Michael Jackson trial coverage

Post-trial, Jackson clan wants TV time

So now that Michael Jackson has been acquitted of child-molestation and other charges, the singer and his family are going to retreat to private life for a while and let the media storm that surrounded the trial die down. Right? Sorry. This being the 21st century, the family now wants to tell its story in a prime-time TV series.

Not guilty, but is he innocent?

Michael Jackson may have been acquitted, but if jurors' words are anything to go by, he was not exonerated.

A thriller in Jackson courtroom

In a stunning rebuff to prosecutors who have pursued Michael Jackson for more than a decade, a jury yesterday acquitted him on all 10 counts in his child molestation trial, with some indicating that they suspected he had a history of pedophilia but did not believe the accusers in this case.

Accusers made it hard case to win

For any prosecutor afraid of losing, they were the victims from hell.

Jurors bound by their task

They came to the day of judgment in khakis and short-sleeve shirts, in plaids and pink and purple, a folksy sampling of Santa Maria, Calif., who delivered a stunning decision.

Fans are wild about the verdict

Exultant Michael Jackson fans outside a California courthouse exploded into fist-pumping, sign-waving hysteria Monday, their vigil rewarded with a not guilty verdict for their pop star hero.

Ellis Henican: Dance to freedom in fame's shoes

Alert to parents everywhere: Michael Jackson is free to baby-sit again.

LI has plenty of opinions on Michael

Some were shocked. Some were relieved. And plenty were quick to offer Michael Jackson advice now that he has been acquitted in his sensational child-molestation case.

Wheels of justice turn secretly

When word came down that jurors deliberating Michael Jackson's fate had a question, anticipation buzzed through the media throng packed into pens in the courthouse's wind-blown parking lot. Could the question offer a clue into jurors' thinking as they wrestled with the 10 charges Jackson faced? Did they want a re-reading of testimony? Were they nearing a decision and seeking additional guidance?

At Jackson trial, talk is cheap

Michael Jackson's defense attorney had a distinctive way of introducing himself to prosecution witnesses during the pop star's child molestation trial. "My name is Thomas Mesereau, and I speak for Michael Jackson," he would say in his velvety baritone as he stood up to cross-examine them.

Jackson trial a mixed bag for Calif. city

As the Michael Jackson case reaches its conclusion, some residents of this small city are ready to say good riddance to the crowds -- but others will miss the windfall the trial has brought.

What's ailing king of pop?

Is Michael Jackson low on electrolytes? Is he dehydrated? Is he plagued by kidney stones? Is he eating and sleeping? And what's an electrolyte, anyway, and where do you get some if you are, indeed, lacking them?

Courting stars is trial and error

The man with the oversized chin walked confidently to the witness stand, turned to the court clerk and held up his right hand. "My name is Jay Leno. L-E-N-O," he said loudly, as if anybody didn't know.

Jackson's fate in jurors' hands

Jurors began deliberating Michael Jackson's fate Friday after prosecutors, getting the last word in closing arguments, scoffed at the pop star's claim that his love for children is innocent and portrayed him as a middle-aged man obsessed with little boys.

A molester or a victim?

In accusatory tones dripping with sarcasm and tinged with anger, attorneys in Michael Jackson's child molestation trial yesterday offered starkly different views of the defendant and his accusers in closing arguments following three months of testimony.

Jackson jury gets instructions

After three months of watching videos about Michael Jackson and hearing testimony about the pop star, jurors were told yesterday how they may use that information to determine Jackson's guilt or innocence as the judge in his child molestation trial delivered instructions designed to guide their deliberations.

The accuser has the last word

The dark-haired boy slouched in an overstuffed chair, mumbling so badly that the police officer coaxing information from him strained to hear the words.

Video reveals accuser account

Prosecutors in Michael Jackson's child molestation trial Friday showed jurors a video of Jackson's accuser reluctantly telling police that the entertainer had fondled him and gotten him drunk, concluding its rebuttal phase in the case.

Jackson accuser video OKd

The judge in Michael Jackson's child molestation trial ruled yesterday that prosecutors may show a video of his alleged victim being interviewed by police, setting the stage for a lengthy rebuttal period that may force the boy back onto the witness stand.

Defense in Jackson trial rests its case

The defense in Michael Jackson's child molestation trial rested its case Wednesday after comedian and actor Chris Tucker testified that he was so suspicious of Jackson's eventual accusers that he told the pop star, "Michael, something ain't right," and warned him to avoid them.

Leno doesn't aid Jackson defense

In a trial where the unexpected has come to be expected, "Tonight Show" host Jay Leno upheld the tradition yesterday by testifying that the family accusing Michael Jackson of molestation never asked him for money or gifts.

