AEG Trial Session 32: Chef talks about the relationship between Michael and his children + video of the children’s testimony (download)

In Tuesday’s session, Kai Chase, Michael’s personal chef, took the stand and, for the first time, the recorded video of the testimony that Michael’s children had provided in March this year in the presence of the company’s lawyer was played in court.

When Katherine Jackson filed her lawsuit against AEG in ۲۰۱۰, she also listed the names of Michael’s three children as plaintiffs alongside her own. This means the company’s lawyers have a legal right to question Michael’s children.

The lawyers for Katherine Jackson said that Paris is hospitalized and cannot come to court. On this day, the company’s lawyer showed the video of questioning of Michael’s eldest child in order to discredit the testimony of Kai Chase, the chef who had been called as a witness by Katherine Jackson’s lawyers.

In today’s session, Deborah Cheng, the lawyer for the Jacksons, and Jessica Stebbins Bena, the company’s lawyer, took turns questioning Kai Chase.

Kai Chase repeated his testimony from the ۲۰۱۱ court case of Conrad Murray and spoke in detail about Michael’s life and relationship with his children, as well as the children’s lives in their father’s absence. After the court, over several days, heard testimony from people who only knew Michael as a colleague, Chase’s testimony presented a more human side of Michael to the jury.

Over the months leading up to Michael Jackson’s death, he cooked for Michael and his three children. He started his job at the end of March ۲۰۰۹ and continued for two months. In May he was fired, and then a month later, in June, he was invited back to work.

The most emotional part of Chase’s testimony was when he talked about the impact of Michael’s death on his children. He said that the children’s happy days with Michael—along with their games and jokes at the dinner table—had been replaced by the heavy burden on Prince and his new fatherly role for his younger siblings, Paris’s endless crying, and Blanket’s Friday memorials for his father.

Kai Chase: “They talk so much about their father. They can never overcome this grief. They love their father and they miss him terribly.”

Kai Chase is now the chef in their new home in Calabasas, where he lives with their legal guardian, Katherine Jackson. Paris’s testimony

Paris’s questioning over two days in March was conducted by the company’s lawyers. When Paris attempted suicide by cutting her hand two weeks ago, Marvin Pontaum, the company’s lawyer, said they had no choice but to use the recorded videos of Paris in their defense.

The first question Pontaum asked Paris referred to her longtime nurse, Grace Rouamba. Grace, who had been with the children since their birth, was fired two months before Michael’s death. According to the media, after being removed from her job she made unpleasant comments about Michael; for example, she claimed she had once prevented the children from meeting their father. Her comments were published in the English tabloid Daily Mail, and Grace denied them. After that, clips of Grace’s interview were released on YouTube—though the statements attributed to Grace were not actually made by her. In the video, she said that after being fired: “They didn’t let me see my children and say goodbye to them.”

In her questioning, Paris said that Michael didn’t like Grace Rouamba and tried to keep her away from the children. But at the same time, he didn’t want to fire her because he knew Grace needed the money she was paid.

At the beginning of this video, Paris seems serious, but later she laughs and jokes.

Marvin Pontaum: “Was Grace Rouamba with you at that time?”
Paris Jackson: “Sometimes. My dad didn’t like her and tried to keep her away from us, so he sent her on many missions.”
Pontaum: “Did she come back to you every time?”
Paris: “Yes.”
Pontaum: “If he didn’t like her, why didn’t he fire her?”
Paris: “She made him feel bad.”
Pontaum: “Do you know why she made him feel bad?”
Paris: “Because she (Grace) really didn’t have a lot of money.”
Pontaum: “Did your father say why he didn’t like her?”
Paris: “He said she was underhanded and not honest and she lies a lot.”
Pontaum: “Did he say what lie she told?”
Paris: “No.”

Paris then told Pontaum a story about something that happened when she was a child, and with a sense of humor said the story was “murmur-inducing” and “gets on your nerves.”

