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How Nicole Brown Simpson’s Mother Told Her Children About Her Death? Find Out
Heart-wrenching story of how Nicole Brown Simpson's mother had to tell her grandchildren Sydney and Justin, then 8 and 5, "Mommy's in heaven" after she was murdered.
On the night of June 12, 1994, Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman were savagely murdered outside Nicole's Brentwood townhome in Los Angeles.
The horrific crime sent chills through the spine of each individual in the nation. But for the Brown family, the unimaginable grief was compounded by the devastatingly delicate task of having to break the news to Nicole's young children - daughter Sydney, who was just 8 years old, and son Justin, 5 at the time.
In an exclusive interview with People magazine, Nicole's sister Dominique Brown, now 59, tearfully recounted the words their mother Juditha used to gently share this tragedy with the newly motherless young kids: "She goes, 'Mommy's in heaven.'"
A Circle of Protection for Nicole Brown Simpson’s Kids
Immediately after the murders, the Brown sisters banded together, determined to shield Sydney and Justin from the pain, chaos and round-the-clock media madness that had descended.
As Dominique explained, "I knew that was the role I was supposed to undertake. There was Denise's son, my son, Sydney and Justin. We played together, ate together, went to the beach together — everything together. It was to help them heal and do things that were fun. The things that were being said, they didn't need to be exposed to any of that."
For two years, the Browns fought to keep stable family time with Sydney and Justin as their top priority amid the turmoil.
But their innocence was shattered again in 1996 when the children's father, O.J. Simpson, won custody over the Brown family in a bitter court battle.
The moment Dominique and her sisters had to say goodbye is forever seared in her memory: "It happened Christmas morning. I didn't think my heart could take it."
Painful Revelations from The Life & Murder of Nicole Brown Simpson Docuseries
After being wrenched from their aunts' care, the Browns lost contact with Sydney and Justin as they lived with Simpson in Florida.
It wasn't until watching the new Lifetime docuseries The Life & Murder of Nicole Brown Simpson that the extended family learned of the difficulties the children endured, including "911 calls with the kids saying, 'Daddy, stop,' their house getting raided, just chaos," according to Dominique.
She reflected on the tragic reality that the murders of their mother had thrust Sydney and Justin into an inescapable global spotlight from a very young age:
"They lost their mother, and it was everywhere in the world." These airing images of that fateful night - with the children asleep just upstairs as their mother was being killed outside - became embedded in the public consciousness.
Nicole Brown Simpson’s Kids Show Resilience Despite a Lifetime of Trauma
Despite being robbed of their mother in such a horrifically public way at formative ages, Sydney (now 38) and Justin (35) have demonstrated tremendous resilience and grace as adults.
Both have chosen to lay low, staying out of the glare that consumed their childhoods, forging professional careers in real estate and starting families of their own.
Their aunt Dominique expressed admiration: "They're young adults with families, and they're both doing great. Nicole would be so proud."
The Brown sisters take solace in seeing Sydney and Justin persevere and thrive on their own terms, having survived the unthinkable trauma of how they initially learned about their devastating loss: "Mommy's in heaven."
Justice Never Found for the Brown Family
The man who murdered Nicole and Ron, Dominique's brother-in-law O.J. Simpson, was shockingly acquitted of their killings in the infamous 1995 "Trial of the Century."
However, in 1997 he was found liable for their deaths in a civil lawsuit. Simpson's own life ended in April of this year when he died from cancer at age 76.
For the Brown family, Simpson's passing evoked extremely complicated emotions as Dominique reflected: "It's like the end of a chapter...He's a person who's been in our life for a very long time, who wreaked havoc on our family."
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