1992
May : Michael’s car breaks down on Wilshire Boulevard and is towed to a garage, Rent-a-Wreck. The Rent-a-Wreck owner, David Schwartz, calls his wife, June Chandler-Schwartz, to meet Michael. She brings her son from a previous marriage, Jordan Chandler. Jordan’s father, Evan Chandler, is a dentist who treated Hollywood celebrities. He was also a screenwriter who co-wrote the 1993 comedy Robin Hood: Men in Tights. June gives Michael her home phone number and a friendship starts between Michael & Jordy.
November : June Chandler Schwartz and her son and daughter became regular guests at Neverland.
1993
January 26 : Michael takes, Frank, Eddie & Jordy (with his mother & sister) to Disneyland and at night the whole group goes to Neverland.
Late February : Michael invites Jordy Chandler, his sister Lily & mother June to Neverland.
Late March : Michael takes Jordy, Lily & June Chandler to Las Vegas where they stay at the Mirage Hotel.
April 02-07 : Jordy, Lily & June Chandler visit Michael at Neverland.
Early May : Evan Chandler invites Michael to spend time with his son at his house…
May 9 : Michael checks in the Hotel de Paris in Monaco with Jordy, Lily & June + Bob Jones.
May 12 : Michael attends the World Music Awards in Monaco with Jordy, Lily & June. Michael is presented with three awards by Michael Douglas, Prince Albert & Princess Stephanie. The ceremony is broadcasted later on TV channels around the world.
May 13 : Michael & the Chandlers leave Monaco by helicopter and in Nizza transfers to a plane to Paris where they spend three day visiting Disneyland.
May 16 : Michael & the Chandlers fly back to Los Angeles.
May 20 : “In All That Glitters, Ray puts the official date of Evan meeting Jackson as May 20, 1993. Ironically enough, this is the same day that a tabloid story sold by somebody on the Chandlers’ side was published and syndicated about Jackson’s relationship with June, Jordan, and Lily. Ray claims it was an associate on June’s end. Five days later, the National Enquirer picked up the story. May 20th is the date given by Ray as far as Evan meeting Jackson. On this day, Evan apparently made a trip to June’s home, where Jackson was staying. Ray claims Evan was “surprised by the huge amounts of gifts” given by Jackson to Jordan, and that he was particularly “disturbed” by the toys Jordan had gotten.”
Source : “How Come Nobody Ever Apologizes to Michael Jackson?: Part 1: The Makings of a King and the Beginning of the Corruption” by Jael Rucker.
May 21 : “It gets even more illogical from here, however, as according to Ray’s book, Jackson invited Evan and his kids to his Century City condo the next day (May 21).”
Source : “How Come Nobody Ever Apologizes to Michael Jackson?: Part 1: The Makings of a King and the Beginning of the Corruption” by Jael Rucker.
May 22 : Michael shows up to Jordie’s little brother, Nikki’s 5th birthday Party at Evan Chandler’s house. Evan suggests that Michael build a new wing to his house…
“Whatever the case may be, Jackson reportedly spent the May 22-May 23 weekend with Evan Chandler and Co. Excerpts from Ray’s book state that Jackson told Evan he “did not like staying with June” and that he “wanted to live with Jordan and Evan at his place.” According to Ray, Evan told Jackson that this was going to require another room being added to his (Evan’s) house and that Jackson would need to be the one to pay for it. This idea apparently was nixed by Evan’s wife, “Monique” (that wasn’t her real name, by the way).”
Source : “How Come Nobody Ever Apologizes to Michael Jackson?: Part 1: The Makings of a King and the Beginning of the Corruption” by Jael Rucker.
May 28 : “Now it’s time to get into weekend number two with Evan Chandler and Michael Jackson. Let’s dive into Memorial Day Weekend 1993, beginning with May 28. Memorial Day Weekend”
Source : “How Come Nobody Ever Apologizes to Michael Jackson?: Part 1: The Makings of a King and the Beginning of the Corruption” by Jael Rucker.
June 13 : “Evan has apparently expressed his “concerns” about Jackson to lawyer Barry Rothman, who apparently was one of his dental patients”
Source : “How Come Nobody Ever Apologizes to Michael Jackson?: Part 1: The Makings of a King and the Beginning of the Corruption” by Jael Rucker.
