For the first time in nearly two decades, the O.J. Simpson trial is back in the news, thanks to Ryan Murphy’s excellent “The People vs. O.J. Simpson.” And OF ALL THE TIMES for new evidence to pop up, it’s now.

According to TMZ’s Harvey Levin, a knife found buried on the Juice’s property years ago is just now being tested for DNA, fingerprints, etc. because the cop that had it just kept it at home for a while like a pristine seashell he picked up on a beach stroll. Levin, a lawyer, explains:

And in case you’d rather read than listen:

The story is incredible. We’re told a construction worker found the knife years ago — we have heard several different stories, ranging from “several years ago” to 1998, when the house was demolished.

The weapon is a folding buck knife.

Our law enforcement sources say the construction worker took the knife to the street, where he saw an LAPD cop. He told the officer where he found the knife and the cop took it.

Turns out the cop — who worked in the traffic division — was off duty at the time, working security for a movie shoot at a house across the street on Rockingham. Our sources say the officer took the knife home and kept it … kept it for years.

In late January of this year, after the cop retired from the LAPD, he contacted a friend who worked in LAPD’s Robbery Homicide Division (RHD). The cop told the friend about the knife and said he was getting it framed to put on his wall. He wanted his friend to get the DR (Departmental Record) number for the Nicole Brown Simpson/Ronald Goldman murder case, which he planned on engraving in the frame.

We’re told the friend was indignant, and told his superiors. The brass was outraged and demanded that the retired cop turn the knife over, which he did.

Our sources say the knife is currently being tested for hair and fingerprints. It will be moved to the Serology Unit next week, where it will be tested for DNA and other biological evidence.

So you’re working security for a movie shoot, a guy hands you possible evidence in one of the most famous homicide cases of all time, and you just keep it for yourself until someone yells at you because you want to get it framed? WHO SAYS THE LAPD IS INCOMPETENT (…).

But the fact that this comes out now is some serious against-the-odds insanity. It’s been 21 years, 8 months, and 22 days since the murders (roughly). That’s a total of 7,936 days. “The People vs. O.J. Simpson” is running for 10 weeks. That’s a 70-day span. Since the murder, ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTEEN 70-day spans have come and gone. And the chances that this all happens right now, when the interest in the trial is the highest it’s been SINCE the trial? In this 70-day span? ? How insane is that? It’s like if there was so much evidence proving that one person killed two people. Like, so much evidence. Historically violent behavior, blood, lack of believable alibi, physical evidence, etc. and the guy was still found not guilty. That insane.

Juice can’t be squeezed again because of double jeopardy.

UPDATE: Police held a press conference today and said they’re testing the knife to determine its legitimacy.