IT’S the child abuse trial which rocked the showbiz world and saw a pop legend hauled up in court on a slew of heinous charges.
Now, 20 years on, we can reveal the drama behind the headlines which saw Michael Jackson rushed to hospital with horrific injuries and convinced he would be MURDERED in prison.
It is 20 years since Michael Jackson faced child abuse charges brought against him in a bombshell trial[/caption]
His lawyer Brian Oxman thinks the trial contributed to his early death[/caption]
Michael died in 2009 at just 50 years old[/caption]
The frail star, who faced charges of abuse against teenager Gavin Arvizo, famously turned up to his trial in pyjamas – before being acquitted of all 14 charges on June 13, 2005.
Over four months Michael, then 46, watched 15-year-old Gavin accuse him of sexual abuse, supported by claims from brother Star and mum Janet that his family was held captive at Michael’s Neverland Ranch – famed for its funfair and zoo.
In the decades since the trial, further claims have been made regarding Jackson’s alleged horrific abuse at the estate, notably by Wade Robson and James Safechuck in the 2019 documentary Leaving Neverland.
The singer’s lawyer, Brian Oxman, believes the torment of the 2005 trial led to MJ’s death four years later from a drug overdose – and reveals the late night calls from the terrified Thriller star.
“Michael rang at all hours of the night, dozens of times,” Brian tells The Sun.
“He kept asking ‘Why? I treated them so well – and they make up these lies’.
“He could never fathom it until the day he died.”
He adds: “We would talk about it for long hours about ‘the evil’ that went on to destroy him. He did not understand.
“No matter what I did, he could not understand and my firm belief is that this prosecution destroyed him.”
He also reveals Michael felt “betrayed” by shamed BBC star Martin Bashir for painting him as a paedophile in a controversial documentary which “started a stampede” towards abuse allegations.
And he believes the King of Pop knew he would have died in prison if he had been convicted.
“If Michael went to jail, he would probably have died. He knew that,” he says.
“Child molestation is the worst of all crimes in our jail system. Those people are looked down on and abused by their fellow inmates.
“They are beaten, hurt and treated horribly.”
Horror hospital dash
The pop star was pictured attending court in his pyjamas[/caption]
Gavin Arvizo was one of the people who made allegations of child abuse against Michael Jackson[/caption]
It was alleged that the abuse took place at the star’s California mansion[/caption]
At the height of the trial, in March 2005, the iconic photo of the star sporting baggy pyjama bottoms, a white T-shirt and a giant suit jacket made headlines around the world and became Time Magazine’s Photo of The Year.
It also cemented the reputation for eccentric behaviour which saw him dubbed “Wacko Jacko”.
But the truth behind the bizarre look was a frantic dash from the hospital where he’d been admitted hours before with suspected broken ribs after a shower fall at his Neverland home.
The singer’s court absence prompted Judge Ronald L Whyte to fear the defendant had absconded – forfeiting a $3m bail.
Despite lawyers’ assurances, the judge ordered the star to be back in court within an hour or be sent to jail until the trial’s end for a bail breach.
He’d plead guilty to assassinating Abraham Lincoln
Brian Oxman, Lawyer
The order sent Brian and long term pal Joe – Michael’s dad and manager of the Jackson 5 – into a panic.
“The prosecution was elated because they knew that if he forfeited his bail, he was going to jail, and he would never, never be able to live in jail,” says Brian.
“The prosecutors knew he’d plead to anything to get out of jail.
“He’d plead guilty to assassinating Abraham Lincoln.
“They knew he’d do anything to limit or stop his incarceration.”
Defence attorneys frantically called Michael’s security, warning of the jail threat, which led to a desperate dash up the 101 freeway towards Santa Maria – pursued by dozens of fans.
“They were doing 110 miles an hour and the fans followed,” says Brian.
“That freeway had a dirt centre divider, which had potholes and was horribly dangerous. All someone had to do was to hit one of those potholes and it would have flipped and somebody would have been killed.”
Arriving an hour and 10 minutes later, the star had his bail forfeited but escaped jail.
Father-son bond
Throughout the trial, Michael was supported by his dad Joe[/caption]
Katherine Jackson was also at the trial to support her son against the allegations of abuse[/caption]
Father Joe – who Michael famously accused of child abuse and bullying – was vital in convincing the sickly star to leave the hospital.
“Joe said, ‘Michael, I’m your father. You listen to me – you have got to get to court, no excuses.’”
Brian insists Michael “loved” and “respected” Joe dearly despite the claims of a feud.
“In the car MJ said, ‘I can’t walk in just with my pyjamas’ so a huge bodyguard named Keith handed over his black jacket.
“It is Time Magazine’s picture of the year – if not picture of the decade.
“And who’s right next to him in that picture? His dad, Joe, who saved his life.”
Brian insists Michael was not faking his injury or looking for sympathy as the lawyer saw a “huge welt” on the right side of his body.
“He showed me on his chest this huge welt and says ‘Brian did I break a bone?’
“And I felt his chest and I said ‘I can’t tell for sure’.
