. When she tells Mike that she has enrolled in Charlies creative writing class, The Art of the Thriller, his lack of enthusiasm prompts her to say, "You dont seem to think much of crime writers." He replies, "Well, its just that they fail to realize most people get murdered right in their own living room and usually by someone very close to them. I mean, no grand schemes, no premeditation, just the heat of the moment." Charlie uses that line to make his exit. He says, "Im happy to leave real life murders up to you. Give me the fictional kind any day of the week." The Bundy killer gave us both because he knew that fictional detective
Mike Dowling was expressing the real attitude of homicide detectives with the experience
of the men who "followed his footsteps" to O.J. The more convoluted Charlies weakness is beautiful young women like
Francesca. Does that sound The board is divided into seven blocks. Assuming that Murder 101 made the kind of impression on Nicoles killer that I think it did, the title block is self-explanatory. Buy a stretch you can see 100 as one fifty dollar bill apiece for O.J. and Nicole (Ulysses Simpson Grant) or Nicole Simpson and Grant Kramer, the man she was dating when she met Kato. The stretch gets shorter when you see it through the eyes of someone obsessed with the Simpsons and you see that the first name in the block below the one hundred is Bill. Ben Franklin is synonymous with the one hundred-dollar bill. He was the first American ambassador to France (the French connection again) and the author of a best selling book an Almanac. "A" plus Franklin, could give us Aritha Franklin, who links Murder 101 to Mystic Pizza, Matlock, Moonlighting and Police Squad!. In his third lesson, Prof. Charlie Lattimore tells his class: "When plotting a suspense story its a good idea to start with a double strandthe crime filament and the man woman relationship. The possibility of romance always gives the story an added element of suspense. Sex and love provide the most common motive for murder." After Det. Dowling strangles Francesca with Prof. Charlie
Lattimores necktie, he sees his wife Laura who got in her mail an outline for the
perfect murder. She hasnt learned of the real murder, but for all the audience of Murder
101 knows Charlie goes back to his class and tries to see if he can extract clues to the killers identity from his students. They dont know yet that their classmate was killed, that their professor was in the motel room with her at the time or that an article of his clothes was used as the murder weapon. Charlie writes "MOTIVE" on the board. He underlines the word four times and asks for possible motives for murder. John, the student with the black beret that Charlie made fun of on the first day of class, suggests revenge. Charlie supplies the rational of a disturbed personality overreacting to a perceived attack on him and watches for a guilty response. He doesnt get one. The girl who questioned Aldens perfect murder hypothesis suggests jealousy, as Fuhrman argued was O.J.s motive for killing Nicole. Charlie says, "Also good. Not all of us are as smart or as rich or as beautiful as wed like to be. Sometimes this can create feelings of rage, which festers and grows until we feel the need to lash out at someone who possesses the qualities we think we lack." No guilty response there, either. The killer wasnt in the classroom and the motive wasnt quite what anyone expected. Flip back to the action board in Murder 101 for a minute. In the name block with Bill Condon is Stephen Katz. Youve seen where Steven fits in the Fuhrman collection with actor Steven Tobolowski. Youll see more of him in The Smoking Gun movie guide along with director Steven Miner. There you will see how the musical Cats is linked to the movie Ghost. Elsewhere in this book you will see how Cats is linked to Moonlightings "Next stop Murder." Katz is one letter away from Kato. The date below the name block, 12-17-90, is one day away from the day Nicole purchased the Aris Light gloves. 12 is the exact day she was killed. 17 is the day her daughter Sydney was born (birthday and death day on tombstoneDean Jagger, the "cat in the hat," born July 26, died Feb 5. Helen Mirren, who wore the dead womans shoes, born July 26). The 93 next to the 100 is the year that Nicole called 911 claiming that O.J. broke through a French door and that she was terrified he was going to give her a savage beating. She referred to O.J.s record, which would not have existed without Mark Fuhrmans letter. She was 34 years old. O.J. talked loud. He used explicit language to describe what he saw her doing with Keith Zlomsowitch. Kato was in the house at the time. The 93 911 tape gave one more reason for the killer to take a
special interest in Sydney Simpson. She was there, too. She heard what her mother said and
what her father said. She alone knows what she saw in 92. The more I chased down the
various French connections in the Fuhrman collection, the more I saw how In Killer Klowns from Outer Space (87) starring Nicoles future boyfriend Grant Kramer, youre going to see one quick scene in Lovers Lane with a guy in a SUV who looks a lot like the guy in the truck with Dey Young. Just before you see him youre going to see an ice cream vendor hawking " Everybodys favorite, the Lick-a-stick."
Charlie the cop will soon die of a gunshot wound (Fuhrmans
third note at the
Contact the author: Jasper Garrison |
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