June 20 : “Now, we’ve arrived at June 20. It’s been eleven days since Evan’s conversation with June, and a week since he started working with Rothman. It’s now Father’s Day; Jordan did not want to call Evan, and June wasn’t forcing the Whatever the case may be, Jordan wasn’t interested in calling Evan for Father’s Day, and this disinterest continued in the days afterward. According to Ray, this led to Evan threatening both June and Jordan: “Let me tell you something, June. He better call me, and it better be soon, or you’re all going to be sorry. You know me. I’ve had enough!”
Source : “How Come Nobody Ever Apologizes to Michael Jackson?: Part 1: The Makings of a King and the Beginning of the Corruption” by Jael Rucker.
Late June : “At a graduation that month, Chandler confronted his ex-wife with his suspicions. “She thought the whole thing was baloney,” says her ex-attorney, Michael Freeman. She told Chandler that she planned to take their son out of school in the fall so they could accompany Jackson on his “Dangerous” world tour. Chandler became irate and, say several sources, threatened to go public with the evidence he claimed he had on Jackson. “What parent in his right mind would want to drag his child into the public spotlight?” asks Freeman. “If something like this actually occurred, you’d want to protect your child.”
Source : ‘Was Michael Jackson Framed?’ Was Michael Jackson Framed? The Untold Story By Mary A. Fisher -GQ, October 1994
July 7 : “I will start with the message Evan left June and Jordan on July 7, the day before, according to Ray Chandler’s book, All That Glitters, as it was quite literally another threat: “It’s Wednesday, July 7. June, make sure you play this message for Michael and Jordie. I’m going to repeat that. June, make sure you play this message for Michael and Jordie. All three of you are responsible for what is going on. No one is a neutral party. Since Jordie has repeatedly refused to return my phone calls, this will be my last voluntary attempt to communicate. I will be at your house at San Lorenzo this Friday, July 9 at 8:30 in the morning. Take my word for it, there is nothing else any of you has to do that is more important than being at this meeting.” [1; page 62]”
Source : “How Come Nobody Ever Apologizes to Michael Jackson?: Part 1: The Makings of a King and the Beginning of the Corruption” by Jael Rucker.
Evan Chander files a modification of his custody agrement. The documents petition the courts to forbid Jordie from going anywhere near Michael. Evan requests that Jordie receive psychiatric help to determine the full extent of Michael’s influence on him. He also accuses June of “nurtering” the relationship between Jordie & Michael.
July 9 : “Dave Schwartz, who had been friendly with Chandler, secretly tape-recorded a lengthy telephone conversation he had with him. During the conversation, Chandler talked of his concern for his son and his anger at Jackson and at his ex-wife, whom he described as “cold and heartless.” When Chandler tried to “get her attention” to discuss his suspicions about Jackson, he says on the tape, she told him “Go fuck
yourself.” “I had a good communication with Michael,” Chandler told Schwartz. “We
were friends. I liked him and I respected him and everything else for what he is. There was no reason why he had to stop calling me. I sat in the room one day and talked to Michael and told him exactly what I want out of this whole relationship. What I want.”
Elsewhere on the tape, Chandler indicated he was prepared to move against Jackson: “It’s already set,” Chandler told Schwartz. “There are other people involved that are waiting for my phone call that are in certain positions. I’ve paid them to do it. Everything’s going according to a certain plan that isn’t just mine. Once I make that
phone call, this guy [his attorney, Barry K. Rothman, presumably] is going to destroy everybody in sight in any devious, nasty, cruel way that he can do it. And I’ve given him full authority to do that.”
Dave Schwartz and June Chandler Schwartz played the taped conversation for Pellicano. “After listening to the tape for ten minutes, I knew it was about extortion,” says Pellicano. That same day, he drove to Jackson’s Century City condominium, where Chandler’s son and the boy’s half-sister were visiting. Without Jackson there, Pellicano “made eye contact” with the boy and asked him, he says, “very pointed questions”: “Has Michael ever touched you? Have you ever seen him naked in bed?” The answer to all the questions was no. The boy repeatedly denied that anything bad had happened.
Source : ‘Was Michael Jackson Framed?’ Was Michael Jackson Framed? The Untold Story By Mary A. Fisher -GQ, October 1994
July 10 : Michael takes Jordy, Lily & June Chandler to his friend’s Michael Milken’s beach house in Los Angeles. Later, they are supposed to go to Neverland to celebrate Lily’s birthday but June cancels the trip and decides to ga back to her home in L.A. Michael returns to Neverland alone.
