25 Years Later, a Mystery Remains

[The Gipper]

It was 25 years ago, July 23, 1995 that a mystery occurred:    The Theft of the bust of OJ Simpson  from the Pro Football Hall of Fame.   Here is a Canton Repository/Akron Beacon Journal story about it:

https://www.beaconjournal.com/news/20200724/mystery-of-ojrsquos-missing-hall-of-fame-bust

It was big news at the time....as  OJ was under indictment for the murder of his ex-wife Nicole and a friend.  To add to the mystery somewhat is that the bust was found in the weeds along the berm of I-77 near the E. 30th Street exit  just  2 days later by a highway litter patrol unit...apparently undamaged beyond some dirt or dust. 

Why was the bust stolen? Probably obvious....because of the notoriety concerning OJ and the impending trial at the time.

Why then was it dumped unceremoniously along the highway?  Completely unknown.  It was probably done immediately after the theft all things considered. Perhaps the perpetrator figured that there was no way he could not be found out if he kept the bust, or tried to do something else with it.

How could this happen?  At the time the bust were just lightly secured in place and it would take anyone just a few moments to unloosen it and remove it and stuff it in a bag and walk out the back door.  There was like zero security.  They allowed people to bring in backpacks or duffel bags at the time (no longer  post 9-11). There were no security cameras in place at all, so the theft was never on tape.  There were no security doors.  The thief just walked out a back door.  (all this is now, of course, completely changed)

Who did this?  Still unknown.   No one has ever been identified who committed this theft.  Whoever it was took precaution as no fingerprints or DNA was ever found on the bust. 

Had the person not dumped the bust, its disappearance, and the identity of the perp could have perhaps rivaled the question:  Who was DB Cooper.    But since the bust was recovered the mystery of Who Done It  was not,  is not that big of a deal.

The statue of limitations for theft  is  6 years.  If it were considered a robbery or burglary it would be 20 years.  So, at this point 25 years later, the perpetrator could not be prosecuted.  He could come out with a public statement saying he was the one who stole "OJ".   Of course, it could also lead to any number of fake claimants as well....people seeking notoriety.  

[mjp28]

The strange part is that it was found in the weeds off of an interstate and not thrown in a dumpster and ended up for all eternity in a huge landfill.

Strange indeed.

[The Gipper]

2 minutes ago, mjp28 said:

The strange part is that it was found in the weeds off of an interstate and not thrown in a dumpster and ended up for all eternity in a huge landfill.

Strange indeed.

Or on a shelf in the guy's basement.   But I suspect he got paranoid at the thought of getting caught with it as he made his drive north along I-77, so he just flipped it off into the weeds. 

[mjp28]

2 minutes ago, The Gipper said:

Or on a shelf in the guy's basement.   But I suspect he got paranoid at the thought of getting caught with it as he made his drive north along I-77, so he just flipped it off into the weeds. 

Yeah it could have made a good movie of the week "I stole OJ's head".

[D Bone]

Interesting. My 52yr old brain doesn't recall any of this, probably because of what occurred November 6th that same year. 

[Orion]

Why go through the whole theft thing just to throw it in the weeds along the highway?

Maybe  a traitor taped a microchip with information to the bottom of it and the Russians stole it for the microchip  Happens all the time.  

[Gorka]

The thief was never busted. Wow

[Dutch Oven]

Here's another mystery - which one of you was at the Sam's Club on Portage down by the Strip in North Canton this afternoon? 

[The Gipper]

5 minutes ago, Dutch Oven said:

Here's another mystery - which one of you was at the Sam's Club on Portage down by the Strip in North Canton this afternoon? 

Canton Mike...or Cal? 

[Gorka]

41 minutes ago, Dutch Oven said:

Here's another mystery - which one of you was at the Sam's Club on Portage down by the Strip in North Canton this afternoon? 

The real mystery is was that thing driven when they were 0-16.

 

 

[hoorta]

On 7/25/2020 at 10:36 AM, The Gipper said:

It was 25 years ago, July 23, 1995 that a mystery occurred:    The Theft of the bust of OJ Simpson  from the Pro Football Hall of Fame.   Here is a Canton Repository/Akron Beacon Journal story about it:

https://www.beaconjournal.com/news/20200724/mystery-of-ojrsquos-missing-hall-of-fame-bust

It was big news at the time....as  OJ was under indictment for the murder of his ex-wife Nicole and a friend.  To add to the mystery somewhat is that the bust was found in the weeds along the berm of I-77 near the E. 30th Street exit  just  2 days later by a highway litter patrol unit...apparently undamaged beyond some dirt or dust. 

Why was the bust stolen? Probably obvious....because of the notoriety concerning OJ and the impending trial at the time.

Why then was it dumped unceremoniously along the highway?  Completely unknown.  It was probably done immediately after the theft all things considered. Perhaps the perpetrator figured that there was no way he could not be found out if he kept the bust, or tried to do something else with it.

