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The brutal murder of the actress Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman took place on the night of June 12, 1994. It was a bloody double stabbing that took place on the grounds of Nicole’s home, and which led to the sensational trial of the former’s husband, the sports and movie star O.J. Simpson. The details of the case, and of Simpson’s apparent guilt despite his being acquitted in a criminal trial, have remained a subject of heated discussion in the three decades since it happened.
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At around 10:15 p.m. on the night of the murders, neighbors began hearing the frantic barking of Nicole Brown Simpson’s dog, an Akita named Kato. The name was chosen by the Simpsons’ children. They named the dog after family friend Brian “Kato” Kaelin, who lived in O.J.’s guesthouse at the time of the murders and who later was a high-profile witness in the star’s criminal trial.
The barking continued with the neighbors initially thinking nothing of it. It was only two hours later when two dog walkers encountered the Akita, which had dried blood on its paws, that the bodies were discovered. It later transpired that Kato had seemingly sought help from people in the street, and led the dog walkers to the horrifying crime scene. With everything that transpired in the aftermath, Kato stayed in the Brown family.
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Kato was a famously loyal breed
Believed to have been present on the scene at the time of the murders, Kato was described as the trial’s only — though sadly voiceless — eyewitness. Fascination with Nicole Brown Simpson’s dog has continued in the years following the trial. However, Akitas tend only to live to between the ages of 10 and 14, and Kato is long deceased. But while details of Kato the dog’s life after the murders are sketchy, reports claim he lived out his life in a loving home.
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Akitas are a Japanese breed and hunting dog, and are known for their incredible loyalty. Their character is encapsulated in the story of an Akita named Hachiko, born in 1923 who was the pet of a Tokyo professor. Legend had it that Hachiko would greet its owner each evening after he got off the train at Shibuya, that is until the professor suddenly died in 1925. Despite the professor failing to arrive, Hachiko kept appearing at the station each night when its deceased owner failed to show up, becoming beloved by the locals who would bring him food and gifts. The dog continued its vigil until its death in 1935, by which time it was a celebrity. A statue of Hachiko was later commissioned.
A Kato cash-in and a quiet life
Kato the Akita’s own monument is a little more tasteless. In 2001, a book emerged named “O.J’s Dog Daze,” which was a retelling of Kato’s experiences from his perspective, and was released under the author name “Kato D’Akita.” The cover reads: “The only survivor, other than the killer, breaks five years of silence in this exclusive memoir!” Claiming tongue-in-cheek that the text was “barked” to Frederick Kiel, who is presumably the true author, it seemingly no connection to the real Kato.
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According to journalist John Geluardi, after the trial, the real Kato was cared for by Nicole Brown Simpson’s parents, Judi and Louis, in their Dana Point, California home until Kato’s death in 2004 (per Braying Dog). Speaking to the Los Angeles Times, Nicole’s sister Denise described how Kato was Judi’s link to her deceased daughter, and that “she just loved him so much.” His death was heartbreaking for her, and the family kept Kato’s ashes, storing them under the family piano.