July 11 : “after Jackson had declined to meet with Chandler, the boy’s father and Rothman went ahead with another part of the plan — they needed to get custody of the boy. Chandler asked his ex-wife to let the youth stay with him for a “one-week visitation period.” As Bert Fields later said in an affidavit to the court, June Chandler Schwartz allowed the boy to go based on Rothman’s assurance to Fields that her son would come back to her after the specified time, never guessing that Rothman’s
word would be worthless and that Chandler would not return their son.”
Source : ‘Was Michael Jackson Framed?’ Was Michael Jackson Framed? The Untold Story By Mary A. Fisher -GQ, October 1994
July 12 : “On July 12, one day after Chandler took control of his son, he had his ex-wife sign a document prepared by Rothman that prevented her from taking the youth out of Los Angeles County. This meant the boy would be unable to accompany Jackson on the tour. His mother told the court she signed the document under duress. Chandler, she said in an affidavit, had threatened that “I would not have [the boy] returned to me.” A bitter custody battle ensued, making even murkier any charges Chandler made about wrong-doing on Jackson’s part. (As of this August [1994], the boy was still living with Chandler.) It was during the first few weeks after Chandler took control of his son — who was now isolated from his friends, mother and stepfather — that the boy’s allegations began to take shape.”
Source : ‘Was Michael Jackson Framed?’ Was Michael Jackson Framed? The Untold Story By Mary A. Fisher -GQ, October 1994
July 14 : “Now, we’re going to move on to the final part of this chapter, which is the events of July 14, 1993. For this section, I will be referring back to Ray Chandler’s 2004 book All That Glitters. This is the day when Evan Chandler and his lawyer Barry Rothman decided to contact Beverly Hills psychiatrist Dr. Mathis Abrams about a hypothetical situation in-regard to child molestation. This hypothetical situation given to Dr. Abrams led him to the conclusion that “reasonable suspicion would exist that sexual abuse may have occurred,” which was, in turn, sent to Rothman in the form of a two-page letter.”
Source : “How Come Nobody Ever Apologizes to Michael Jackson?: Part 1: The Makings of a King and the Beginning of the Corruption” by Jael Rucker.
July 20 : “We pick up on July 20, which is the day when June Chandler and Dave Schwartz met up with Evan’s attorney, Barry Rothman, where they were shown the letter from Dr. Abrams. To refresh your memory, on July 14, Evan and Rothman presented a “hypothetical situation” as it pertained to Jordan, which led Dr. Abrams to write back that he’d had “reasonable suspicion that sexual abuse may have occurred.” However, this July 14 date was two days before Jordan’s supposed “confession,” and during the period that Jordan was still defending Jackson. And from what we know now, Evan’s so-called “evidence” he claimed he had never materialized at any point during the investigations against Jackson, and his only “incident” of “observing abuse” (the supposed “spooning” from Memorial Day Weekend), was a part of Evan questioning whether his suspicions of Jackson as a whole were a part of his “paranoia.” With no evidence and no cooperation from Jordan at that particular point, there was no way this “hypothetical situation” was reflective of anything with Jordan. It’s this very letter, based on a fake scenario, that was shown to Dave and June at this meeting, who, by the way, had yet to get Jordan back from Evan. While there, it was demanded that they sign a document that would allow Evan to take full custody of Jordan.”
Source : “How Come Nobody Ever Apologizes to Michael Jackson?: Part 1: The Makings of a King and the Beginning of the Corruption” by Jael Rucker.
July 27 : “According to a July 27 entry in the diary kept by Rothman’s former colleague, it’s clear that Rothman was guiding Chandler in the plan. “Rothman wrote letter to Chandler advising him how to report child abuse without liability to parent,” the entry reads.”
