Michael Jackson_ The Magic, the Madness, the Whole Story, 1958-2009 Part 31

June, Jordie and Lily called a cab and went back to Los Angeles.

Meanwhile, Michael proceeded to Santa Barbara alone. When he finally got to the ranch, he was greeted by his housekeeper, Adrian McMa.n.u.s. 'Where are the guests of honour?' she asked. 'Is there still going to be a party?'

'There's not going to be a party,' Michael said. 'So, forget it. Throw the food away. Just throw it all away,' he said. 'And tear down those decorations, too,' he added, motioning to colourful streamers hanging from the doorway.

Michael then stormed off to his bedroom and slammed the door.

Michael Feels Betrayed.

On the way back to Los Angeles, June Schwartz had time to think about the way matters had evolved with her son and Michael Jackson. When she got home, she called Evan. She'd had a change of heart, she said. Perhaps when she saw Michael lose it the way he had, she realized that someone someone needed to put things into perspective. Though Jordie didn't want to go, she now felt it important that he visit with his father for the week. needed to put things into perspective. Though Jordie didn't want to go, she now felt it important that he visit with his father for the week.

In young Jordie's world these days, no one ever seemed to do anything he didn't want to do. Therefore, he was sullen and disagreeable when he finally got to Evan's house. He said he missed Michael.

Evan had heard enough about Michael Jackson in recent months. As soon as he had his son in his custody, he instructed his attorney to draw up papers that stipulated that June would not be permitted to take Jordie out of Los Angeles county, meaning she would not be able to see Michael at Neverland (in Santa Barbara county), and most certainly not on tour.

Surprisingly, when she got the news the next day, June wasn't angry. She didn't even fight the stipulation, mostly because she no longer knew what to think about Michael. She needed time to figure it all out, especially after she and her attorney had a meeting with two LAPD officers who claimed that they'd recently discovered a youngster who'd been molested by Michael (even though they refused to identify him). Recalled June's lawyer, Michael Freeman, 'With serious expressions on their faces, they said, "We're convinced Michael Jackson molested this boy because he fits the cla.s.sic profile of a paedophile, perfectly." June started getting scared. She was scared for her son.'

June decided to telephone Michael. Perhaps they could meet and discuss the matter; after all, they had been friends. When she saw him face to face, she would be able to look into his eyes, she believed, and then know the truth. She finally got Michael on the phone.

'I'm sorry, June,' he said, 'but things are so out of hand now that my lawyer has told me that I can't speak to you, or even see you.'

'But, Michael...'

'Evan is the one who started this mess, not me,' Michael said, his tone surprisingly cold and deliberate. 'Evan ruined our beautiful friends.h.i.+p, not me. I'll have Bert call you and answer any further questions. Goodbye, June. I'm sorry.'

June couldn't believe the way Michael had talked to her. Now, she didn't know what to think of him. Because she still leaned towards his innocence, perhaps he would have been better advised to have been less dismissive, if only to keep her as an ally. However, he was so cold to her, he left her with no choice. She decided she had to agree with her ex-husband that Jordie not be permitted to visit Michael, at least for the time being, and not accompany him on his tour, either. She even agreed to allow Evan to keep custody of Jordie 'for a while'.

Michael learned of June's about-face from one of his staff members during a meeting in his bedroom at Neverland. Having just finished with a costume-fitting, he hadn't changed out of what he called his 'uniform': a glittery, red military outfit trimmed across the shoulders with jet-bead embroidery. He was seated on his bed.

'There had been a sadness about Michael in recent days, but after he learned of June's decision, it was more acute than usual,' recalled the employee. 'After all, she was handing Jordie over to Evan, which would not bode well for Michael's friends.h.i.+p with him.'

After discussing the matter with his adviser for a few minutes, Michael fell back onto the bed heavily and began to cry. 'Why do people hurt the ones they say they love?' he asked.

'It's going to be okay,' said the staff member, now seated on the bed next to him. 'Don't cry, Mike.'

Then, typical of his mood swings, especially lately, Michael went from zero to ten in anger within seconds. 'She betrayed me,' he said, bolting upright, his eyes ablaze. 'I can't believe June buckled like that, after all I did for her and her kids. Now I'll never get to see Jordie. I didn't even do anything wrong,' he insisted. Then, ashenfaced and his dark eyes raging, Michael repeated: 'I didn't do anything wrong. I didn't I didn't.'

The next day, Anthony Pellicano received a telephone call from Evan Chandler. He wanted to meet with Michael, 'man to man', he said.