Paris: “One time… it really gets on your nerves… me and my brother were very, very little, Blanket wasn’t even born yet… it really messes with your nerves, I’m not joking… when he (Dad) stayed in a hotel or somewhere, she (Grace) would call the hotel and say that she was his wife, and all his thoughts were with her. She would call and say she was his wife, and they would let her into the hotel. And when (Dad) woke up, she would go and sleep in her bed.”
Paris and the lawyers laugh. She continues: “That’s what he told us, and yes, it’s kind of murmur-inducing.”
Pontaum: “A little murmur-inducing.”
Paris, laughing: “Just a little bit murmur-inducing.”
Pontaum: “Why didn’t he keep her away?”
Paris: “He sent her to India to go get something!” (Group laughter)
Paris: “But she came back again.”

Pontaum: “At that time, did you also have a personal chef with you?”
Paris: “Yes, Kai Chase.”

The purpose of showing this video was to challenge the testimony that Kai Chase presented in court today. He praised Grace Rouamba. Discrediting witnesses is one of the defense lawyers’ tactics in court. Rouamba is one of the possible witnesses in this case whom the Jackson lawyers expect to testify in their favor.

Chase: “Grace Rouamba was the children’s nanny. She was very warm and kind. She was like a mother to them; they knew her as a mother. She was with them from the time they were born. I was told she had been fired.”

When Deborah Cheng asked whether AEG had fired her, the company’s lawyer objected and the question remained unanswered.

Prince’s testimony

Kai Chase, in his testimony, talked about Michael’s declining health during the last months of his life. He said that in April Michael was healthy, strong, and active, but by June he had become so weak that ۱۲-year-old Prince had to help him as he climbed the stairs.

Chase: “He was a twelve-year-old boy trying to carry his father. It upset me.”

The company’s lawyer asked Chase why he hadn’t mentioned this in his interviews. Chase said he didn’t want to share Michael’s personal issues with the media. The lawyer then showed the video of Prince’s testimony in court, which rejected this claim.

Marvin Pontaum: “Did it happen that your father was so tired when he came back from rehearsals that you had to help him climb the stairs?”
Prince: “I couldn’t do that either, but no.”

Kai Chase’s testimony

At first, Kai Chase said he had been working as a personal doctor for seventeen years. He studied at the Cordon Bleu Culinary Academy at the master’s level in Paris and is currently cooking at the Calabasas home for Katherine Jackson and Michael’s three children. He has cooked for famous people such as President Barack Obama. With a laugh, he says that in ۲۰۰۷ he was chosen to cook for Obama’s ceremony because “his work is good,” and according to him, “Obama is happy to see young Black women succeeding.” Chase has also worked with Wolfgang Puck, the Oscar ceremony’s chef. Before becoming the personal chef, Chase owned a catering company. Deborah Cheng showed many photos of him, including one next to Barack Obama.

Cheng: “Are you also a nutrition specialist?”
Chase: “No.”

Throughout the trial, the necessity of hiring a nutrition specialist to help Michael in the final weeks of his life was discussed repeatedly.

Hiring Kai Chase by the children

Michael hired Kai Chase without meeting him, based on the recommendations of his three children.

Chase said he had received a call from a company called Culinary Staffing, saying it had found a new client for him: a couple with two children, and that the man in the family was a businessman. Chase was asked to send his resume, and after a few hours he received another call and heard that the client had been impressed by his abilities. He then met Michael Amir Williams, Michael’s personal assistant, at the Coffee Bean coffee shop in Los Angeles and was interviewed in detail. Chase asked Williams who the client was, and Williams showed him Michael Jackson’s company business card.

Chase: “When he handed me the card, wow!”
Cheng: “Were you excited?”
Chase: “Yes.”

The second interview was conducted by Michael’s children. He met his “little clients” in the kitchen of their rented home in Carolewood, Holmby Hills—where they lived with their father until they were ready for the This Is It tour. Chase said the interview covered everything from food to video games.

Kai said that at the time Prince was twelve, Paris was eleven, and the nine-year-old Blanket. Kai Chase made a mistake because Blanket was actually seven. Kai says Blanket seems more mature than his age, and that is likely why he misjudged his age.

“During the interview, they would interrupt each other; they were excited to see me. They wanted to make sure I knew how to prepare healthy meals.”

The children told him: “We eat healthy food. We don’t eat lamb or pork. Dad likes apricots. We like eating fruit, and Blanket likes mango.”

