United in grief: Nicole Brown Simpson's children Justin and Sydney pictured for the first time in years at the funeral of their grandfather who died this month aged 91

The son and daughter of the late Nicole Brown Simpson have been pictured for the first time in years after they attended their grandfather’s funeral in California on Saturday.
Justin, 25, and Sydney Simpson, 28 - whose father O.J. was famously found not guilty of killing their mother in 1994 - were among a group of 20 mourners at the service at Ascension Cemetery in Lake Forest.
Their grandfather Lou Brown passed away aged 91 on July 3 after a seven-year battle with Alzheimer's disease.

The son and daughter of the late Nicole Brown Simpson - Justin, 25, and Sydney Simpson, 28 - have been pictured for the first time in years after they attended their grandfather's funeral in California on Saturday

Sydney wore a black top, white trousers and sunglasses during the ceremony, while her brother – three years her junior – filled out a gray suit, while his hair appeared to be starting to thin on top

The sombre service was carried out at the graveside of their late mother who was murdered 20 years ago last month.
On June 12, 1994, Nicole and her friend Ron Goldman were found killed at her Los Angeles home and O.J. was accused of the crimes.
Following her tragic murder, Lou Brown had always insisted that he wanted to be buried alongside his daughter.
Saturday’s service was the first time that Sydney Simpson has been in the spotlight in four years, while her brother Justin hasn’t been seen in ten years.

Justin Simpson, left, along with 20 other relatives attended the funeral on Saturday of his grandfather Lou Brown, who passed away aged 91 on July 3 after a seven-year battle with Alzheimer's disease

Now fully grown adults, the siblings look dramatically different from how they were pictured as very young children prior to their mother’s death.
Sydney wore a black top, white trousers and sunglasses during Saturday's ceremony, while her brother – three years her junior – filled out a gray suit, while his hair appeared to be starting to thin on top.
Their grandfather had been a pilot during World War II and received a military send-off with taps played by members of the armed forces.
‘Before the service, family members placed their favorite mementos of Lou in the crematory box,’ a family source told the National Enquirer.
Also present for the sad family occasion were Lou’s wife Judith, plus Nicole’s three sisters Denise, Dominique and Tanya.

Justin, now 25, and his sister Sydney, 28, are both in the restaurant business in the Southeast, according to their aunt

The Enquirer also reports that Sydney, a Boston University graduate, is currently dating an old college friend of her brother – 25-year-old Robert Blackmon.
Justin and Sydney were just five and eight respectively when their mother was found brutally murdered alongside Goldman at her Los Angeles home on June 12, 1994.
Days later, their father was charged with the murders then later acquitted following a televised, eight-month trial that gripped the world.
Their aunt Tanya Brown, Nicole's youngest sister, spoke last month about the close bond she shares with her niece and nephew and how despite the tragedy they have endured, the pair have grown into happy, well-adjusted adults.
The aunt said that Justin and Sydney are both in the restaurant business in the Southeast.

OJ Simpson, Nicole Brown Simpson and their children Sydney and Justin pictured at the Naked Gun 33 1/3 Premiere in Hollywood just months before Nicole's death in June 1994

A group of 20 mourners including Nicole's three sisters Denise, Dominique and Tanya attended Saturday's service, Lou Brown had been a pilot during World War II and so he received a military send-off

Ms Brown, 44, told RadarOnline: 'They’re in their late 20s. They’re professional. They’ve gone to college. They’re in relationships. They’re happy. They’re just like us. Quote unquote.'
The aunt said that following their father's 1995 murder trial it was difficult for the children to experience a normal life.
However Ms Brown and the children's grandmother forced themselves to face O.J., who they believe killed Nicole and Ron Goldman, for the sake of the children.

Ms Brown said: 'They will always love their dad. I choose to respect that.'
O.J. Simpson and Nicole Brown married in 1985.
In 1989, the former football player pleaded no contest to a domestic violence charge against Simpson. The couple divorced in 1992.
Tanya Brown also revealed that she has never discussed their mother's murder or O.J. Simpson with her niece and nephew.

Nicole Brown Simpson's sister Tanya - pictured at Saturday's funeral - said last month that her niece and nephew are 'happy, in relationships and just like us'

'They’ve probably talked about it on their own,' she said.
'But when they come to our house we have fun. We don’t need to rehash everything.'
Ms Brown, a life coach and mental-health advocate, recently wrote a memoir about the loss of her older sister Nicole, entitled Finding Peace Amid The Chaos.
In the emotional book, she revealed the moment she knew that the man she once called 'Uncle O.J.' was responsible for her sister's death.
She also described how her family's lives were forever shattered on the morning of June 13, 1994, when they found out that Nicole, recently divorced from O.J., had been stabbed to death outside her Los Angeles home along with her friend Ronald Goldman.
She said the grief-stricken family watched on TV as her sister's bloodied corpse was loaded into a van to be taken to the morgue. Ms Brown said she held her mother's shaking hands as she wept: 'That's my kid.' 

O.J. Simpson accompanying his children, Sydney, nine and Justin, six, as they leave the funeral services for his ex-wife, Nicole Simpson, June 16, 1994. A day later, he was charged with their mother's murder

Archive: OJ Simpson in bid to win freedom from a life sentence

Ms Brown said that at first she did not suspect Simpson, the former football player turned actor, whom she knew as a beloved brother-in-law.
After her sister's death, Ms Brown said she was exposed to the harrowing truth - that Simpson was a violent man who had mentally and physically abused her sister for years.
In the days following the murders, the net began to close on Simpson, considered the prime suspect.
On June 17, the day that Simpson was supposed to turn himself over to police on murder charges, the former football player led officers on an infamous low-speed pursuit in a white Ford Bronco SUV in California.
Simpson finally surrendered to police and was jailed awaiting trial.

Loss: Nicole Brown Simpson's father, Lou Brown (pictured far left with his wife, daughters and lawyer in the 1990s) passed away earlier this month after battling Alzheimer's for years

Nicole Brown, 35, was stabbed to death outside her Los Angeles home 20 years ago along with friend Ronald Goldman who was visiting her

The internationally publicized trial of O.J. Simpson lasted one year and was dubbed the 'trial of the century'. In 1995, Simpson was acquitted of the 1994 murders of his ex-wife and Mr Goldman.
The anguish for the victims' families did not end there. For Tanya Brown, her sister's brutal death unleashed years of depression and drug and alcohol abuse that culminated in her almost taking her own life in 2004.
Following psychiatric treatment and therapy, Ms Brown now says she has turned 'this ugly thing into something good'.

In 2008, Simpson was found guilty of kidnapping, armed robbery and other charges in what he said was an attempt to retrieve memorabilia and personal items from two sports collectibles dealers in a casino hotel room.
Simpson was sentenced to between nine to 33 years in Nevada state prison but was granted parole on some convictions last July. However he must serve at least four more years.
Simpson's conviction came 13 years to the day after he was acquitted of his ex-wife and Mr Goldman's murders.

DM