Former Maid Testifies

Michael Jackson’s former maid Blanca whose son received a financial settlement from Mr. Jackson in 1994 after claiming the pop star groped him, took the stand Tuesday. The woman testified that she saw Jackson act inappropriately with other children. She stated that she was sure that she saw Mr. Jackson taking a shower with an eight year old boy, even though admitting that the shower door was clouded with steam. She further stated that she saw cloths outside the shower, but retreated without taking any action because she thought Jackson would be mad if he found her there. Before the former maid took the stand, defense attorney Thomas Mesereau raised the issue of whether she had a financial stake in her son’s story by showing that she had been paid $20,000 to appear on the TV show “Hard Copy” to tell their tale. When the 24 year old son of the former maid took the stand earlier, he clashed with Mesereau during cross-examination about the inconsistencies between the story he gave Monday and accounts he gave to authorities as recently as December. The young man admitted that in his 1993 interview he initially said that Jackson did not molest him. Mesereau also confronted the witness with a statement he made during one of his interviews in which he said: “they made me come up with stuff. They kept pushing. I wanted to hit them in the head.” The witness said he did not remember the statement. Mesereau showed him the transcript and asked if that refreshed his memory. The witness said no. The witness also pleaded a poor memory when asked about whether his claims resulted in a criminal case. “I don’t know much. I don’t watch the news.” he replied. Source: AP/MJJForum/eMJey