Chase says: “I felt like this was exactly where I needed to be. I felt a simple closeness between us. It was a beautiful beginning.”

Kai began his job as Michael’s personal chef the next day. It was late March and early April. He arrived at about ۸ or ۸:۳۰ in the morning. He prepared the children for school, made breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. He organized the kitchen, stocked the pantry and refrigerator with mango-based food, and went out to buy fruit and vegetables. At the beginning of each week he worked at the house, which was reduced to six days from mid-April, and Michael took weekends off. Kai worked until about ۶:۳۰ or ۷ p.m., sometimes later.

First meeting with Michael

Chase first met Michael by chance when he was bringing water to Michael’s guests who were in the Carolewood living room, and then their friendly yet boss-and-subordinate relationship began.

Kai says Michael actively interfered in his children’s life and their meals. He would come into the kitchen wearing stylish clothes—black Levis jeans and a Tom Ford cologne. Michael often talked with Chase about healthy foods and nutrition. Chase says the family was very important to Michael; they talked about it in ۵۰% of their conversations. Chase says Michael loved his mother and his children.

Chase: “He wanted to know the woman who had entered his life and was preparing food for his family.”

He says Michael was very excited about the This Is It tour and was thrilled that his children could see his stage performances.

“Prince told me that his father wanted me to go with them on the tour and go to London.”

Michael and his children’s relationship

Kai had a good opportunity to observe Michael’s relationship with his children because they spent most of their time in the playroom next to the kitchen. The kitchen was open, and Kai could see the playroom. Michael spent a lot of time with his children.

“His children were his world; they were the love of his life. They were his life. Michael said they were his beloved ones.”

Kai also joined Michael and the kids in play; they played Monopoly.

He described Michael as “an energetic, lively, and active father.” Michael played with the children and read them stories at bedtime. When their father returned home from work, the children would rush to him like lightning and cling to him from head to toe, holding onto his ankles, thighs, and arms.

“Seeing these scenes made me emotional; a lot of love was happening between them.”

Kai put Blanket’s drawings on the refrigerator door. Paris often wrote things for her father on the chalkboard in the kitchen. One of her messages was shown in court: “Love you, Daddy, smile, it’s free.”

Kai used the same chalkboard to write the daily menu so the children would know what food was being served. Kai couldn’t remember whether Paris wrote that note on the day her father died or not.

Like Neverland; the sound of music never stopped in Carolewood. The music played in the Carolewood mansion was a mix of Disney songs, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, and classical pieces. The kitchen radio was set to K-Earth ۱۰۱.

Another similarity between Neverland and Carolewood was its fireplaces. Kai Chase says that despite the warm weather outside, the fireplaces were still kept on.

“There was a good feeling in the house.”

“His relationship with his children was warm and affectionate.” But whenever it was necessary, he became “strict and rule-bound.” The children respected their father and followed his words.

The children had to be in bed at a specific time in the early hours of the night so they could be ready for the next day’s classes. Classes were held at home according to a regular schedule, Monday through Friday. But Michael used creativity in their lessons—for example, Mondays were reading days and Tuesdays were art and crafts days. On Wednesdays they watched classic movies and then had to write essays about them. At their home school, they studied math, science, and foreign languages with their teacher. Kai says they were constantly learning. Michael took pride in helping his children learn art and foreign languages. The children were not allowed to watch television and did not use computers. Kai taught them about food and cooking methods, and in return the children taught him their games. Michael also made sure that hands-on and group activities were part of the children’s curriculum.

For example, one of Paris’s science projects was going snail hunting. In the evening, Paris told Chase:

“We have a snail father, but we don’t have a snail mother and snail baby.”

This led to a nighttime trip at ۸ p.m. in the yard to find a snail mother and a snail baby. Michael met them on the way back inside; he was waiting for them. Kai said he was sure Michael would fire him for doing this, but it didn’t happen.

“I didn’t know what he would think about me and his daughter going snail hunting at night. But he didn’t have a problem with it.”

Michael joined them in the next part of the program, which included setting up a glass house for the snails on the kitchen counter. They filled the enclosure with moss and paper umbrellas that are used as decorations on drinking glasses.

Dinner and lunch with the children

Michael ate lunch, breakfast, and dinner alongside his three children at tables decorated beautifully by Kai. Dinner was especially important to Michael.

