Bloomington police: No confession on thumb drives from O.J. Simpson’s ex-bodyguard

What would have been a wild story was quickly put to rest Tuesday when Bloomington police issued a statement clarifying that no, it was not in possession of a recorded O.J. Simpson murder confession.

TMZ reported Tuesday afternoon that Bloomington police may have unwittingly come into possession of such a recording after arresting a former bodyguard of Simpson’s more than two years ago.

But about two hours after that report published, the suburban Police Department sent out a release that said the belongings seized during the arrest of Iroc Avelli had been inspected and officers “did not locate any information of evidentiary value for the Los Angeles Police Department.”

Here’s what police said happened:

Bloomington police arrested Avelli under suspicion of assault on March 3, 2022. Several items were taken by police in the process, including a backpack which contained multiple thumb drives, according to a statement.

In June of this year, about two months after Simpson died at age 76, Los Angeles police contacted Bloomington police.

They said Avelli and his attorney said one of the thumb drives in the backpack contained a recording of Simpson confessing to the infamous 1994 murder of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and Ron Goldman, according to Bloomington police.

A search warrant was granted to inspect the thumb drives. A copy was obtained by TMZ, dated June 26, and the document only said the results from the search were “pending.”

TMZ has since updated its headline to read, “O.J. Simpson Ex-Bodyguard Claims He Has Murder Confession Recording ... But Police Find No Evidence.”