Mom painted as welfare cheat

With talk-show host Jay Leno expected on the witness stand today, Michael Jackson's defense team entered the final phase of its case by hammering away at his chief accuser's credibility with evidence that she was a welfare cheat.

Simmering race issue

On a chilly morning outside the Michael Jackson child molestation trial, one voice stood out from the usual chants of "Innocent!" being shouted by fans. "This case is about racism!" the voice screeched as the star alighted from his sport utility vehicle, waved at the crowd, and headed into court.

Jackson witness testifies on inaccuracies

A woman who was friends with a family that later accused Michael Jackson of molestation and false imprisonment provided more ammunition to his defense Thursday, testifying that the accusers spoke often of their "beautiful friendship" with the pop star and were angry over a 2003 documentary that suggested he behaved improperly with boys.

Jackson's cousin takes witness stand

A 12-year-old cousin of Michael Jackson cried yesterday as he testified that two brothers, who later accused the star of molestation, urged him to watch pornography and masturbate with them at the entertainer's Neverland Valley Ranch.

Accuser praised Jackson, social workers say

Two Los Angeles County social workers testified Tuesday that Michael Jackson's young accuser and his family had nothing but praise for the entertainer during a 2 1/2 -hour meeting with them in February 2003.

Neverland staff: Accusers weren't Jackson's captives

The credibility of Michael Jackson's key accusers came in for a major drubbing yesterday as a string of defense witnesses contradicted their claims that Jackson thugs shadowed them constantly - even to dental and leg-waxing appointments - and plied a boy with alcohol before molesting him.

Jackson's ex-lawyer envisioned 'disaster'

Michael Jackson's former attorney said Friday that, long before a family had accused the star of child molestation and false imprisonment, he viewed their relationship with Jackson as a "pending disaster" and suspected they were after his client's money.

Jackson’s ‘suspicious’ advisers

Pop star Michael Jackson had $10 million in unpaid bills but only "tens of thousands of dollars" in cash in early 2003, and associates were making bad decisions on his behalf and trying to take control of his wealth, a former lawyer testified Thursday as defense attorneys in Jackson's child molestation and conspiracy trial continued efforts to portray the entertainer as an innocent dupe of greedy hangers-on.

Backing up Jackson

Shortly after the movie "Home Alone" rocketed him to child stardom, actor Macaulay Culkin was drawn into an extraordinarily close friendship with Michael Jackson that included lavish trips, shopping sprees for toys and sharing the pop star's bed, but nothing sexual or inappropriate ever occurred, Culkin testified yesterday in Jackson's child molestation trial.

Neverland manager admits lie

In a tension-filled cross-examination, the manager of Michael Jackson's Neverland Valley Ranch admitted yesterday that he lied to law enforcement officials when he told them he knew nothing about children sleeping in the pop star's bedroom.

'They were excited to be there'

The boy allegedly molested by pop star Michael Jackson "appeared to be having fun," as did his brother, sister and mother during a long stretch at Jackson's Neverland Valley ranch at the time they claim to have been held captive there, the ranch manager testified yesterday.

Mothers let boys in Jackson's bed

Two mothers who benefited from Michael Jackson's largesse testified at his molestation and conspiracy trial Fridday that they let their young sons begin sharing his bed shortly after meeting him because of a special bond they immediately formed with the pop star.

2 tell of sharing bed with Jackson

Two young men who each shared a bed with Michael Jackson dozens of times while they were boys testified in court yesterday that the one-time pop star never molested them or behaved inappropriately.

Witness: Jackson was warned of 'ruin'

Prosecutors in the Michael Jackson molesting and conspiracy case rested yesterday after their final witness said the star was warned that a 13-year-old boy could "ruin your career and blackmail you" in the aftermath of a documentary film that raised child sex abuse issues about Jackson.

Jackson trial reaches halftime

Seventeen months after Michael Jackson was indicted on charges of child molesting and conspiracy, Santa Barbara County Det. Sgt. Craig Bonner spent last weekend scrambling to graph computer records of phone calls among the star's associates, bodyguards and hangers-on.

Michael's big money troubles

Michael Jackson faced an escalating cash-flow crunch and was spending millions more than he was making when a 2003 documentary confronted him with a public relations crisis over his relationships with young boys, a forensic accountant testified at the pop star's molestation trial here yesterday.

Books of nude boys admitted

Two books featuring pictures of nude boys that were seized from Michael Jackson's bedroom in 1993, one of them personally inscribed by the music star, were introduced as evidence in his child-molesting trial here Friday.

