WRAPPING up a dramatic round of testimony, O.J. Simpson stepped down from the witness stand in his civil trial with no attempt by his legal team to repair the damage from three days of scathing interrogation.
In a surprise tactical move, Simpson's senior lawyer, Mr Robert Baker, who had been expected to begin immediately his effort to "rehabilitate" his client in front of the jury, told Judge Hiroshi Fujisaki: "I'm sorry your honour, I changed my mind."
But Mr Baker promised to bring the former American football star back to testify again when the defence presents its case next month in the wrongful death civil suit.
With that, the trial broke up for Thanksgiving. Testimony resumes on Tuesday when the plaintiffs will put on more witnesses to support their claims that Simpson murdered his ex wife and her friend.
Simpson's testimony marked the dramatic high point of the trial, in which he is fighting civil charges brought by the families of murder victims, Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. Simpson, acquitted of double murder charges in October last year, could be forced to pay millions of dollars in damages if he loses the ease.
Taking the witness stand in open court for the first time since the 1994 killings, Simpson spent three days being grilled relentlessly by lawyers, who pointed out numerous inconsistencies and contradictions in his story.
Simpson repeatedly maintained his innocence and never lost his cool. But he conceded he was at a loss to explain how he cut his hand, how blood matching his own ended up at the murder scene and how blood matching the victims ended up in his Ford Bronco and at his Brent wood estate.
And in his first round of testimony, Simpson made no mention of the controversial theory that is expected to form the centrepiece of his defence that he was framed by a police conspiracy orchestrated by a racist detective.
Simpson, who seemed to grow weary as the tough questioning dragged on, appeared relieved when he left the stand, slapping his lawyers on the back.
Simpson's abrupt departure from the witness stand means jurors will begin the holiday recess with a final image of the former star athlete and actor fending off harsh attacks. Some legal analysts said it was a risky move, while others suggested it would give Simpson a chance to catch his breath.
Lawyers for the victims' families had concluded their interrogation with a dramatic flourish. "In fact, you murdered Nicole, didn't you?" asked Mr John Kelly.
"That's absolutely false," Simpson replied calmly, looking directly at the jury.
"And you murdered Ron," Mr Kelly continued.
"That's absolutely wrong," Simpson said.
The families' lawyers contend that Simpson beat and terrorised his ex wife during their 17 year relationship and finally killed her when he could no longer control her.
The latest unexpected twist in the two month trial came when the judge dismissed a 25 year old woman juror, an aspiring actress and singer, for misconduct after she was accused of trying to contact lawyers in the case.
At the start of Tuesday's session the judge said he had dismissed a juror for "communicating with or attempting to communicate with persons connected with this case". In announcing his decision, he admonished the remaining panellists that "a jury is not a social club".
The woman, Ms Ann Marie Jamison, told local TV station KABC all she did was compliment a law clerk on his necktie.
Ms Jamison had been variously described in news reports as white, Hispanic and of mixed white and Hispanic heritage. She was replaced by a young white woman, bringing the jury's racial makeup to nine whites, one black, one Hispanic and one Asianblack.