Family and friends unveiled a granite gravestone for Ronald Lyle Goldman on Sunday, signifying the end of the one-year mourning period for the 25-year-old man often described as the “forgotten victim” of the O.J. Simpson trial.
Goldman’s body, stabbed 22 times, was found next to that of Nicole Brown Simpson, former wife of O.J. Simpson, who is being tried in connection with the double murder. He has proclaimed his innocence.
The emotional one-hour ceremony took place on a wind-swept hill at the Beth Olam Cemetery in the Los Angeles suburb of Westlake Village. Rabbi Gary Johnson of Temple Beth Haverim officiated.
The simple grave marker was inscribed “Loving Son, Brother and Friend,” and included a message, which said in part: “Sometimes, when we’re alone and lost in thought and all the world seems far away, you come to us as in a dream, gently taking our hands and filling our hearts with the warmth of your presence.”
In addition to Goldman’s parents and siblings, also attending the ceremony were Deputy District Attorneys Marcia Clark and William Hodgman, who are prosecuting Simpson.
Hodgman told the Los Angeles Times that in the hoopla of a celebrity trial, the victim’s families are often forgotten.
“This is what it’s all about,” Hodgman said. “The unbelievable pain for the family. And I wish everyone could feel what it was like to be on this hill today.”
One unidentified cemetery employee also commented on the ceremony.
“It’s good that so many people came,” he said. “So much attention is paid to O.J., the attorneys, the jury. Today, it was a special day, just for him and his family.”
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