Anthony pa.s.sed the message on to Michael. 'No way,' Michael said, according to Anthony's memory. 'I'm not meeting with the guy and giving him more ammunition to use against me. His heart is filled with hatred, Anthony, and you know it's the truth. Tell him I said no way.'

'But it might be a good idea,' Anthony suggested. 'Maybe we can work this thing out.'

Michael was adamant that he would not meet with Evan. He said that he had been thinking it over, and the truth had hit him as if an epiphany. 'Evan's p.i.s.sed off at me because I have the kind of relations.h.i.+p he wishes wishes he had with Jordie,' Michael said. 'That's what's really going on here. He's completely jealous of me.' he had with Jordie,' Michael said. 'That's what's really going on here. He's completely jealous of me.'

Anthony couldn't disagree; to him, Michael's a.n.a.lysis of the situation sounded plausible.

Jordie's Confession.

On 2 August, Evan Chandler extracted a troublesome tooth from his son, Jordie, in his Beverly Hills clinic. During the procedure, he decided to intravenously administer the drug sodium Amytal. Mark Torbiner, a dental anaesthesiologist (who had been the one to introduce Evan to his attorney, Barry Rothman in 1991 when Rothman needed dental work), was present during the surgery. Evan has since confirmed that his son was given the drug, but only as a part of the dental procedure. While under the influence of sodium Amytal, says Evan, Jordie finally began to speak openly about s.e.xual activity he claimed had occurred between him and Michael Jackson.

Sodium Amytal has erroneously been called a 'truth serum'. Actually, most doctors agree that patients are extremely susceptible to suggestion while under the influence of the drug. 'You can't trust it,' said Dr Lewis Strong, a Los Angeles psychiatrist (who does not know Evan or Jordie Chandler). 'I never use it in my practice. I have found it to be unreliable. It's certainly not a truth serum. Sometimes it is used for the treatment of amnesia, but it often provides false memories.'

Why did Evan Chandler use sodium Amytal on his son in order to perform dental work on him?

'It's absolutely a psychiatric drug,' observed Dr Kenneth Gottlieb, a San Francisco psychiatrist who has administered sodium Amytal to amnesia patients. 'I would never want to use a drug that tampers with a person's unconscious unless there was no other drug available,' he added, 'and I would not use it without resuscitating equipment, in case of allergic reaction, and only with an MD anaesthesiologist present.' (Mark Torbiner is a dental anaesthesiologist.) Dr John Yagiela, the coordinator of the Anaesthesia and Pain Control department of UCLA's school of dentistry, confirmed, 'It's unusual for it to be used for pulling a tooth. It makes no sense when better, safer alternatives are available. It would not be my choice.'

Perhaps Evan felt that he had no choice but to administer the drug to his son in order to get him to finally open up about the true nature of his relations.h.i.+p with Michael Jackson. 'Did Michael ever touch your p.e.n.i.s?' Evan asked Jordie. Groggily, Jordie said in a soft voice that, yes, Michael had done it. Evan then grabbed his son and hugged him tightly, as if never wanting to let him go. 'I'm sorry, Jordie,' he said, according to a later recollection. 'I'm so sorry.'

In his heart, Evan would later say, he always knew what was going on between his child and the pop star. He said that he only needed confirmation from Jordie before he could, in good conscience, go up against Michael in such an explosive and life-ruining campaign. It wasn't much to go on, though if, in fact, it was even true that Michael had touched Jordie's p.e.n.i.s. However Evan believed there was more to it. He didn't need all of the details, anyway, he said. In the end, he had what he wanted: Michael Jackson's neck in a noose. But the question remained: how much of what Jordie had confessed while under the influence of a psychiatric drug was the truth?

PART TEN.

Michael Meets with his Accusers.

After obtaining what he believed to be the truth from Jordie, Evan Chandler demanded another meeting with Michael Jackson. Anthony Pellicano managed to arrange it. The show-down between the teenager's protective father and the man he believed had molested his son would take place on 4 August 1993 at the Westwood Marquis Hotel. 'No good can come of it,' Michael predicted, 'but I have to see Jordie, somehow, so let's do it.'

At the appointed hour, Evan walked into the room, trailed by his anxious-looking son. As soon as Jordie saw Michael, he ran to him and embraced him. They kissed each other on the cheeks. 'Oh my G.o.d, how I've missed you,' Michael said, visibly choked up. He stroked Jordie's hair. 'How are you? Are you okay? Tell me you're okay.'

'I've missed you, too,' Jordie said. 'I can't believe what's going on, Michael. Yes, I'm okay,' he said, 'but you should know that...' The teenager's voice trailed off.