Source : ‘Was Michael Jackson Framed?’ Was Michael Jackson Framed? The Untold Story By Mary A. Fisher -GQ, October 1994
August 4 : “On August 4, 1993, however, things became very clear. Chandler and his son met with Jackson and Pellicano in a suite at the Westwood Marquis Hotel. On seeing Jackson, says Pellicano, Chandler gave the singer an affectionate hug (a gesture, some say, that would seem to belie the dentist’s suspicions that Jackson had molested his son), then reached into his pocket, pulled out Abrams’s letter and began reading passages from it. When Chandler got to the parts about child molestation, the boy, says Pellicano, put his head down and then looked up at Jackson with a surprised expression, as if to say “I didn’t say that.” As the meeting broke up, Chandler pointed his finger at Jackson, says Pellicano, and warned “I’m going to ruin you.” At a meeting with Pellicano in Rothman’s office later that evening, Chandler and Rothman made their demand – $20 million.”
Source : ‘Was Michael Jackson Framed?’ Was Michael Jackson Framed? The Untold Story By Mary A. Fisher -GQ, October 1994
August 09 : “We begin on August 9, when, according to Ray Chandler, Pellicano came back with a counteroffer of $1 million to fund three screenplays written by Evan and Jordan, which Pellicano claims was done to catch the Chandlers negotiating for money on tape. According to Ray, Evan turned this “offer” down, as he was expecting a much larger amount. “
Source : “How Come Nobody Ever Apologizes to Michael Jackson?: Part 1: The Makings of a King and the Beginning of the Corruption” by Jael Rucker.
August 13 : “On August 13, there was another meeting in Rothman’s office. Pellicano
came back with a counteroffer — a $350,000 screenwriting deal. Pellicano says he made the offer as a way to resolve the custody dispute and give Chandler an opportunity to spend more time with his son by working on a screenplay together. Chandler rejected the offer. Rothman made a counterdemand — a deal for three screenplays or nothing — which was spurned. In the diary of Rothman’s ex-colleague,
an August 24 entry reveals Chandler’s disappointment: “I almost had a $20 million deal,” he was overhear telling Rothman.”
Source : ‘Was Michael Jackson Framed?’ Was Michael Jackson Framed? The Untold Story By Mary A. Fisher -GQ, October 1994
August 16 : “On August 16, three days after Chandler and Rothman rejected the $350,000 script deal, the situation came to a head. On behalf of June Chandler Schwartz, Michael Freeman notified Rothman that he would be
filing papers early the next morning that would force Chandler to turn over the boy. Reacting quickly, Chandler took his son to Mathis Abrams, the psychiatrist who’d provided Rothman with his assessment of the hypothetical child-abuse situation. During a three-hour session, the boy alleged that Jackson had engaged in a sexual relationship with him. He talked of masturbation, kissing, fondling of nipples and oral sex. There was, however, no mention of actual penetration, which might have been verified by a medical exam, thus providing corroborating evidence.The next step was inevitable. Abrams, who is required by law to report any such accusation to authorities, called a social worker at the Department of Children’s Services, who in turn contacted the police. The full-scale investigation of Michael Jackson was about to begin.
Source : ‘Was Michael Jackson Framed?’ Was Michael Jackson Framed? The Untold Story By Mary A. Fisher -GQ, October 1994
August 17 : The Los Angeles Police Department officially opens a criminal investigation against Michael Jackson based on accusations of child molestation made by Jordy Chandler.
August 18 : Bert Fields and Anthony Pellicano inform Michael that the Los Angeles Police Department ‘s Sexually Exploited Child Unit has opened a criminal investigation on him. The same day, June & Dave are interviewed the LAPD.
Michael does not show up on the set of “Is This Scary”. According to Arnold Klein he has a 103 degree temperature. Word is that Michael is about to cancel the next leg of his Dangerous Tour.
August 19 : “Now we’ve arrived at August 19, which is the final part of this chapter. June Chandler, who, up to this point, had been defending Jackson, changed her tune, with her attorney meeting with Barry Rothman in his office. The Department of Children’s Services notes her statement as being: “Mother stated that if Jordie had said it, it must be true.” But there is another element to June changing course that hasn’t been explored enough. According to Mary Fischer’s 1994 GQ article “Was Michael Jackson Framed?” June’s decision to side with Evan and Rothman was because she’d feared what the two might do if she went against them. She also worried about the possibility of being charged herself. Here is what Fischer’s report at the time stated”
Source : “How Come Nobody Ever Apologizes to Michael Jackson?: Part 1: The Makings of a King and the Beginning of the Corruption” by Jael Rucker
August 20 : Michael cancels the filming of “Is This Scary” and goes to San Francisco to embark on a commercial flight to Taipei (Taiwan) with Bill Bray.