Chase: “Mealtime was time for them to be together. It was his special time with his children.”

That’s why Chase didn’t eat alongside them; Michael was always alone at the table with his children.

He described Michael as someone who liked jokes, laughter, and practical teasing. At the dinner table, he told jokes and stories to the children.

Chase arranged the table differently every day. Meals from different countries were served so the children could learn things while eating. He wrote the daily menu on the chalkboard in the kitchen. As they ate food from other countries, they talked about those countries’ cultures.

“One day we had East Indian food, and we talked about which part of India we were eating.”

“The children were waiting all week for the varied food on Saturday so they could breathe easy from healthy foods.”

Chase had asked Michael for Saturdays to include less-than-healthy foods they liked—such as fried chicken—so the children would have some rest from healthy eating. Michael welcomed his suggestion.

Michael didn’t allow the children to eat sweets.

Cheng: “Were the children allowed to eat sweets whenever they wanted?”
Chase: “No, no, no, absolutely not. Sweets were served only with his (Michael’s) permission.”

Michael ate chicken, fish, and turkey, and didn’t eat lamb or pork. According to Chase, he had a strong interest in Mexican food, and his favorite meal was vegan tacos. On that day, the Jackson lawyers showed the jury an image of this dish.

Chase prepared fresh drinks for Michael using organic vegetable water.

Pets

Many animals roamed around Carolewood, including a chocolate-colored Labrador dog named Kenia, two cats named Katie and Trailer, a rabbit, and a talking bird named Cybrya, which Chase said “would whistle when beautiful girls passed in front of it.”

Prince had a pet rat that he carried around the house. Paris held tea parties for the animals in her dollhouse in the backyard. When the children went swimming in the house pool on Saturdays, Kenia would jump into the water with them. Chase says the children had a sense of responsibility and helped care for the animals.

June: the last month

After working for Michael during March and April, Chase was suddenly fired at the beginning of May. Michael Amir Williams, Michael’s personal assistant, told him that management had changed. Chase pleaded and tried to oppose the decision, telling Williams he could take a lower salary but he had to stay because he would go with Michael and his children on the London tour. Williams told him he would try and would let him know. The next morning he was told not to come to work because he had been fired. Chase says he believes Michael didn’t fire him because if it had been Michael’s order, Chase would have been fired that same day, and Williams wouldn’t have waited a day to deliver the news.

Before Chase, Grace Rouamba, the children’s nanny, had been fired in December ۲۰۰۸. In earlier court sessions, it was established that Gang Wer, the AEG company manager, had told Grace that they no longer needed her services because AEG was looking to reduce Michael’s costs.

Chase wasn’t allowed to say goodbye to Michael and the children. After being fired, they didn’t call him to ask why he had left. Chase had no conversation with Michael about his firing or his salary. His salary was paid incompletely—sometimes on time and sometimes not at all. Bena asked Chase what he did when his salary wasn’t paid. Chase said Michael’s assistant followed up on the delivery of paychecks to employees. There was an unwritten rule in the house: anyone who complained about unpaid wages to Mr. Jackson or his children would be fired.

Michael’s assistant called Chase at the beginning of June, a month later, and asked him to return to work. His return was requested by Michael and the children. He returned on June ۲, but this time he was told his salary had been reduced by AEG. Chase emailed the company requesting to receive half his salary at the beginning of his work because he was afraid his final payment wouldn’t be made. His salary was paid by AEG.

Kai Chase said that the happy home he had left in April had changed after his return in June, and the energy in the house wasn’t the same as before.

In April, Michael spent a lot of time with his children; he went out with them ۳ to ۴ times a week, but in June he spent less time with them. Kai spent ۷۰ to ۷۵% of his time in the kitchen, and the rest of the time he played with the children.

Chase says Michael’s appearance had changed a lot. In April, Michael was strong, healthy, and active, but in June: “He looked very weak; he had gotten thinner; he wasn’t eating enough.” This noticeable difference from April to June worried Chase greatly. Chase says Michael ate, but less than before.

“The kitchen buffet was empty. On one side of the kitchen there were Fiji bottled waters, and the only things in the refrigerator were Coca-Cola, Red Bull, and Starbucks coffee. I knew Mr. Jackson didn’t drink those things.”