'What?' Michael asked. 'I should know what? Never mind,' he decided, his tone now rea.s.suring. 'We'll work it out, I promise.'

Evan then walked over to Michael and embraced him. 'Nice to see you, Michael,' Evan said. Michael stared at Evan with cold, dark eyes. Under the circ.u.mstances, it was an odd greeting by Evan. Later, Anthony Pellicano would say, 'If I believed somebody molested my kid and I got that close to him, I'd be on death row right now.'

They were seated, Anthony next to Michael on one settee, Jordie next to his father on another.

Evan got to the point quickly. 'I believe that Michael has acted inappropriately toward Jordie,' he said. 'In fact, I'm sure of it.'

'What's he talking about, Jordie?' Michael asked, turning to the youngster.

Jordie made eye contact with Michael and nodded his head slightly, as if trying to pa.s.s a secret message. Michael looked at him, quizzically.

Evan then reached into his vest pocket, pulled out an envelope and took a doc.u.ment from it. He explained that it was a psychiatric evaluation of Jordie's relations.h.i.+p with Michael. He read from it; the last paragraph encapsulated the a.n.a.lysis: 'The minor is in danger whether the relations.h.i.+p continues or ends. The impact that would be caused in other family members of the minor should also be considered. These circ.u.mstances create the possibility that there exists negligence toward the child, even as far as prost.i.tution.'

'What does that mean, exactly?' Michael wanted to know.

'It means that this doctor thinks you had s.e.x with my kid,' Evan said, his temper rising. Michael remained calm, which seemed to infuriate Evan all the more. 'You and Jordie are having s.e.x, aren't you?' he shouted at him. 'Just f.u.c.king admit it, Michael. Be a man. Admit it.' By this time, Evan had tears in his eyes. 'How could you do it, Michael?' he asked. 'My G.o.d. How could you do it? How could you do this to Jordie?'

'I already told you that I didn't do it,' Michael said, remaining composed. 'That's preposterous. It never happened. I don't even know that doctor.' He turned to Anthony. 'Do we even know that doctor?'

Anthony, now an irate contrast to Michael's demeanour, said, 'h.e.l.l no, we don't know that doctor. This meeting is over,' he told Evan. 'Get out of here. Now.'

'Wait,' Evan said. He then read from another doc.u.ment written by the same psychiatrist: '"A thirty-four-year-old man constantly sleeping with a thirteen-year-old boy when other beds are available const.i.tutes," Evan raised his voice, "perverse and lewd conduct." Perverse and lewd conduct, Michael. Do you hear what I'm saying?'

Michael seemed stunned. He looked at Jordie for help, but now the youngster wouldn't make eye contact with him.

'I said, that's it,' Anthony again insisted. 'This is war, now,' he added, using a favourite phrase. 'Who do you think you are, coming in here and accusing Michael Jackson of a crime? Are you crazy? Get the f.u.c.k out of here!'

'Wait,' Evan said, again. 'Look, if he's willing to take a lie detector test, then fine,' he added, pointing at Michael. 'If it comes back that he didn't do it, fine. I'll be out of your lives for ever. He can take Jordie on tour with him and I won't have a thing to say about it.'

'That's f.u.c.king preposterous,' Anthony shot back. 'Michael will never take a lie detector test. And besides,' he added, 'I was in army intelligence. Do you think I couldn't teach him to pa.s.s a lie detector?'

It seemed an odd statement for one of Michael's advisers to make during such an important discussion. For a second, Evan didn't know how to react to it. 'Great,' he finally said. 'And maybe you can also teach Jordie to lie, too.'

Anthony stood up. 'Hear me, and hear me good,' he said, pointing aggressively at Evan. 'Michael Jackson did not have s.e.x with your son, and he will not take a lie detector test.'

'I hear you,' Evan said. 'But I don't understand you. Why not?'

'Because it's an insult insult, that's why,' Anthony said loudly.

All eyes fell on Michael who was now looking straight ahead as if in a trance.

'Then, there's nothing more to say,' Evan concluded. 'This meeting is over.' Evan didn't mention that Jordie had said that he and Michael had been intimate. Perhaps he didn't want to play that hand, yet. 'I'll see you in court, Michael,' he said. Maddeningly, there was still no reaction from Michael.

Jordie stood up and followed his father out of the room. As he walked through the door, according to Anthony Pellicano, the youngster turned to face Michael with a sad expression. Michael stared at Jordie, probably never dreaming that it would be the last time he would ever lay eyes on him.