August 21 : Michael arrives in Taipei (Taiwan) on a commercial flight with China Airlines from San Francisco. One hours later, Michael takes another flight to Bangkok, the capital and most populous city of Thailand, to kick off the third leg of his Dangerous World Tour.
Dr Stewart Finkelstein wasn’t Michael’s personal doctor – he was to attend to the crew and the rest of the company, but he treated Michael Jackson when Dr. Forecast was not available, and in Bangkok Forecast was not yet there. Dr. Finkelstein confirmed it in his video deposition that initially he was the only doctor on the tour.
The Los Angeles Police Department serve search warrants on Michael’s Neverland Valley Ranch in Santa Barbara and on his condominium known as the “hide-out” at 1101 Galaxy Way #2247 in Century City. Brett Barnes, his mother and sister are staying at Neverland when the polices arrives for the search.
August 23 : The media reveal that Michael is under criminal investigation for child molestation which becomes of the biggest scandals of all time and will dominate newspapers, magazines, TV shows and tabloids for many months to come…
August 24 : Michael’s lawyer, Howard Weitzman, reads a statement to the press on behalf of Michael while Anthony Pellicano reveals the accusations are the result of a failed attempt to extort money from Michael
August 25 : “The extent of the allegations against Jackson wasn’t known until August 25. A person inside the DCS illegally leaked a copy of the abuse report to Diane Dimond of Hard Copy. Within hours, the L.A. office of a British news service also got the report and began selling copies to any reporter willing to pay $750. The following day, the world knew about the graphic details in the leaked report. “While laying next to each other in bed, Mr. Jackson put his hand under [the child’s] shorts,” the social worker had written. From there, the coverage soon demonstrated that anything about Jackson would be fair game.”
August 26 : Brett Barnes & Wade Robson and their families give interviews on CNN to defend Michael.
August 28 : Elizabeth Taylor and her husband Larry fly from Los Angeles to Singapore to be with Michael. They check in the Raffles hotel where Michael is staying.
August 30 : Jermaine, Katherine, Joe, Rebbie & Tito give a press conference at the Academy Theatre in North Hollywood to announce the Jackson Family Honors. They defend Michael in front of the media.
Police search Michael’s hotel room at the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas.
The second concert in Singapore is cancelled when Michael collapses backstage moments before the show is due to begin suffering from a severe migraine.
Attorney Gloria Allred is retained to represent Jordy Chandler.
August 31 : Michael undergoes a brain scan in hospital and he releases a second audio-taped message to apologize for the late cancellation of his concert.
September : Michael asks John Branca and Howard Wetzman to take over Anthony Pellicano as his spokesmen.
September 2 : LaToya supports Michael during an interview with Katie Couric on US Today Show.
“On September 2, Allred gave a lengthy press conference in which she proclaimed Jordan would be willing to testify in court against Jackson. There have always seemed to be questions surrounding Allred’s sudden departure from the Chandler case, so let’s look a bit further into it. We’ll begin with Allred’s actual press conference, which was reported on by the LA Times. The conference, which took place at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel, included Allred deeming herself Jordan’s spokesperson, noting that she had been hired by his parents to represent him. Allred then stated that Jordan had been cooperating with authorities and that he was “eager for the district attorney to take action,” adding, “My client wants… the truth to come out. He is ready, he is willing, he is able to testify » Just a couple of days later, however, Allred was suddenly no longer involved in the Chandler case.
Source : “How Come Nobody Ever Apologizes to Michael Jackson?: Part 1: The Makings of a King and the Beginning of the Corruption” by Jael Rucker
September 3 : Michael arrives at the airport in Taipei, Taiwan, with Elizabeth Taylor, Larry and 3T. As usual, Michael is greeted by cheering fans. MJ and Liz check in to the Grand Regent Formosa Hotel. Joe, Katherine, Jermaine, Randy Jackie, Rebbie also arrive in Taipei to support him.
September 6 : LaToya supports Michael on GMTV show.
September 13 : Larry Feldman files a $30 million civil lawsuit against Jackson on behalf of the Chandlers, accusing him of sexual battery, battery, seduction, willful misconduct, intentional infliction of emotional distress, fraud in Los Angeles Superior Court.
