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Following OJ Simpson’s death in April, his children now have a touching way to keep him close.
The infamous NFL player died, aged 76, after a battle with cancer. His ashes have since been made into jewelry and distributed to his four kids.
Malcolm LaVergne, Simpson's longtime lawyer and current executor of his estate, told TMZ that his remains were turned into the memorial pieces and given to his children Arnelle, Sydney, Jason and Justin.
Because LaVergne controls Simpson's estate, his sign-off was required before the ashes could be used. He did not reveal the specific details of the jewelry.
LaVergne said he did not have a piece made for himself, and was not interested in possessing a share of Simpson's remains.
The lawyer revealed that the total cost of creating the pieces — cremation, creating the jewelry, and drawing up the death certificates — was $4,243.06.
Doling out jewelry was likely one of the more sentimental tasks than LaVergne has been dealing with in the wake of Simpson's death. He is currently in the process of settling his former client's nearly $270,000 debt.
LaVergne is trying to liquidate some of Simpson's assets, including his Las Vegas home, to pay off his creditors, Yahoo Finance reports.
The attorney is also fighting to keep the family of Ron Goldman from collecting on a $30 million wrongful death lawsuit stemming from Simpson’s 1994 murder trial. Simpson was accused of murdering his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and Goldman. He was acquitted at criminal trial but Goldman's family won a civil wrongful death lawsuit against the former NFL player in 1997.
Despite their victory, the family never received any money from the judgement thanks to a Florida law protecting Simpson's NFL pension.
Fred Goldman, Ron's father, is trying to collect again, this time in Nevada. He asked to have his claim “domesticated in Nevada to become a valid creditor claim against a Nevada estate.”
When he renewed the claim, he asked for $57,997,858 from Simpson’s estate. The new lawsuit includes interest accrued through 2024, pushing the total payout to more than $100m, according to Fox 5 Las Vegas.
LaVergne said he will deal with Goldman's claim "in accordance with Nevada law," according to The Las Vegas Review-Journal.
While that case is pending, the attorney will also have to respond to a massive $500,000 tax lien that the state of California placed on Simpson's estate in May.
