Alex Constantine - April 15, 2025
Videotaped deposition of CORA A. FISCHMAN, taken on behalf of the Plaintiffs, at 11377 West Olympic Boulevard, 10th Floor, Los Angeles, California, commencing at 9:48 a.m., on Tuesday, March 19, 1996, before David S. Coleman, CSR #4613, pursuant to Subpoena. Daniel Petrocelli is asking the questions. Mr. Baker is her attorney. Michael Viner is mentioned -- he is a former record producer and owner of Dove Books.
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Q: You said earlier the friends were saying O.J. did it. Who were those friends?
A: Nicole's friends, I guess.
Q: Who were they?
A: Cici Shahian, Kris Jenner, Faye Resnick.
Q: Who else?
A: Those are the people I know that she hang out with.
Q: And those are the people who told you that O.J. did it. Is that right?
A: Yeah. And they told me that he did it or else they will not talk to me ever again.
Q: What does that mean?
A: There was a thing, says, "If" -- "either you say O.J. did it, we'll group ourselves, and this is what we gonna do."
Q: So you're saying that you had a meeting with Cici, Faye and Kris in which they all approached you and said that you were to agree that O.J. did it or else they would never talk to you again. Is that right?
A: It's more like that and --
Q: Is that what you're saying?
A: Pretty much, yes.
Q: Okay. Where did this meeting occur?
A: Not meeting. It was all conversation, and I had a -- I had dinner with --
Q: Dinner with whom?
A: With Cici Shahian and Robin Greer, and that's it, and they told me that I have to support them or else they're going to destroy me.
...
Q: Okay. Now, you said O.J. Simpson entered your mind as the person who might have killed Nicole when you first heard of her death.
Did any other person enter your mind?
MR. KRAMER: At the time?
MR. PETROCELLI: Yes.
THE WITNESS: At that time, yes --
BY MR. PETROCELLI:
Q: Who?
A: -- because, see, Faye Resnick -- see, Faye Resnick was running out of money; she didn't have a home, and they were doing a lot of -- they were doing cocaine and they were doing -- they were soliciting men, and so they were out almost every night, and so I said, "Oh, my God, somebody could have done" -- you know.
Q: I take it, then, that you were with Nicole and Faye when they were doing cocaine. Is that right?
A: No.
Q: And I take it you were with Nicole and Faye when they were soliciting men. Is that right?
A: I was not with them.
Q: I see. So you have no firsthand knowledge of any of that. Is that right? Yes or no.
A: No.
Q: You have no firsthand knowledge that Nicole Brown Simpson was doing cocaine at the end --
A: Faye told me.
Q: -- of her life. You have no firsthand knowledge. You didn't see it. Is that right?
A: I didn't see it.
Q: And you didn't see her soliciting men. Is that right?
MR. BAKER: Stop arguing with the witness and pointing at her.
THE WITNESS: I didn't see them, but --
MR. KRAMER: You didn't see them.
BY MR. PETROCELLI:
Q: You didn't see them.
A: I didn't see them.
Q: You didn't --
A: I didn't know.
Q: Any man ever come up to you and say that "Nicole Brown Simpson solicited me"?
A: Yes.
Q: Who?
A: [Name Deleted]
Q: When did [Name Deleted] tell you that?
A: When I saw him at Starbucks coffee with his friend.
Q: After Nicole's death?
A: Yes.
Q: And what did [Name Deleted] tell you?
A: Well, we were consoling, and he said to me nice things about Nicole.
Q: Excuse me. I can't concentrate because Mr. Simpson is talking to Mr. Kelly.
A: And they -- and he told me that "I wanted to tell you something about Nicole."
I said, "Well" -- then he told me that they went out to dinner, and Nicole asked them if they do threesome.
Q: Nicole and [Name Deleted] went out to dinner?
A: And Ron Goldman. Ron Goldman, [Name Deleted] and Nicole. That was their first -- they went out to dinner.
Q: This is being related to you by [Name Deleted]. Is that right?
A: Yes.
Q: And this is sometime after Nicole's death. Right?
A: Yes.
Q: When was this?
A: Must be a week, during that week.
Q: Okay. And where did you and [Name Deleted] --
A: Saw --
Q: -- go? Starbucks, did you say?
A: We didn't go. I saw him at Starbucks coffee.
Q: Just ran into him?
A: Yes, I ran into him.
Q: Middle of the day?
A: Yes.
Q: And he just told this to you?
A: Well, he gave me a hug because he knew.
.. (Legal quibbling)
Q: -- in terms of who may have killed Nicole, and then you started talking about Faye Resnick and these topics. Okay?
Was there a person who came to mind besides O.J. Simpson who you thought might have killed Nicole?
A: Well, I thought it could be, because they were going out a lot, could be men they met when they went out, and because when Faye told me they were doing drugs. Again, I don't know whether this is public record}, and she didn't have any money, so I thought, okay, somebody could have been -- you know, could be drugs.
--- (Legal quibbling)
Q: Okay. And I take it that you immediately communicated this information about Nicole's drug use and solicitation to the police so that they could track down possible people responsible for her death. Right?
A: I -- yes. I told that to Marcia Clark.
Q: When did you tell that to Marcia Clark?
A: When she asked me.
Q: Well, did you immediately pick up the phone and --
A: Oh, no, no, no, no, no.
... (Here, Petrocelli implies she didn't call Clark, so there must be something wrong with her.)
Q: You mean you were looking for money?
A: I was not looking for money, okay --
Q: This was for money, you mean? You were going to make a response for money. Is that what you're saying?
A: No, I did not do it for money.
MR. BAKER: Asked and answered.
THE WITNESS: I said to Mr. Viner, "I would like to make a statement about my friend," okay.
And he said, you know, "What do you have to say?" That's it. And then he told me, he says, you know, "You can make money out of this."
I said, "I don't care. I just want to make a statement about my girlfriend. I want to correct what Faye Resnick said."
BY MR. PETROCELLI:
Q: But you never made that statement.
A: No.
Q: And because nobody would take the statement from you. Is that what you're saying?
A: Yes.
Q: Did you try --
A: This is what he told me.
... (. (Legal quibbling, Petrocelli turns to Cora's meeting with Michael Viner)
Q: It had nothing to do with your desire to investigate the exploitation of your story for money. Is that right?
MR. BAKER: You interrupted her last answer.
BY MR. PETROCELLI:
Q: Is that right?
MR. BAKER: It's argumentative this question.
BY MR. PETROCELLI:
Q: Is that your testimony, that your sitting now with Mr. Viner and two members from a tabloid to tell your story had nothing to do with your desire to make money?
A: No, I had no desire to make money.
Q: No concern whatsoever.
A: No.