September 14 : LaToya supports Michael on the Howard Stern Show : “I was not there and I support him. Nobody was in that room”.
September 17 : During a TV interview on Larry King Live on CNN, La Toya supports Michael : “He is my brother, I love him dearly and I stand by him and I certainly hope that all these allegations come to an end.”
September 22 : Jeanne White, Ryan White’s mother, tells the press that she met Jordy at Neverland in July and doesn’t believe he was molested by Michael.
October 06 : Jordan Chandler undergoes a psychiatric interview with Dr. Richard Gardner in New York. Gardner had formulated parental alienation syndrome (PAS) in 1985, a disorder that arises primarily in the context of child-custody disputes. Jordan gives his account of what allegedly happened between him and Jackson in May 1993, during their trip to Monaco for the World Music Awards.
October 28 : Jackson’s lawyer, Bertram Fields, writes a letter to LAPD Police Chief Willie L. Williams, accusing the LAPD of “telling outrageous lies” and “using any device to generate potential evidence” against Jackson. This letter is published by way of the Los Angeles Times and states: “I am advised that your officers have told frightened youngsters outrageous lies, such as ‘We have nude photos of you’ in order to push them into making accusations against Mr. Jackson. There are, of course, no such photos of these youngsters, and they have no truthful accusations to make. But your officers appear ready to employ any device to generate false claims against my client”.
Source : “How Come Nobody Ever Apologizes to Michael Jackson?: Part 1: The Makings of a King and the Beginning of the Corruption” by Jael Rucker.
November 8 : While the Jackson family is in Phoenix for Samuel Jackson’s funerals, the police raids Hayvenhurst…
November 9 : Elizabeth Taylor & Larry Fortensky fly to Mexico City to support Michael. Dr Klein & Debbie Rowe also arrive to show their support.
During the TV show Devil’s Advocate, LaToya responds to MJ fans : “I defend Michael. I stand up for him so much” but later she says : “if he was here, he would be very proud because he knows what I CAN say and I have not spoken out. I think I’m being very very kind.”.
November 12 : Michael leaves Mexico with Elizabeth & Larry, stopping off in Canada and Iceland and finally lands at Luton airport in England. Michael is first taken to the home of Elton John’s manager John Reid. Michael announces in an audio-taped message that he is cancelling the rest of the tour in order to seek treatment for an addiction to painkillers.
November 13 : In the early morning hours, Michael is secretly moved to the Nightingale Hospital, a private mental health facility in Lisson Grove, Marylebone, London. It is owned by Groupe Sinoue-Sarl, which is based in Garches. Elizabeth goes to Gstaad in Switzerland.
November 14 : A spokesman for Pepsico announces their partnership with Michael Jackson is over.
November 16 : Police obtain a strip search warrant for Michael Jackson in order to verify a descrition of his genitals given by Jordy…
November 19 : Michael’s longtime personal assistant Norma Staikos quits her job and leaves the US for Greece. She is replaced by Evvy Tavasci (who will remain Michael’s PA until his death in 2009 and later work for his Estate).
Elton John helps Michael to find a better rehab facility at a private estate oustide London, the home of his manager John Reid.
November 23 : “On November 23, the friction peaked. Based on information he says he got from Weitzman, Fields told a courtroom full of reporters that a criminal indictment against Jackson seemed imminent. Fields had a reason for making the statement: He was trying to delay the boy’s civil suit by establishing that there was an impending criminal case that should be tried first. Outside the courtroom, reporters asked why Fields had made the announcement, to which Weitzman replied essentially that Fields “misspoke himself.” The comment infuriated Fields, “because it wasn’t true,” he says. “It was just an outrage. I was very upset with Howard.” Fields sent a letter of resignation to Jackson the following week.”
Source : ‘Was Michael Jackson Framed?’ Was Michael Jackson Framed? The Untold Story By Mary A. Fisher -GQ, October 1994
November 24 : Janet kicks off the “Janet World Tour” at the Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati, Ohio. Early in her performance she asks her audience to bow their heads and say a silent prayer “for my brother Michael”.
Los Angeles Superior Court judge, David Rothman sets March 21, 1994, as the date for the civil suit against Michael to begin, denying a request from Michael’s attorneys to delay the proceddings until the criminal investigation is completed.
