Harvey Levin on Kato

Kato Harvey Levin, who covered the O.J. Simpson legal circus for CBS 2, has some observations over at TMZ.com on Brian (Kato) Kaelin, who lived in a guest house on Simpson's Brentwood property and went for hamburgers with his landlord the night Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman were murdered. Kaelin testified back then about a thump he heard outside his room later that night, but never cast doubt on Simpson's alibi. This week he was spotted coming out of Hyde and gave his opinion of O.J.'s cancelled book, If I Did It?: "What do you mean if?" That set Levin to ruminating.

The criminal and civil trials were my life for two years. I covered it for the CBS affiliate in L.A. and it was the only topic in my life. Trust me, Kato knew a lot more than he told. Remember, he claims he was awakened by a thump that shook the walls of the guesthouse -- that was Simpson hitting the A.C. (no, not Cowlings, the air conditioner).

Remember; before the murders, Simpson and Kato drove to McDonald's together. There are a lot of stories about what they did and what they said during that McRun. At the very least, O.J. Simpson was in a rage after getting snubbed by Nicole, and he was always willing to rant even when people weren't in the mood to listen. Kato the houseguest was obligated to listen.
And one more thing -- there's no doubt in my mind that Kato heard a lot of commotion after Simpson left for the airport. Double murder is a messy business, and there was plenty to clean and discard that night. I don't think Kato was part of the cleaning crew, but I think he knew exactly who was.

So, when Kato nixed the word "if" last night, it's the most honest he's been about the murders in a dozen years. By the way, he's a really nice guy, but I can't believe he got into Hyde.