How could this happen?  At the time the bust were just lightly secured in place and it would take anyone just a few moments to unloosen it and remove it and stuff it in a bag and walk out the back door.  There was like zero security.  They allowed people to bring in backpacks or duffel bags at the time (no longer  post 9-11). There were no security cameras in place at all, so the theft was never on tape.  There were no security doors.  The thief just walked out a back door.  (all this is now, of course, completely changed)

Who did this?  Still unknown.   No one has ever been identified who committed this theft.  Whoever it was took precaution as no fingerprints or DNA was ever found on the bust. 

Had the person not dumped the bust, its disappearance, and the identity of the perp could have perhaps rivaled the question:  Who was DB Cooper.    But since the bust was recovered the mystery of Who Done It  was not,  is not that big of a deal.

The statue of limitations for theft  is  6 years.  If it were considered a robbery or burglary it would be 20 years.  So, at this point 25 years later, the perpetrator could not be prosecuted.  He could come out with a public statement saying he was the one who stole "OJ".   Of course, it could also lead to any number of fake claimants as well....people seeking notoriety.  

He could have just kept driving a little bit further and tossed it in the Lake....    Collision bend in the River right off of "The Lot" would have worked too.... 

[The Gipper]

12 minutes ago, hoorta said:

He could have just kept driving a little bit further and tossed it in the Lake....    Collision bend in the River right off of "The Lot" would have worked too.... 

Maybe he ended up having a guilty conscience, so he dumped it somewhere that he figured it would be found intact. 

[Gorka]

9 hours ago, The Gipper said:

Maybe he ended up having a guilty conscience, so he dumped it somewhere that he figured it would be found intact. 

Like OJ has a guilty conscience I wonder.

[mjp28]

12 hours ago, Gorka said:

The real mystery is was that thing driven when they were 0-16.

The truth is probably yes BROWNS fans are amazingly loyal no matter what.

The scary part is what's it doing to the millennials and after who never watched Bernie, Sipe, Jim Brown, Otto live and might not have cemented in their die hard loyalties yet...... except maybe to soccer or video games.

Now that is scarier than "OJ's head".      

[Unsympathetic]

Speaking of mysteries, Mitchell Schwartz gets an individual video from Brett Kollmann.

[nickers]

Really?.. OJ's Bust?.. Who gives a fuck.. I do not...

[SdBacker80]

On 7/25/2020 at 10:36 AM, The Gipper said:

It was 25 years ago, July 23, 1995 that a mystery occurred:    The Theft of the bust of OJ Simpson  from the Pro Football Hall of Fame.   Here is a Canton Repository/Akron Beacon Journal story about it:

https://www.beaconjournal.com/news/20200724/mystery-of-ojrsquos-missing-hall-of-fame-bust

It was big news at the time....as  OJ was under indictment for the murder of his ex-wife Nicole and a friend.  To add to the mystery somewhat is that the bust was found in the weeds along the berm of I-77 near the E. 30th Street exit  just  2 days later by a highway litter patrol unit...apparently undamaged beyond some dirt or dust. 

Why was the bust stolen? Probably obvious....because of the notoriety concerning OJ and the impending trial at the time.

Why then was it dumped unceremoniously along the highway?  Completely unknown.  It was probably done immediately after the theft all things considered. Perhaps the perpetrator figured that there was no way he could not be found out if he kept the bust, or tried to do something else with it.

How could this happen?  At the time the bust were just lightly secured in place and it would take anyone just a few moments to unloosen it and remove it and stuff it in a bag and walk out the back door.  There was like zero security.  They allowed people to bring in backpacks or duffel bags at the time (no longer  post 9-11). There were no security cameras in place at all, so the theft was never on tape.  There were no security doors.  The thief just walked out a back door.  (all this is now, of course, completely changed)

Who did this?  Still unknown.   No one has ever been identified who committed this theft.  Whoever it was took precaution as no fingerprints or DNA was ever found on the bust. 

Had the person not dumped the bust, its disappearance, and the identity of the perp could have perhaps rivaled the question:  Who was DB Cooper.    But since the bust was recovered the mystery of Who Done It  was not,  is not that big of a deal.

The statue of limitations for theft  is  6 years.  If it were considered a robbery or burglary it would be 20 years.  So, at this point 25 years later, the perpetrator could not be prosecuted.  He could come out with a public statement saying he was the one who stole "OJ".   Of course, it could also lead to any number of fake claimants as well....people seeking notoriety.  

I know this was 1995 but how in the heck does a Place with expensive collections have no cameras or any security measures in place. 
 

then you have someone clever enough make sure fingerprints are gone but not bright enough to secure the item in a spot where it could be retrieved after everything potentially blew over

[The Gipper]

1 hour ago, SdBacker80 said:

I know this was 1995 but how in the heck does a Place with expensive collections have no cameras or any security measures in place. 
 

then you have someone clever enough make sure fingerprints are gone but not bright enough to secure the item in a spot where it could be retrieved after everything potentially blew over

Well....clearly there is no accounting for the lack of intellect exhibited by some people.  Look at the post prior to yours.