Mark Fuhrman, the former Los Angeles detective whose testimony collapsed the prosecution in the 1995 murder trial of O.J. Simpson, died on May 12 in Kootenai County, Idaho, at age 74. The coroner confirmed throat cancer as the cause. Fuhrman had become a Fox News commentator and true‑crime author after leaving the LAPD. His manager, Lynda Bensky, confirmed the diagnosis.

During the trial, defense lawyers weaponized audio tapes that captured Fuhrman repeatedly using a racial slur, forcing him to invoke the Fifth Amendment and prompting Johnnie Cochran to brand him a “lying, perjuring, genocidal racist.” After Simpson’s acquittal, Fuhrman pleaded no contest to perjury, received three years’ probation and a $200 fine, and saw the conviction expunged in 1999. The Black‑majority jury acquitted Simpson.

The civil suit that followed held Simpson liable for $33.5 million in damages, a judgment that underscored the lingering financial repercussions of the criminal trial. Fuhrman’s subsequent books, including *Murder in Brentwood*, capitalized on public fascination, generating modest publishing revenue and sustaining his media profile until his death. His Fox News commentary kept him visible, closing a contentious chapter in American legal history.