Kato Kaelin: The Whole Truth (The Real Story of O.J., Nicole, and Kato from the Actual Tapes)
A conversation with Marc EliotQ: Why did you  chooseThe Whole Truthas the title of this book?A:Because it's my feeling that Brian "Kato" Kaelin did not tell  the whole truth when he testified during the O.J. Simpson trial. As a  key witness in a murder case he had both a moral and a legal obligation  to serve the cause of justice. Instead I believe he convinced himself,  or let himself be convinced, that self-promotion, as opposed to solving  a murder, was the all-important issue.The Whole Truthlooks at  the "truth" according to Kato Kaelin under oath, and compares it to the  much more detailed, lurid and forthcoming "truth" that Kato Kaelin  disclosed over the course of five months of taped interviews.Q: What are you saying about Kato's testimony?A:Kato testified that he never saw O.J. upset, possessive or  obsessed when it came to Nicole. But in our taped conversations Kato  clearly talks about O.J.'s rage at Nicole, his preoccupation with  her sex life, his anger over her relationship with Kato's friend  Grant Cramer and his obsession with the provocative way Nicole dressed  to go "nightclubbing" with her friends. By leaving this out of his  testimony, as well as other material that he had already gone over with  me, Kato created a false impression not only about the relationship  between O.J. and Nicole Simpson, but also about who they were, the kind  of life they led and about events that happened immediately before and  after the murders of Nicole and Ron Goldman.Q: What  surprised you most as you conducted your interviews with Kato?A:According to Kato, in conversations with him Nicole  literally predicted her own murder. And I'm sure he wasn't the  first person she tried to reach out to and say "this guy's a maniac  and is going to kill me!" I can only imagine that Kato was way down on  the list of people she told including her mother, her father, her  sisters, and perhaps even her girlfriends. What's really shocking  is that nobody seemed to care or even wanted to hear what she was  saying. I was also shocked at Kato's attitude and his seeming  eagerness to tell stories about Nicole and O.J. He didn't seem to  care too much that he was talking about a woman who had befriended him  and who had allegedly been killed by her own husband -- also a friend  and benefactor of his.Q: What do you think will surprise  readers most when they readThe Whole Truth?A:The  true story of the relationship between O.J. and Nicole, the lives they  led individually and the details of what Kato saw the night of the  murders and the days immediately following are far different from what  came out during Kato's testimony and during the testimony of  others. People are no longer shocked at the thought that O.J. may have  killed Nicole and Ron, or that he may or may not get away with it. They  will, however, be shocked when they realize just how much O.J. did get  away with before this happened and why.Q: What were your  feelings about Kato during the work process?A:I liked  Kato. I found him very personable, very likable and much more observant  than he lets on, as is evidenced by the amount of information he had. I  found him very typical of the kind of fellow who comes to L.A. riding  on his good looks and tries to somehow convert that into a career. I  also found that he has an ability to get people, including myself, to  open up to him. I found myself sharing private moments and thoughts  with Kato that I normally wouldn't share with an interview subject.Q: Do you think O.J. Simpson is guilty?A:Obviously, like everyone else, I have an opinion about  O.J.'s guilt or innocence. But what's more important is how I  formulated that opinion -- by spending five months with a key witness  and hearing a play-by-play, blow-by-blow description of his life both  with the deceased and with the defendant.Q: What things  did Kato tell you that haven't yet come to light?A:The most important material in the book, none of which Kato revealed  either during his testimony or afterward, addresses O.J.'s possible  motive for killing Nicole. Kato talked very openly to me about an  enraged, jealous and extremely possessive O.J. Simpson. He spoke openly  about a Nicole Simpson whose life was in personal sexual turmoil and  who was locked in a psychological battle with O.J. What was remarkable  was that Kato had a "box seat" to the on-going O.J.-Nicole battle and  was able to observe it first-hand from both sides. Kato also told me  about a conversation he had with Nicole's friend Cora Fischman. A  week before the murders, and just after Nicole and O.J. had one of  their blowouts, Fischman had a very troubling conversation with O.J.  According to Kato, Cora told him that O.J. was in one of his furies and  said "She [Nicole] isn't going to get away with this. I'm going  to take care of her once and for all."Q: Do you anticipate  that Kato will "come clean" after the publication of this book?A:I think Kato will go back on the witness stand, if he's  not scheduled to reappear already. I can't tell you what he'll  do when that happens but at the very least he'll be forced to  confront some of his own words. And this time around he won't get  off the stand so easy.Q: What was your reaction when you  heard Kato's testimony?A:I was absolutely stunned.  I happened to have the TV on and suddenly there was Kato on the witness  stand. I expected him to get up there, repeat the things he had said to  me over the course of five months of discussions and blow the case wide  open. I thought I knew what was coming and said to myself "This should  be exciting." Then I started hearing this highly sanitized, fairly  innocuous version of events. What was particularly unbelievable was  when he denied he was working on a book. I had a manuscript on my desk  beside me when he said that.Q: You include a lot of  details about Nicole's private life, her sexual liaisons, her  inability to break away from O.J., her seeming attempts to hurt him,  her drinking problem and her flirtation with sexual threesomes and  lesbianism. Don't you think this book will give people an excuse to  blame her for her own death?A:What you  come to understand in this book is the nature of O.J. Simpson's  rage. Yes, she did push his buttons. Yes, the psychological warfare  went both ways. Yes, she often gave as good as she got. But her actions  certainly weren't punishable by death. I don't think anyone in  his or her right mind can say that she was the one to blame.Q: Have you spoken to Kato again since you heard his testimony?A:No. I was invited by his attorney to get involved in a  film deal. But I've not said a word to Kato, nor him to me, since  his appearance on the stand.Q: Why do you think Kato  sanitized or neutralized his testimony?A:Kato is  cowardly. He equivocated or qualified his statements on the witness  stand and tried to take both sides of every issue. Further, Kato was  looking to promote himself as a likable fellow. Also, I think Kato had  a hard time in the courtroom sitting 20 feet from the man who turned  his life around. O.J. had tried to help him get acting work, shared the  secrets of his sex life and generally brought Kato into the  stratosphere of a life he would never otherwise have been a part of.  And now Kato was being asked to say "I believe O.J. killed his wife."  It's not something he wanted to face.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.