December 1 : Meeting of Michael’s team at Elizabeth Taylor’s house in Bel Air. Johnnie Cochran is hired.
“With Fields and Pellicano gone, Weitzman brought in Johnnie Cochran Jr., a well-known civil attorney who is now helping defend O.J. Simpson. And John Branca, whom Fields had replaced as Jackson’s general counsel in 1990, was back on board. In late 1993, as DAs in both Santa Barbara and Los Angeles counties convened grand juries to assess whether criminal charges should be filed against Jackson, the defense strategy changed course and talk of settling the civil case began in earnest, even though his new team also believed in Jackson’s innocence.”
Source : ‘Was Michael Jackson Framed?’ Was Michael Jackson Framed? The Untold Story By Mary A. Fisher -GQ, October 1994
“Next came the bodyguards. Purporting to take the journalistic high road, Hard Copy’s Diane Dimond told Frontline in early November of last year that her program was “pristinely clean on this. We paid no money for this story at all.” But two weeks later, as a Hard Copy contract reveals, the show was negotiating a $100,000 payment to five former Jackson security guards who were planning to file a $10 million lawsuit alleging wrongful termination of their jobs. On December 1, with the deal in place, two of the guards appeared on the program; they had been fired, Dimond told viewers, because “they knew too much about Michael Jackson’s strange relationship with young boys.” In reality, as their depositions under oath three months later reveal, it was clear they had never actually seen Jackson do anything improper with Chandler’s son or any other child:”
Source : ‘Was Michael Jackson Framed?’ Was Michael Jackson Framed? The Untold Story By Mary A. Fisher -GQ, October 1994
December 02 : Katherine and Jermaine appear on CNN’s Showbiz Today and Hard Copy to defend Michael and refute remarks made by five former Hayvenhurst security guards.
December 08 : LaToya shocks the world by holding a midnight press conference in Tel Aviv, Istrael where she says that she “can no longer be a silent collaborator” to Michael’s ‘crimes against young innocent victims”. Her husband and manager Jack Gordon is by her side.
The Jackson family reacts immediately and holds a press conference at Hayvenhurst to refute LaToya’s claims. Katherine, Joe, Jermaine, Jackie, Tito & Randy tell CNN that LaToya has been brainwashed by her “money hungry” husband Jack Gordon.
December 09 : In a pre recorded interview from Israel on US Today Show, LaToya tells Katie Couric that she believes Michael is a child molester because Katherine showed her checks in the 80’s at Hayvenhurst. She also claims that Katherine called Michael “a damn faggot”.
The same day, LaToya gives an interviews to Howard Stern on the phone : “It’s not that I knew for sure because I had never seen him in the act”.
December 10 : Michael leaves London and returns home to Neverland with Frank & Eddie.
December 14 : At Hayvenhurst, Katherine, Joe, Rebbie, Tito & Jermaine give an interview to Bev Smith on “The Jacksons: For the Record” special on BET.
December 15 : “Next came the maid. On December 15, Hard Copy presented “The Bedroom Maid’s Painful Secret.” Blanca Francia told Dimond and other reporters that she had seen a naked Jackson taking showers and Jacuzzi baths with young boys. She also told Dimond that she had witnessed her own son in compromising positions with Jackson — an allegation that the grand juries apparently never found credible.
A copy of Francia’s sworn testimony reveals that Hard Copy paid her $20,000, and had Dimond checked out the woman’s claims, she would have found them to be false. Under deposition by a Jackson attorney, Francia admitted she had never actually see Jackson shower with anyone nor had she seen him naked with boys in his Jacuzzi. They always had their swimming trunks on, she acknowledged.”
Source : ‘Was Michael Jackson Framed?’ Was Michael Jackson Framed? The Untold Story By Mary A. Fisher -GQ, October 1994
December 20 : Attorney Johnnie Cochran joins Michael’s legal team with Howard Weitzman. Cochran replaces Bert Fields.
Los Angeles Police Department and Santa Barbara Department go to Neverland with a search warrant. They take photographs of Michael’s body including his penis.
December 22 : Live from Neverland and around the world, Michael makes a 4 minutes statement where he claims his innocence and reveals that earlier this week he was forced by the LAPD and SBPD to submit to a photo session of his body and genitals.
LaToya is a guest on Spanish TV Show ¡Hola Raffaella! where she once again accuses Michael.