When Chase went to buy organic fruits and vegetables, his credit card was declined because there wasn’t enough credit, and he had to use his own personal card to buy for the house—this wasn’t the first time. Sometimes he had to leave the store empty-handed, or pay for the groceries himself.

Chase said he once saw Michael forced to get help from Prince to climb the stairs so he could reach his room. Prince denied this claim.

Jessica Bena asked Kai about a photo taken in ۲۰۰۸ by paparazzi photographers. In the photo, a man resembling Michael is sitting in a wheelchair wearing a medical mask. Kai said he couldn’t tell whether that man was Michael.

Chase said Michael and the children were excited about his return and welcomed him at the doorway.

“He pulled me into a corner and said, ‘Where did you go? I didn’t even know. I don’t know why you went. I need you to keep me and my children healthy. I work hard. They’re killing me; I need your help.’ I looked at him with concern. When he said that, I thought he was doing too much, rehearsing too much. I knew I had to keep this man as healthy as possible, but I didn’t know why he was getting worse. I could see that his training schedule was affecting him badly.”

Michael had asked Chase whether he had prepared juice for him.

Chase talked to his parents about his concerns, but he didn’t know who he should discuss this with at home.

Family forgiveness and the “Joy Box” for Kai

Kai Chase said Michael had a very generous heart and a kind soul. He added that Michael was always thinking about giving and helping others. Kai says: “Paris learned forgiveness from her father.”

Paris welcomed Chase’s return with a gift. A shoebox full of toy animals and coloring books. Paris named it “Love Box.” The box was beautifully decorated and inside were letters of thanks and photos. In one of those letters, Paris wrote to Kai:

“Dear Kai, thank you for the beautiful gifts you gave us. Oh, by the way, I’m writing this letter with one of the pens you gave me. I hope you like the gifts and the photos. Thank you for the gifts you gave to P and B (Prince and Blanket) and to Daddy. They really liked them. With lots of love, Paris Jackson.”

On a day off, Kai went to Disneyland and bought gifts for the children, and Paris thanked him in her letter for his gifts.

Paris also sent gifts across borders. Kai says:

“She would take clothes she didn’t want anymore, cut them into pieces, make short skirts from them, and sew them by hand.”

Paris told Kai: “I sew these little skirts and put them in small boxes so I can send them to those who live on the other side of the world and don’t have as much money as we do.”

Meeting Dr. Murray

Another change Chase noticed after returning home was the constant presence of Conrad Murray. Chase thought Murray stayed in the house at night because he met him inside the house in the morning.

Chase had first seen Dr. Murray in the first weeks of April at home, about ۲ to ۳ times a week. Murray introduced himself as “Michael’s personal doctor.” This doctor sometimes visited the house, but in June he was almost there every day. He brought oxygen capsules to the house and every morning carried the empty capsules from Michael’s bedroom to the kitchen. The capsules were arranged in a small guard room outside the building, next to the kitchen door, with a label on them that said “Fill every Friday.” In April, the capsules were smaller, and in June they were bigger.

Chase said Murray seemed like a good person. He didn’t think Michael would die, and he didn’t forget that Murray was injecting him with the wrong medication. He hadn’t heard of propofol and thought Michael’s worsening was due to excessive physical activity.

According to Chase, Michael and the children had a friendly relationship with Dr. Murray. Chase once made a mixed lentil soup for all of them. The presence of a personal doctor in the house wasn’t strange to Chase. Chase thought Michael needed a doctor because of bone pain, but Murray’s daily presence had become suspicious for him. Chase couldn’t understand what need there was for oxygen capsules when the doctor was in the house, and also why Michael’s condition worsened in those circumstances.

“It was strange that Dr. Murray was there all the time. I was worried. I didn’t know what those capsules were used for. I didn’t ask anything. I couldn’t figure it out.”

Later, the world learned that when Murray put Michael to sleep with propofol every night, he used those capsules to deliver oxygen to him. Chase said he had never seen Michael drink alcohol and had never seen him under the influence of drugs.

Murray never talked to Chase about Michael’s eating, and Chase says it was strange that the personal doctor didn’t pay attention to his patient’s nutrition.