Rowe turns tables on prosecution

In what appeared to be a major setback for prosecutors in Michael Jackson's child molestation trial, the singer's ex-wife yesterday insisted that a February 2003 video in which she praised Jackson's parenting skills was not scripted by Jackson associates seeking to rebut an earlier television documentary that had tarnished his image.

Brazil trip booking detailed

The woman who used to organize Michael Jackson's air travel said yesterday she was asked to arrange four one-way tickets to Brazil in March 2003 for a family that now accuses the pop star of trying to spirit them out of the country at that time.

Jackson's ex to take the stand

The judge in Michael Jackson's child molestation trial yesterday rejected a defense motion to prevent the entertainer's former wife from testifying as prosecutors scrambled to shore up their case by calling witnesses to corroborate claims of a conspiracy hatched by Jackson aides to silence his accusers.

A meandering trail of evidence

Spectators in Michael Jackson's child molestation case could be forgiven for thinking they had walked into the wrong courtroom late last week. Like a spicy thriller accidentally spliced with a video showing cement hardening, the case took a mind-numbingly dull turn as prosecutors began wrapping up their case, something they expect to do this week.

Setbacks for Jackson prosecutors

Prosecutors in Michael Jackson's child molestation trial suffered a setback Thursday when the judge refused to allow testimony from an expert on battered women, who could have helped salvage the credibility of a key witness -- the alleged victim's mother.

Neverland logs perused

A police officer who used to work as a security guard at Michael Jackson's Neverland Valley ranch said yesterday that in early 2003, ranch management ordered guards not to let a boy allegedly molested by Jackson leave Neverland, bolstering prosecution claims that the youngster was held against his will there.

Counselor: Jackson's accuser was a disciplinary problem

A school counselor said Tuesday that the boy Michael Jackson allegedly molested was a constant disciplinary problem, who "acted up" in class, talked back to teachers and received poor grades both before and after his alleged captivity at Jackson's Neverland Valley ranch, testimony that contradicted family claims that he only became a problem after his time at Neverland.

Defense: Jackson accuser’s mom a grifter

Michael Jackson's lawyer wound down his cross-examination of a key witness Monday by portraying her as a greedy grifter who saw Jackson and his celebrity pals as a ticket out of poverty and who used her son's cancer to get cash from them, along with a car, laptop computer, meals out and shopping trips.

Witness twists her fate on stand

She's a trial lawyer's nightmare, a whiny-voiced drama queen who gives evasive and sometimes nonsensical responses, and who was in tears within minutes of taking the witness stand in Michael Jackson's child molestation trial.

Jackson attorney assails accuser's credibility

A key accuser in Michael Jackson's child molestation trial gushed in reverential tones about the pop star in a video that Jackson's attorney showed to jurors yesterday as he tore into the woman's testimony, portraying her as a master of deception who bilked JC Penney out of more than $150,000 and then wove an incredible tale of abduction and captivity by the pop star in hopes of getting money from him.

A new level of strange

The mother of a boy allegedly molested by Michael Jackson said yesterday that a goon squad of Jackson loyalists shadowed her for weeks, tapped her phones, confiscated her family's passports, pulled her children from school, filmed her and even tried to block her ill son from visiting the doctor, all in an elaborate scheme to prevent them from saying or doing anything that might tarnish the pop star's reputation.

Accuser's mother describes coercion

In tearful and often melodramatic testimony, the mother of a boy allegedly molested by pop star Michael Jackson yesterday described being coerced into making a video supportive of Jackson after his associates held her and her family captive at his Neverland ranch and warned that her children were in danger from mysterious "killers."

Mom: Jackson begged to sleep with son

Trembling and sobbing, pop star Michael Jackson begged the mother of a young boy to let the youngster sleep with him and then presented her with a Cartier bracelet after she finally said yes, the woman testified yesterday in Jackson's child molestation trial.

Jackson testimony: damning or weird?

The call came at about 3 a.m. "Silver Fox wants some French fries," said the voice on the line.

Witness: Child star a victim

A former Neverland employee said Friday that he saw Michael Jackson shove his hand into the shorts of actor Macaulay Culkin in the early 1990s, but Jackson's attorney portrayed the man as a liar who invented his story in hopes of selling it to the media, the same line of defense used against other witnesses this week who have alleged similar behavior by the pop star. Defense attorney Tom Mesereau's attempt to discredit the latest witness, Phillip LeMarque, led to some testy exchanges, including one in which Mesereau accused LeMarque of writing a false statement in 1993 about the alleged incident, which the witness said had occurred a couple of years earlier.

