New details on knife purportedly found at O.J. Simpson's former estate
LOS ANGELES -- A law enforcement official says the knife reportedly found at O.J. Simpson's former estate likely isn't connected to the killings of his ex-wife and her friend, but it will take at least three weeks to know for sure.
The official with knowledge of the investigation told The Associated Press that Los Angeles police detectives doubt the knife was used in the 1994 killings.
The official says the knife is common among gardeners and is too small to make the wounds that killed Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman.
The murder weapon used to kill them has never been found.
The official is not authorized to publicly discuss the investigation and spoke only on condition of anonymity.
Police Capt. Andy Neiman said Wednesday that investigators examining the knife don't expect results for at least three weeks. The department's crime lab is looking for DNA or other material.
CBS News' Carter Evans previously reported that while police are taking the investigation seriously, they caution it could turn out to be another false lead.
"I was really surprised," Neiman said Friday.
The LAPD was stunned when a retired police officer recently turned in a knife that was allegedly found nearly two decades ago by a construction worker during the demolition of O.J. Simpson's estate.
"The off-duty, or retired, officer was working in the area of the Rockingham estate, and he claimed that an individual who claimed to be a construction worker provided him with this knife claiming that it was found on the property, so he held on to it," Neiman said.
That former officer has not been publicly identified, but he's believed to have had the knife for many years before turning it in about a month ago.
Retired LAPD Detective Tom Lange was the lead investigator on the case and says Simpson's property was thoroughly searched.
"It's always a possibility that it was overlooked," Lange told CBS News, "but the time that we had and the time that Simpson had this knife, I would be very surprised if we would have missed something like this."
Marcia Clark, who prosecuted Simpson for the stabbing deaths, spoke to "Entertainment Tonight" Friday.
"If it does turn out to be connected to the murders of Ron and Nicole, it would be interesting if there was some evidence on that knife that pointed to who might have helped to bury it, if indeed someone else did," Clark said.
It comes as a cable mini-series recounting the O.J. saga has renewed interest in the case.
"You have to question the timing," said law professor Laurie Levenson. "Right at the time of the miniseries on the O.J. case and all of the sudden they come up with this knife. It's gonna raise some eyebrows."