Court Session 8: Testimony by the Accuser
Michael Jackson attended the eighth court session together with his father, mother, and his brother Tito.
Today, for the first time since his arrest, Michael met the accuser while the accuser was being called to the witness stand. When the prosecutor asked the accuser whether he could identify Michael Jackson in court, the accuser replied with a mocking tone: “Yes.”
The accuser confirmed the claims made by his brother in the previous court session.
In addition, the accuser said that he had met Jamie Masada at a club, and that Masada arranged the meeting between him and Jackson. “I was excited. I was supposed to see Michael Jackson.”
He said that he also met other comedians—“George Lopez and Chris Tucker”—but that his favorite comedian was “Jay Leno.” The accuser said he repeatedly asked Masada whether he could also meet Leno at the club, but it never happened.
The defense attorney said that Leno was one of several comedians that the accuser’s family tried to trick and get money from.
The accuser also testified that his father beat him and other family members.
He also spoke about his cancer illness: “It felt like there was a knife inside my stomach.” He added that when he would fall asleep to ease the pain, he would place a pillow on his stomach.
In court, Thomas Mesereau, Michael’s lead attorney, showed the jury a home video tape featuring Jackson, the accuser, and the accuser’s brother performing a television show.
The video begins with the accuser’s brother speaking:
“Hello. This is Neverland, United States. I’m the host of the Neverland Network.”
He talks about elephants with the person responsible for caring for them in Neverland. Then, professionally, he says:
“Our work with the elephants is done. And now we want to take you to another part of Neverland.”
The video then shows a view of children riding a train that circles around the amusement park in Neverland. James yells, “Have fun!” and the children respond, “Yeah.”
In one scene, Michael Jackson is seen with the current accuser, having lost his hair due to chemotherapy.
In another shot, the accuser’s brother appears pushing his brother’s wheelchair forward. Michael accompanies them with an umbrella. He spreads a blanket under a tree so the two brothers can sit and watch the Neverland lake.
In this video, Michael Jackson sings his famous song “I’ll Be There.” In the song, Michael says, “I’ll be there with a world of dreams to comfort you.” Michael also sings “Smile Though Your Heart Is Breaking.” One juror nods his head along with the rhythm playing in the courtroom. Another scene shows Michael walking with John Doe (the accuser) with their arms linked.
When the film ended, Mesereau asked whether he was excited about making this video tape. James Doe said, “No, I was very tired. I was sleepy.” Mesereau asked again, “Were you excited about performing this video in Neverland?” James emphasized, “No, I was sleepy.”
Then Thomas Mesereau showed the second part of “Life with Michael Jackson.” In this documentary, the accuser’s mother and her children are seen praising Michael Jackson’s good qualities. The accuser’s mother says, “God helped us through Michael Jackson,” and “When all the doors were closed to us, Michael said that my doors are open to you.”
Mesereau then turned to James Doe, who had been called to the stand as his testimony continued, and asked, “Did you hear your mother say such things?”
“I wasn’t listening. I was falling off my chair on the ground. It was 4 a.m. I was sleepy.”
The accuser’s brother stated that his statements in the documentary were not truthful, and somewhere he claimed that what he meant by praising Jackson was actually praising his stepfather. He also said that he couldn’t remember anything about his brother’s statements that Jackson helped him overcome his cancer.
In response to Thomas Mesereau’s question asking whether he had ever heard Michael encourage his brother to improve his health, James Doe said, “Probably he told him over the phone. I don’t know.”
At one point in the documentary, the accuser’s mother mentions that “Michael refers to these three children as his own.” Mesereau asked, “Do you think your mother was telling the truth?” The witness said, “No. She was doing what Dieter wanted her to do.”
Dieter Wiesner is one of Jackson’s staff members who is accused of being involved in a plot against the accuser’s family, though he is not under prosecution.
Elsewhere, the accuser’s mother mentions her wish for the family as “being in the movies.” Mesereau asked James, “Would you like to appear in the movies?” and he said, “No, I don’t want to act in movies. I’m very shy.”
Mesereau moved the film back and forth to ask James Doe several questions about his statements in the documentary.
“Were you scared?”
“I was just sleepy.”
The accuser’s brother said he didn’t know whether he had watched this video or not.
Before the film was played, Thomas Mesereau spent an hour questioning James Doe about contradictions in his testimony on the witness stand and other claims about seeing Jackson while his brother was being abused.
During this questioning, the accuser’s brother said he had witnessed his brother being abused by Michael Jackson twice from the top of the stairs.
Mesereau reminded him of the witness’s earlier statements. Previously, during questioning by police department investigators, the accuser’s brother had admitted that on the second time he witnessed such an incident, he was inside the room and had pretended to be asleep.
When Mesereau asked, “Has your description of the second time you witnessed this incident changed?” James Doe said the incident actually happened three times, although it had never been claimed. “I was nervous during the interview (with the police investigator).”
“Because you were nervous, you didn’t recognize the truth.”
“Yes.”
The defense attorneys believe that all these accusations were born from the mother’s thinking, so that she could obtain money from Jackson. During the court sessions, the defense team has repeatedly challenged the credibility and accuracy of the accuser’s family’s statements. The way the accuser’s family members testified could prove that they all conspired together.
Source: eMJey.com / Associated Press, Yahoo News, ABC, NBC4