Chase: “I asked him a few times and he said I could give him any food.”

Chase said he remembered seeing Travis Payne, the tour choreographer, and Michael rehearsing at home.

Chase: “My room was the kitchen. I didn’t have a reason to go upstairs.”

Michael’s assistant had told Chase that the upstairs was private and only Murray or sometimes the children could take Michael’s food tray upstairs for him. Bena referred to part of Orlando Martinez’s testimony, the death investigation officer, in which it was said that Kai Chase had taken Michael’s food tray upstairs. Chase denied it and said Martinez had made a mistake.

Michael’s bedroom was on the second floor of the Carolewood house.

A terrifying sound

Katherine Jackson’s lawsuit against AEG claims that company executives, including Randy Phillips and Paul Gongwer, pressured Murray to force Michael to attend more rehearsal sessions. Katherine’s lawyers referred to a meeting at Michael’s home in the second week of June. Kai says Michael told him he had guests and asked him to prepare snacks for them. Chase brought food and juice for the guests.

Chase: “On that day, Michael had a medical mask on his face and was wearing several layers of clothes and a sweatshirt. When he came down the stairs to join Phillips, Gongwer, Dr. Murray, and Frank Delio in the living room, he looked terrified.”

“I soon heard a loud sound of something breaking. A large, very, very expensive vase was smashed next to Michael’s chair.”

Hearing that terrifying sound, Kai and one of the servants rushed into the room. Chase didn’t know how the vase was broken or by whom. He felt Michael was speaking very firmly to the guests. The judge didn’t allow Chase to mention what he had heard from that meeting. But this chef testified that people were speaking very loudly and interrupting each other. After some time, Michael left the meeting, and Murray—who looked very upset—followed him out of the house. At that moment, Murray said: “I can’t take this nonsense anymore.”

When Chase saw Michael again a while later, he seemed like he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.

“He was worried, horrified, and afraid.”

Kai said that after the meeting ended, the men were still at the house, and when Kai left the house at around ۶ p.m., shortly after Dr. Murray, Gongwer, Phillips, and Delio were still there.

A day before he died

On June ۲۴, Chase came to the house as usual in the morning to prepare breakfast. Murray was at home. At ۱۰ a.m., he came down from upstairs to take Michael’s breakfast to his room. In June, Michael rarely ate breakfast with the children on the first floor.

Chase says Michael dragged his feet on the floor that day.

“But I told him he looked fine, so I tried to encourage him a little.”

Michael went to the Staples Center for rehearsal that day and returned home after midnight. Chase was told to prepare two different dinners and place them in the refrigerator—one for Dr. Murray and one for the children.

The day Michael died

Kai Chase had described the day many times in the media and also in Murray’s court case. However, today he again explained the day Michael died in court.

That day, Chase started his work in the morning like other days. He says, “Everything was beautiful like always that day too.”

The children were busy in their playroom. Chase went out to buy fruits and vegetables. Lunch was served every day at ۱۲:۳۰. Dr. Murray came down the same familiar stairs between ۱۲:۰۵ and ۱۲:۱۰, but this time he was very frightened.

Dr. Murray shouted in a panicked way and asked Chase to send Prince and the guards to Michael’s room upstairs to help him.

“Go get help, go tell the guard, go tell Prince.”

Chase told Prince, who was busy in the playroom, “Hurry up, Dr. Murray wants you. It seems something happened to your father.” He returned to the kitchen to continue cooking lunch. He didn’t inform the guards who were in a small room outside the building near the kitchen door. Chase said Murray didn’t ask him to call ۹۱۱.

When the house servants, Jamie and Blanca, cried and shouted, “Maybe Mr. Jackson is dead,” Chase realized they were facing a serious problem.

“You could feel the change in the atmosphere of the house.”

Prince shouted “Daddy, daddy, daddy,” and the frantic “Daddy” cries of Paris, according to Chase, made the blood run cold.

Chase became emotional in the stand and started crying. He added that the children were devastated:

“I held their hands and told them, ‘Let’s pray, Heavenly Father, please save this man.’”

When Kai talked about the children, Katherine Jackson started crying.

