Google searches for "If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer" — O.J. Simpson's tell-all memoir — surged after the infamous football star's family confirmed Thursday that he died at the age of 76.
In the moments immediately following the announcement of Simpson's death the search terms "O.J.'s book 'If I Did It'" and "OJ Simpson book 'If I Did It' pdf" were breakout trends on Google — meaning the search term grew by more than 5000% in less than an hour.
Simpson was long regarded as one of the greatest running backs in NFL history but his professional achievements were overshadowed by the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman. The pair were found stabbed to death outside Brown's Los Angeles condo in 1994.
Simpson, who had a history of domestic violence, was quickly declared a person of interest in the case. He failed to turn himself into police and instead led law enforcement in a low speed pursuit in a white Ford Bronco, which was captured on live television.
Simpson was represented in court by a high-profile legal team, including Johnnie Cochran and Robert Kardashian, and was found not guilty on both counts of murder.
Simpson co-wrote the book "If I Did It" with ghostwriter Pablo F. Fenjves in 2007. Simpson claimed it was a hypothetical account of how he might have murdered Brown Simpson and Goldman.
The book was initially set to be published by the HarperCollins imprint ReganBooks, but quickly generated widespread controversy — with many arguing that Simpson was profiting from murder and domestic violence.
Brown's sister, Denise, said that Simpson and Brown's children would be harmed by exposure to Simpson's " inexplicable behavior."
"It's unfortunate that Simpson has decided to awaken a nightmare that we have painfully endured and worked so hard to move beyond," she said at the time.
Goldman's family was also outraged — particularly because Simpson had never paid them the $33.5 million they were awarded in a 1997 wrongful death lawsuit.
The book's initial publication and a scheduled promotional interview on Fox were both canceled, with Fox's head Rupert Murdoch apologizing for "any pain this has caused the families of Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown-Simpson."
Fred Goldman subsequently sued for the publication rights in federal bankruptcy court and was awarded control of the manuscript. The book was published under the new title "If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer," despite objections from Denise Brown.
The book was released on September 13, 2007, the same day Simpson participated in an armed robbery which eventually put him behind bars.
