MOORHEAD - An ex-girlfriend of O.J. Simpson will plead guilty to burglary and drug charges for allegedly stealing prescription pills from a Moorhead couple while working as an in-home nursing assistant, a Clay County prosecutor said today.
Christie Prody, 37, plans to enter open pleas to one count each of second-degree burglary and fifth-degree drug possession, Assistant County Attorney Jenny Samarzja said after Thursday's settlement conference.
The plea hearing is set for Sept. 13. A jury trial scheduled for next week has been canceled.
Because it's an open plea and not a plea agreement, Samarzja said she expects Prody will argue for a sentence of treatment instead of prison time.
"It's pretty easy to see that this is related to her chemical dependency issues," she said.
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Samarzja said her sentencing recommendation will follow the results of a presentence investigation and may or may not include prison time, depending on Prody's criminal record.
"We would certainly be open to addressing treatment options within that," she said.
Prody's attorney could not be immediately reached for comment.
Prody was charged April 9 with two counts each of second-degree burglary, theft and fifth-degree drug possession. She allegedly stole prescription pills on two separate occasions after Terry and Ruby Jenstead, the north Moorhead couple whose home she worked in, had a surveillance camera installed after pills went missing.
Ruby Jenstead told The Forum in April that Prody never talked about her past or her time with Simpson and had been a dependable worker.
"She was a very nice person and an excellent worker," Jenstead said. "You'd never have guessed that she led that kind of life."
Prody, who has relatives in Fergus Falls, was Simpson's girlfriend for 13 years. She was waitressing in Los Angeles when she met him in 1996, the year after the NFL Hall of Fame running back was acquitted of the murders of his ex-wife and friend.
Simpson's visit to the Fargo area in 2008 - before the couple's tumultuous relationship ended - drew public attention.
