PATRICIA SIKORA and BARBARA COCHRAN BECAME FRIENDS - JOHNNIE'S LIES

EXCERPT:

"Patty and I had spoken briefly on the phone several times in the mid and late eighties, and we first met at John's mother's funeral in 1991. I had never held a grudge against Patty.  Knowing John as I did, I figured that he'd probably been telling her whatever lies he needed to get her to go along with him, just as he had been lying to me, to stay with the situation - and, God Knows, he can be very convincing. We had exchanged a few stories on the phone, but at the beginning of this year, thanks to John, we finally sat down to actually talk and compare notes.

As it turned out, each of us had been outraged by John's attempts in the publicity he was getting from the Simpson trail to paint his past life as wholesome and benign, expecting us both to stand by and passively acquiesce to the false portrait.  Neither of us did.  In my case, of course, I refused to deny to the press the physical abuse in our marriage and to heed John's request to "just say I'm a wonderful guy."

In Patty's case it was worse.  If the articles in People  ad other magazine accurately reflect what John told them, he basically denied Patty's existence.  The article mentioned everyone in John's life, including his son by Patty, but not one word about her.  Her father and other family members and friends all recall that Patty was surprised at the omission.  Both of us decided to continued to speak the truth when the dirt-seeking press asked us for it.

... "Once, John called Patty while I was on the other line with her.  He warned her, "Don't talk to Barbara!  She's a racist.  And she hates you.  If she calls, just hand up the phone.  Don't even speak to her."

Patty thanked him for his concern and got back on the line with me.  We laughed as she related his worlds to me...

The truth was that John finally found himself powerless over two women he had manipulated for more than three decades, and he was frantically trying to maintain some control over at least one of them.  But it wasn't working.  We were too busy sharing our stories and untangling the dense web of lies that he had woven around both of our lives."

(Pages 95-96 from the book, LIFE AFTER JOHNNIE COCHRAN -  Why I Left the Sweetest-Talking, Most Successful Black Lawyer in L.A by Barbara Cochran Berry)