Mark Fuhrman‘s longtime professional partner is remembering the former LAPD detective as far more than the controversial figure many came to know during the O.J. Simpson trial … saying the man she worked beside was brilliant, funny and deeply misunderstood.
Lynda Bensky — who worked with Fuhrman for 28 years covering high-profile murder cases for Fox News — tells TMZ the two traveled constantly together as contracted analysts … and she says crowds would regularly approach him to thank him for his work as a detective.
Bensky says Fuhrman handled the fallout from the Simpson case “with grace” … adding she believed he was unfairly targeted by the defense team.
“We traveled together and everywhere we went people wanted to shake his hand, thank him and acknowledge that he was a brilliant detective,” Bensky says.
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She also reflected on the intense scrutiny Fuhrman faced after becoming one of the most polarizing figures in the O.J. case … saying, “He dealt with grace about his notoriety and soon everyone understood that he was under attack by the Dream Team who paid to get some dirt on Mark.”
Bensky recalls Fuhrman later appearing on Oprah to discuss the scandal and his emotions surrounding the case … saying the interview was originally scheduled for just 30 minutes before producers allegedly extended it to a full hour because viewers were so engaged.
“He was well liked, funny, sarcastic and incredibly smart,” Bensky tells us. “Our relationship changed my life; there was no one like him.”
As we reported, Fuhrman died last week at age 74 after reportedly battling an aggressive form of throat cancer. The former detective became one of the most infamous figures of the Simpson murder trial after discovering key evidence and later pleading no contest to felony perjury tied to his testimony.