'Oh, and one more thing,' Evan said, pointing to the singer. 'I'm going to ruin you,' he said. 'You're going down, Michael. You are going down down.'

Finally, Michael and Anthony were alone. 'Oh, my G.o.d,' Michael said after a few moments. He now looked drained and pale, as if in shock. He rose from his chair and gazed out the window. 'Oh, my G.o.d,' he said, again, tears now streaming down his face. 'Oh, my G.o.d.'

Unsuccessful Negotiations.

The 'smoking gun' letter by Beverly Hills psychiatrist Dr Mathis Abrams, which Evan Chandler had produced at the meeting with Michael Jackson, was solicited by Evan's attorney, Barry Rothman. As it happened, Rothman had sought an expert's opinion in order to establish what may have transpired between Michael and his client's son Jordie. During a telephone conversation with Dr Abrams, Rothman explained the evidence he thought he had against Michael, presenting the scenario as a purely hypothetical situation. Though Abrams didn't even meet with Evan, Jordie or Michael, his opinion of what had transpired would be devastating. After the telephone conversation with Barry Rothman Dr Abrams wrote the letter (dated 15 July 1993) in which he observed that, at least based on what the lawyer had described, it sounded as if something s.e.xual had transpired between the parties. He also noted that if the incidents had occurred as explained by the lawyer, he would have no choice but to report the matter to the Los Angeles County Department of Children's Services.

After his father's show-down with Michael, Jordie was more depressed than ever before in his young life. The thought that he might now have to testify against Michael was more than he could bear. Before he went to bed, he drew what looked like suicide art: a stick figure jumping off the roof of a five-storey building, and then landing in a b.l.o.o.d.y heap on the ground.

The next morning, when Evan went into Jordie's room to say goodbye to him before going to work, he found the chilling drawing on the floor. Jordie was still asleep. Evan wrote on the top of the paper: Don't Let This Happen, underlining each word. He then put the drawing back where he found it. Turning to leave he changed his mind and decided to take the drawing. It would become evidence of Jordie's state of mind.

The next evening Evan and Barry Rothman met with Anthony Pellicano. 'They put their cards on the table,' recalled Anthony. 'Twenty million. That's what they wanted.'

In fact, Evan wanted the total sum of twenty million dollars to be deposited in an interest-bearing account. Five million would then be paid out to Jordie in four instalments over a four-year period. 'Maybe that amount of money will teach Michael Jackson not to abuse any more children,' Evan explained to Anthony. It'll pay for Jordie's education, for psychiatric evaluation. Some will be donated for child abuse foundations. I'll be able to retire and spend more time with my son and help him through this time. If not, then fine. We'll have a trial and see how that goes.'

Though Anthony felt sure Michael wouldn't consider paying a single dime to the Chandlers, he was duty bound to pa.s.s the offer on to his client.

Evan had already hand-written a letter to his attorney, Barry Rothman (dated 5 August), outlining his intention if Michael decided not to pay the twenty million. In the missive, he explained that one of the reasons he had hoped to avoid a trial was because he realized the devastating impact it would have on Michael's career. 'I believed that Michael was a kind, sensitive, compa.s.sionate person who made a mistake in judgement born out of an honest love for Jordie,' he wrote. 'I now know I was wrong.'

Evan then recounted his version of the events that took place at the meeting with Jordie, Michael and Anthony Pellicano. He wrote that Jordie had acknowledged that he [Evan] had evidence that Michael had s.e.xually a.s.saulted him. (Anthony Pellicano, however, says that Jordie never said anything at that meeting about Michael having molested him.) 'Michael responded with a cold, mocking smile that you often see on the face of criminals who proclaim their innocence even in the face of irrefutable proof of their guilt,' Evan wrote. 'It was a chilling sight. He showed no sign of remorse for his actions and he was completely indifferent to Jordie's suffering.'

Evan then opined that if Michael were to see a psychiatrist, it would surely be determined that he is a paedophile. Therefore, Evan wrote, he had no sympathy for Michael whatsoever, and no interest in protecting him from prosecution. In fact, he wrote, he now believed that Michael should be jailed to prevent him from s.e.xually a.s.saulting other minors. He added that he believed that Michael's incarceration would be the inevitable result of any investigation by the District Attorney, and that if Jordie would need to be called as a witness, he would eagerly testify against Michael. Jordie would only have to tell the truth, Evan wrote, perhaps not taking into consideration the emotional ordeal such gut-wrenching testimony might exact on his son.