“I felt a terrible lump but there was a huge injury there.”
Abuse accusations
Michael was said to be deeply uncomfortable when Gavin leaned on him in the Bashir interview[/caption]
Wade Robson also claimed he was abused by Michael as a child[/caption]
Michael was first accused of child abuse by Jordan Chandler in 1993, but the case was settled out of court, with the star paying his accuser $15m.
But in December 2003, Michael was charged with 14 offences in relation to Gavin Arvizo, including four counts of molesting a child, four counts of getting a child drunk so that he could molest him, one count of trying to molest a child, and one count of secretly planning (conspiring) to hold the boy and his family captive.
Brian, an early member of the trial defence team, helped pull together over one and a half million pages of documents and 120 subpoenas.
He sent a 15-page dossier with 700 exhibits of evidence to devastated MJ showing the strength of their case in late 2004.
“He called me from the ranch and there was no voice. (I said) ‘Michael is that you?’
“He couldn’t catch his breath,” says Brian.
“He said, ‘Why, Brian? Why are they doing this to me?’”
Despite numerous allegations that have surfaced since the star’s death, Brian insists there was no evidence for the criminal charges, citing that Michael was not at Neverland on days when Gavin claimed he was abused at the estate.
Dashed documentary hopes
Michael thought a documentary about his life would aid his comeback[/caption]
Michael’s mental health was also rocked by “the betrayal” of TV interviewer Martin Bashir, with whom he’d plotted a comeback through a documentary about his life, in 2003.
But the Living With Michael Jackson series prompted worldwide controversy after he openly boasted about sleeping with children in his bed at Neverland.
Cameras caught cancer survivor Gavin leaning his head on MJ’s shoulder, discussing their close bond.
Brian claims the BBC journalist – who was later found to have falsified documents to persuade Princess Diana to agree to an interview – manipulated Michael and set up the disturbing scenes.
Brian raged: “Bashir used the fact Princess Diana trusted him for the Panorama interview to get in with Michael – who at that time had no idea that he had deceived Diana.
“Gavin wasn’t in Michael’s life when he filmed, but Bashir and his team asked to meet one of the kids he had helped.
“Bashir talked to Arvizo before the interview and then during the recording he rested his head on Michael’s shoulder and held his hand.
They knew he’d do anything to limit or stop his incarceration
Brian Oxman, Lawyer
“Michael said afterwards: ‘That never happened before and I didn’t know what to do. I don’t know him. And I haven’t seen him for a year and almost a half. Why was he acting like my bosom buddy?’
“Michael believed that Bashir may have told Arvizo to do that but no-one knew what really happened.
“Bashir told Michael he wanted to show the real man in a fair way, but when asked about sleeping with children he was so rattled.
“It was a shambles. Why his managers didn’t stop it I will never know.
“That show set a stampede in motion which led to the trial. It was the beginning of the end for him.”
Bashir later took the stand as the first prosecution witness and Brian says after the verdict, the reporter strolled over and apologised, saying: “Nothing personal Michael.”
“Michael could not believe it, because inside he was fuming,” he says.
“Michael simply stared back, said nothing and turned away.”
Destroyed reputation
Lawyer Brian claims the stigma of the allegations against Michael devastated the star[/caption]
Brian was by Michael’s side throughout the abuse trial in 2005[/caption]
Despite the acquittal, many people believe the star behaved inappropriately with young boys.
In the summer of 2005 a Gallup Poll reported that 80 per cent of the US public believed Michael was guilty of abuse.
“It damaged Michael beyond repair,” says Brian.
“He was utterly numb. He was mentally, emotionally exhausted.
“Michael said: ‘I’m an entertainer. I depend upon the people, 80 per cent of them think I’m guilty?’”
MJ fled to Bahrain as a guest of Sheikh Abdulla Bin Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa, the king’s son, with the promise of a comeback concert and album.
That plan fell apart within a year, leading him into a semi-nomadic life with his three kids, Prince, now 31, Paris, 29 and Bigi, 24.
Drowning in debt, he committed to a London O2 residency This Is It. But, in constant pain after a serious back injury he sustained when a stage collapsed at a Munich gig in 1999, he was already hooked on painkillers and anaesthetic Propofol.
He died in LA on June 25 2009 – days before the sellout comeback – after suffering a cardiac arrest from a Propofol and benzodiazepines overdose.
Fresh allegations have since emerged.
In 2019 documentary, Leaving Neverland, Wade Robson and James Safechuck accused the star of sexually abusing them for years, from when they were respectively seven and 10 years old.
But Brian says it was the 2005 trial that pushed him over the edge.
“That was the start of the end,” says Brian. “He was in pain, depression and constantly harassed with accusations.
“Think about it. ‘Wacko Jacko, crazy, child molester.’ How much can one human being take?
“It was too much for him. I told him he would come through and his mettle would be stronger because of the fire. And in certain ways, that was true, but in other ways, it started this spiral down. It meant the end for Michael.”
Michael never recovered from the trauma of the trial and his lawyer thinks it led to his early death[/caption]