Guard testifies he saw Jackson sex acts

A former security guard at Michael Jackson's Neverland ranch testified yesterday that he saw the pop star performing oral sex on a young boy, and that another time he spotted Jackson kissing the boy passionately and groping his crotch as they stood illuminated in front of a twinkling window display showing Peter Pan and Tinkerbell.

Maid: Jackson showered with a boy

Michael Jackson's former maid, who changed his sheets, washed his laundry and even cleaned up after his chimpanzee, testified Tuesday that she once saw him showering with a 7-year-old boy.

Star fondled him, man tells court

His voice shaking, the 24-year-old son of Michael Jackson's personal maid cried yesterday as he testified the singer fondled him three times years ago when the two watched cartoons and played video games.

Cashing in on Jackson's misery

A local lawyer is charging TV cameramen thousands of dollars for a prime spot on his roof where they can train their lenses on Michael Jackson walking in and out of court.

Lawyer: No suit against Jackson

The lawyer who won a multimillion-dollar settlement from Michael Jackson over child molestation accusations a decade ago vowed in court Friday not to sue again — even though his firm has been doing legal chores for the pop star's current accuser.

Psychologist says false claims rare

Prosecutors Wednesday presented the psychologist to whom a teen first aired charges of molestation against Michael Jackson, but testimony from the prominent therapist was more telling for what he didn't say on the stand than what he did.

Witness: Jackson accuser's mom said she couldn't leave Neverland

The comedy club owner who helped connect Michael Jackson with a young cancer patient now accusing the star of molestation testified Tuesday that the child's mother called him from Neverland, panicked that she and her family were imprisoned there.

Past Jackson allegations can be heard

A judge decided Monday to allow testimony of allegations that Michael Jackson molested five boys more than a decade ago, in what could be a major setback to the defense.

Fighting over Michael's secrets

The ghosts of Michael Jackson's past are expected to be on full display today as prosecutors present details from a case the pop singer reportedly paid millions to keep out of court.

Prints of Jackson, accuser on porn

A forensic expert testified Friday in the Michael Jackson molestation trial that fingerprints belonging to Jackson and his 15-year-old accuser were found on the same pornographic magazine.

Jackson trial takes monotonous turn

Jurors in Michael Jackson's molestation trial yesterday saw on the pages of adult magazines numerous fingerprints that prosecutors contend belong to the star's accuser and his younger brother.

Racy images everything at Jackson trial

District Attorney Thomas Sneddon stood behind a projector in a darkened courtroom yesterday and, for the umpteenth time in the molestation trial of Michael Jackson, showed the jurors magazine covers of scantily clad or naked women.

Comedian defends Jackson accuser, mother

A Los Angeles comedian testified Tuesday that the father of Michael Jackson's young accuser hounded her for money and once flew into a rage insisting actor George Lopez stole $300 from the child.

Michael Jackson late to court again

A dazed and fragile-looking Michael Jackson arrived at his molestation trial Monday and headed straight for the bathroom, forcing a late start for testimony from a therapist who tried to explain the inconsistencies of the pop star's 13-year-old accuser.

Michael Jackson case

Neverland friends no more

When Michael Jackson picked up the phone to call an 11-year-old cancer patient in his hospital bed, he initiated a friendship that had fringe benefits for each of them.

Jackson judge has everyone running on empty

Atkins, Scarsdale, Pritikin: They're all baloney compared to one of the most rigorous, court-ordered eating regimens since bread and water: the Melville Diet.

Jackson housekeeper: Boys ran wild

A former housekeeper at Neverland testified Thursday Michael Jackson's sprawling ranch was a "Pinocchio's Pleasure Island" where unsupervised children ran wild, throwing food, crashing golf carts and sometimes appearing drunk.

Jackson jurors see adult mags, DVDs

Prosecutors showed jurors in the Michael Jackson case a series of sexually explicit magazines, DVDs and videos seized from Neverland Ranch, but witnesses acknowledged there was no evidence the singer had shown them to the boy he is accused of molesting.

Jackson accuser explains earlier denial

Prosecutors in Michael Jackson's molestation trial Tuesday tried to rehabilitate their beleaguered star witness -- the boy who accused the pop star of fondling him -- by shoring up the teen's testimony and questioning police officers who investigated the allegations.

Jackson accuser earlier denied abuse

Under rigorous cross-examination from Michael Jackson's attorney, the pop singer's accuser conceded Monday he has given differing accounts of his alleged molestation and that he'd once denied to a school dean the fondling ever occurred at all.

Jackson's accuser to be back on stand today

Michael Jackson's accuser is due back on the witness stand today with cross-examination by defense attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr. as the trial enters its third week.