(5 Nov 1997) English/Nat

Please note: Jim Roberts refers to O.J as "the murderer". Please refer to domestic libel laws.

Number 360, Rockingham Avenue one of the best known addresses in the world is up for sale.

The former estate of O.J. Simpson in Los Angeles has been renovated and this month wealthy prospective buyers are being shown around the property while the American public can view it on national television.

Estate agents are confident someone will pay the four million dollar asking price to buy it.

O.J. Simpson's former estate is found here in Brentwood, Los Angeles, a peaceful haven for the privileged.

The town is only now recovering from a two year media 'siege' that shattered its normal calm.

The murders of Nicole Brown Simpson, OJ's exwife and Ronald Goldman back in June 1994 caused a sensation.

OJ was acquitted of criminal charges but he later lost a civil case and was ordered to pay 33.5 (m) million US dollars.

OJ Simpson moved out in September after a Californian bank foreclosed on the property.

Aerial shots of the house were shown round the world showing Simpson pulling into the driveway after a freeway chase by the Los Angeles Police department.

Now after five weeks of extensive renovation, the seven bedroom, 6thousand square foot property is on the market.

The hard wood floors have been repaired and lightened, the carpets and paint have been freshened up.

The bank's estate agent is confident it can fetch four million dollars despite the stigma attached to the property.

They're marketing the house for private viewings and, in an unprecedented move, are permitting television cameras inside for the largest "open house" viewing the nation has ever seen.

Potential buyers are said to include international investors, industrialists and a well known TV star whose name went unmentioned.

The estate agent hopes that potential owners will look beyond the tragic history and see a newly remodelled home in a prestigious location.

SOUNDBITE: (English)
"No crime was committed in the Rockingham property. Sure O.J Simpson lived here but now the house belongs to the bank, the bank has redone it and when Mr.Jones moves into it, it's the Jones residence."
SUPER CAPTION: Fred Sands, Estate Agent

But reminders of the case are everywhere.

Police believe OJ sneaked through this corridor in the back of the house when he bumped this air conditioner and dropped a bloody glove.

During the first OJ trial house guest Kato Kaelin testified that when in this room, he heard a thump on this wall.

Others who think OJ guilty believe he crawled through this opening to get back into the house after the murder.

But prospective buyers may overlook these once they see the master bedroom with adjacent Jacuzzi and decorative sink.

Outside, the house boasts a newly cleaned swimming pool with waterfall and a resurfaced tennis court.

But a wouldbe buyer is unlikely to come from from Brentwood
where residents themselves don't want to go near the house much less
purchase it.

SOUNDBITE: (English)
"I'm just kind of sick that someone would want to buy a house because a murderer lived in it, I just wouldn't do it. I'm glad that OJ's out of there."
SUPER CAPTION: Jim Roberts, Brentwood Resident

SOUNDBITE: (English)
"I don't know how anyone could live in a house like that. I mean I certainly couldn't. I'll stay in my small apartment.
SUPER CAPTION: Debbie Alvarado, Brentwood Resident

The estate agent hopes to sell Rockingham within a month.


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