How Nicole Brown Simpson's Mother Told Her Children, then 8 and 5, She Was Dead: 'Mommy’s in Heaven' (Exclusive)
One of Nicole’s three sisters, Dominique Brown, 59, exclusively tells PEOPLE in this week’s cover story about how their mother broke the tragic news
Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images
Nicole Brown SimpsonWhen it came to sharing the hardest news of her life, Nicole Brown Simpson’s mother was sensitive in telling Nicole's two young children that their mother had died.
One of Nicole’s three sisters, Dominique Brown, 59, exclusively tells PEOPLE in this week’s cover story about how their mother, Juditha, told Nicole’s daughter Sydney, then 8, and son Justin, then 5, about her brutal 1994 murder.
"She goes, ‘Mommy's in heaven,’” Dominique says of how her mother broke the tragic news that also shocked the nation.
On Jun 12, 1994, Nicole, 35, and her friend Ron Goldman, 25, were found brutally stabbed to death in the courtyard of her Brentwood, Los Angeles, townhome. Days after the murders, Nicole’s ex-husband and former NFL star O.J. Simpson led police on a wild chase while a passenger in a white Ford Bronco driven by friend Al Cowlings, holding a gun to his head.
He was eventually arrested and charged with the murders, but was acquitted in what was dubbed the "The Trial of the Century.” In 1997, O.J. was deemed liable for the deaths in a lawsuit brought by the Brown and Goldman families. He died from cancer in April at the age of 76.
In the immediate aftermath of Nicole's murder, Dominique threw herself into shielding the children from the pain and chaos.
Courtesy Brown Family
From left: Nicole Brown Simpson's mother Juditha Brown feeding grandson Aaron (Dominque's son), Nicole Brown Simpson, O.J. Simpson and Sydney Simpson in Hawaii in December 1988“I knew that was the role I was supposed to undertake,” she says. “There was Denise’s son, my son, Sydney and Justin. We played together, ate together, went to the beach together — everything together. It was to help them heal and do things that were fun.”
And, she says, “The things that were being said, they didn’t need to be exposed to any of that."
For more on the life of Nicole Brown Simpson, as shared by her three sisters, subscribe now to PEOPLE, or pick up this week's issue, on newsstands Friday.
But in 1996 the Browns were forced to hand over Nicole’s kids to their dad after he won a custody battle against the family. “It happened Christmas morning. I didn’t think my heart could take it,” says Dominique of saying goodbye.
The Brown sisters eventually lost touch with their niece and nephew, and only by watching an upcoming Lifetime documentary series titled The Life & Murder of Nicole Brown Simpson, did they learn about the difficulties Sydney and Justin have faced.
David LeBon
Nicole Brown and O.J. Simpson getting married on Feb. 2, 1985.“We found out a lot of things went down in Florida — 911 calls with the kids saying, ‘Daddy, stop,’ their house getting raided, just chaos,” Dominique says.
She adds that the publicity didn’t make things easier for the children, who were upstairs sleeping at their mother’s home at the time of her murder.
“They lost their mother, and it was everywhere in the world,” says Dominique.
Today Sydney, 38, and Justin, 35, are both parents and work in real estate — and prefer to stay out of the spotlight.
“They’re young adults with families, and they’re both doing great,” says Dominique. “Nicole would be so proud.”
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
The Life & Murder of Nicole Brown Simpson airs over two nights on June 1 and June 2 on Lifetime.
For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!
Read the original article on People.
