Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, July 1, 1994                   TAG: 9407010093
SECTION: NATL/INTL                    PAGE: A1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press Note: above
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES                                 LENGTH: Medium

TESTIMONY: SIMPSON BOUGHT KNIFE

The German-made knife Simpson purchased May 3 had a 6-inch retractable stainless steel blade and a handle made of deer antler, said Allen Wattenberg, owner of Ross Cutlery in downtown Los Angeles.

Simpson bought the knife while filming a TV pilot on location in front of the knife shop, Wattenberg said. Before leaving with his $81.17 purchase, Simpson had the knife sharpened, Wattenberg said.

Wattenberg acknowledged that his brother - the store's co-owner - and a store employee agreed to sell their story to the supermarket tabloid National Enquirer for $12,500.

Salesman Jose Camacho said Simpson paid with a $100 bill. Simpson got the only receipt, Wattenberg said.

Hovering above Thursday's preliminary hearing was an explosive motion filed by the defense late Wednesday seeking to exclude evidence police gathered at Simpson's home, including a bloody glove like one found near the bodies and a trail of blood from Simpson's Ford Bronco to his front door.

Detectives who had gone to Simpson's mansion to tell him about his ex-wife's death discovered the trail of blood, according to an affidavit for a search warrant filed by Detective Philip L. Vannatter.

"Blood droplets were... observed leading from the vehicle on the street to the front door of the residence," Vannatter wrote.

After obtaining the warrant, police returned and found even more blood inside the Bronco, on the driveway, in the bathroom and in the master bedroom, according to police reports and court testimony Thursday.

The glove was mentioned in earlier news accounts, but Simpson's previous attorney had disputed the reports. Municipal Judge Kathleen Kennedy-Powell set a hearing on the motion for Tuesday.

The hearing bogged down even before it began. Simpson attorney Robert Shapiro and prosecutor Marcia Clark clashed over how many hairs investigators may pluck from Simpson's head to compare with strands in a knit cap found near the bodies. Shapiro offered to provide one; Clark wanted about 100.

Kennedy-Powell ruled the prosecution could have between 40 and 100 hairs, drawing laughter in the courtroom.

Shapiro also grilled Michele Kestler, assistant director of the Police Department crime lab, on her qualifications. Shapiro insisted on seeing her resume. The court took a break for her to get her resume from her computer.

Later, he questioned her doggedly about her lack of experience with hair and blood analysis and her familiarity with the technical literature on the subject.

During one sharp exchange, Shapiro accused Clark of ``grandstanding'' when she announced that she wanted to open what appeared to be phone records she had just received. The time of a telephone call between Nicole Simpson and her mother the night of the killings has been in dispute.

Simpson, no longer under a suicide watch, was clean-shaven and wearing a tie in court for the first time since he was charged. A crowd cheered and waved as the van carrying the former football star pulled into the courthouse garage.

The 46-year-old Simpson is charged in the June 12 slashing deaths of his former wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman outside her condominium, a few miles from Simpson's estate.