Goldman grew up in Buffalo Grove, Illinois, and was raised by his father, Fred Goldman. He attended high school at Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Illinois. He was a student at Illinois State University for one semester before he moved with his family to California. While living in Los Angeles, he attended Pierce College. He had been supporting himself as a waiter and tennis instructor. According to the Goldmans’ book, His Name is Ron, prior to working at the restaurant Mezzaluna, Goldman worked with cerebral palsy patients. Goldman was also reportedly in the process of opening a restaurant to be named ANKH.

At the time of his murder, Goldman was working as a waiter at Mezzaluna, a restaurant located at 11750 San Vicente Boulevard in Los Angeles. Allegedly, Nicole Brown Simpson, a friend and the ex-wife of O.J. Simpson, had called to report that she had accidentally left her mother Juditha’s eyeglasses on one of the restaurant tables. After a quick search they were discovered in the gutter outside the restaurant. Goldman, who had not served Nicole’s table, had agreed to bring them to her home after work. Before returning the eyeglasses, he stopped at his apartment located at 11663 Gorham Avenue in Brentwood to change clothes and shower. When he arrived at Nicole Brown Simpson’s condominium located at 875 South Bundy Drive, he was murdered along with Nicole Brown Simpson on the walkway leading to the residence.

During a reconstruction of the events, police believe he had arrived during or shortly after the murder of Nicole Brown-Simpson and attempted to protect her, but was stabbed to death in the process. The autopsy lists several fatal wounds, including many stabs to the torso, one superficial slit of the throat, and one deep gash of the throat, indicating Goldman struggled for his life. [citation needed]

The former professional football player O.J. Simpson was eventually charged and tried for Goldman’s murder and for the murder of his ex-wife. Simpson was acquitted in October 1995 of Goldman’s murder in the criminal trial. A later civil trial found Simpson liable for Goldman’s wrongful death. $33 million (USD) in damages were awarded to the Goldman family.

The rights to OJ Simpson’s book, If I Did It, a first-person account of how he would have committed the murders, were awarded to the Goldman family in August 2007. The family was granted the proceeds from the book in 2007 as part of a $33.5 million civil jury award against the ex-football star they have been trying to collect for over a decade. The Goldmans own the copyright, media rights and movie rights. They also acquired Simpson’s name, likeness, life story and right of publicity in connection with the book, according to court documents.

In September 2007, the Goldmans, having renamed the book, If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer and published it through Beaufort Books. Within days it became a bestseller.