Chase continued that on that day everyone in the house was crying; the whole place was full of guards. Shortly after, the emergency doctors arrived and went upstairs. At the security post, Alberto Alvarez asked Chase to leave the house. Alvarez told Chase: “He’ll be okay.”

A little later, Kai heard on the radio that Michael had died: “I didn’t want to believe it; I thought they were lying.”

Back to work again

For the next few weeks, Kai Chase didn’t meet the children. In July ۲۰۱۲, at Prince, Paris, and Blanket’s request, Katherine Jackson hired him as their personal chef. In a phone call, he was told that the children had been looking for him since their father’s death.

Kai says he has many similarities with Katherine Jackson, including their love for Michael. According to this chef, Mrs. Jackson is interested in music, art, and flowers. Kai talks with the children every day.

“Mrs. Jackson misses Michael so much. She cries, I cry. I try to comfort her.”

Chase said that Katherine missed the jokes, the conversations, and the love and affection that Michael gave him.

He added that after returning to work, he saw the children had grown a lot. He says that after their father’s death, they entered another world that was new to them. They talk to Chase about their father’s music and what he did in different circumstances.

Daddy’s girl

Deborah Cheng asked Kai Chase not to go into details about Paris. Chase said:

“Paris was a daddy’s girl. After his death, she was devastated and lost. She’s going through the hardest days.”

“There was a lot of love between her and her father. She is lost. She is searching. She is sad. Everyone in the house is worried about Paris struggling with the grief of losing her father. Every girl needs a father. If I were in her place, I would be devastated too. She becomes emotional; she cries; she talks about her father. She tries to find herself, to understand who she is. She needs a lot of love and understanding.”

Kai Chase talked about a very happy day in Paris’s life: her ۱۱th birthday on April ۳, ۲۰۰۹.

“Their father told them that on that day they could eat whatever they wanted, which was a happy and rare thing for the children. The menu included cheese pizza, chicken wings, and a banana ice-cream dessert. The living room was decorated with posters and images of Michael’s album covers, and his songs were playing. That’s what Paris wanted for her ۱۱th birthday. She was truly intoxicated with joy.”

And Michael had a very special surprise for this only daddy’s girl…

“Right at the time you thought it couldn’t get any better, he took the children to the backyard to watch a circus show similar to Cirque du Soleil. A few men walked on tall wooden poles, and a woman was inside a big balloon. Tears gathered in my eyes. It was the most beautiful display of love I had ever seen in my life.”

“Paris hasn’t had a birthday celebration since that year; she doesn’t want one. She remembers her days with her dad and her birthday celebration.”

Prince, the little man

This chef talked about Prince’s relationship with his father, who was twelve years old at the time of his death:

“Prince was always a little man, even at twelve; a little man, a daddy’s boy. He always wanted his father to be very proud of him, and Michael was proud of him too.”

Kai said that Prince, who is dealing with maturity and entering the adult world; after his father’s death, at sixteen, “he feels the weight of the world on his shoulders. He is the oldest; he is the older brother, and he is a fatherly figure for his sister and brothers. It’s a heavy burden on his shoulders. He is growing up himself; he has a relationship with girls. He wishes his father were here to advise him. It’s devastating for him.”

Blanket, the youngest child

At the time of Michael’s death, Blanket was only seven, so he spent less time with his father.

“He didn’t experience that father-son relationship because he was very young when his father died.”

Blanket is now eleven and has finished fifth grade. He studies at home.

“I always think he’s older than his age because he’s very clever and smart. He’s the youngest, and his siblings take care of him, but still I think the youngest child is hurt more. He was the child of the family. He is constantly trying to remember his father’s behavior and he talks nonstop, in a constant stream, about his father and their relationship. He also feels lost, like Prince and Paris.”

“Every day he wears a uniform for class, even though he is taught at home by a home teacher in their family home in Calabasas. But Fridays are free, and he can wear whatever he wants. On those days he usually wears a red T-shirt with an image of the Immortal Cirque du Soleil tour, performed based on his father’s songs.”

“His dance moves are like his father’s.”

Deborah Cheng and Jessica Stebbins Bena concluded their questions. After Kai left the stand, he hugged Katherine, and both of them cried.

Source: eMJey.com / CNN & AP