'I would like you to continue to negotiate with Mr Pellicano,' Evan concluded, 'but if those negotiations are not successful then as your client I am instructing you to file a complaint against Michael Jackson for the s.e.xual a.s.sault against my son.' In a postscript, he wrote of the drawing he had found in Jordie's bedroom. 'I thought you should see it,' he wrote. 'I'm very frightened. One way or the other, please get this over with as quickly as possible.' He enclosed a copy of Jordie's drawing.

When Anthony presented Evan's offer to Michael, the reply was swift: 'No way,' he said. 'We have a love that's pure and eternally innocent. I'm not gonna ruin it by paying that man money. No way in h.e.l.l.'

On 13 August, Anthony offered Evan a counter-offer, with Michael's approval: three film scripts over a three-year-period, each valued at $350,000, in a million-dollar-plus deal that would have attached to it the promise that a major studio would review any script Evan and Jordie may write as a follow up to their Mel Brooks movie. Not only did it sound speculative to Evan and Barry Rothman, it was also a small amount of money considering their original multimillion-dollar demand. 'You guys aren't even in the ball park,' Evan told Anthony. 'Pa.s.s.' Then, oddly, Evan asked Anthony if Jordie could take possession of the computer Michael had purchased for him, and which he had set up at his Los Angeles hide-out. Anthony couldn't believe Evan's gall. Michael had never bought that computer for Jordie, he answered quickly (though it seems doubtful Anthony even knew what Evan was talking about) and Jordie. would never see it again, 'so forget about it.' Evan stormed out of the office.

The next day, Barry Rothman proposed a counter-offer to Anthony Pellicano: a deal for three screenplays that would amount to about fifteen million dollars. Through Anthony, Michael declined the counter-offer. Then, inexplicably, Anthony came back with another offer so low he didn't even expect Evan to take it: $350,000 for one one film deal, to be paid directly out of Michael's pocket. He had gone from an offer of three movies down to one... not the best of negotiating tactics, one might argue. Of course, Evan turned it down. He now felt that the discussions were being conducted in bad faith, and that there was little point in continuing them. film deal, to be paid directly out of Michael's pocket. He had gone from an offer of three movies down to one... not the best of negotiating tactics, one might argue. Of course, Evan turned it down. He now felt that the discussions were being conducted in bad faith, and that there was little point in continuing them.

With all battles now seemingly lost, the war was about to begin.

Jordie Sees a Psychiatrist.

On 16 August 1993, after negotiations broke down between Evan Chandler and Anthony Pellicano, Michael Freeman (June's attorney) alerted everyone that he was going to pet.i.tion the court to demand that Evan return Jordie to his mother. June didn't know what to make of the discussions between Evan and Anthony Pellicano. If Evan was certain Michael Jackson had molested Jordie, why was he trying to extract twenty million dollars from him instead of reporting him to the proper authorities? She began to question Evan's motives; she wanted her son back. A court date was then set to determine who would have custody of Jordie.

However, Evan did not want to return Jordie to June, no matter how a judge might rule. He felt sure that she would simply hand him right over to Michael Jackson. They would live happily ever after at Neverland, he feared, and he would never see his son again.

Not knowing what course of action to take, and feeling pressured to do something, Evan made an appointment for Jordie with Dr Mathis Abrams, the psychiatrist who provided the letter in which he speculated that, based on the hypothetical case proposed by the attorney, s.e.xual abuse had occurred. He told the doctor that the case wasn't imaginary, after all, and that it actually involved his own son and Michael Jackson. Evan realized that once Abrams met with Jordie, the real drama would most certainly begin. After all, the doctor would be required to file a report with the authorities, which would be the end of any confidentiality where the matter of Jordie and Michael was concerned. However, as he later would tell it, Evan felt pressured to protect his son, and if it meant sacrificing Michael Jackson then that was a small price to pay, especially since negotiations with him had ended so badly.

At the hearing, on 17 August 1993, Evan's attorney agreed that Jordie would be returned to June by seven o'clock that night. In fact he was stalling for time he had no intention of returning Jordie to his ex-wife. At the very hour of the hearing, Jordie was meeting with the psychiatrist.

During a gruelling, three-hour session with the doctor, Jordie told of many incidents of masturbation and oral s.e.x with Michael Jackson. In fact, he claimed, he and Michael had been having s.e.x for months.

Just as expected, the psychiatrist reported everything Jordie said direcdy to the Department of Children's Services. Within hours, the youngster was interviewed by a caseworker with the Los Angeles County Department of Children's Services and an officer with the Los Angeles Police Department.

The caseworker's eleven-page, hand-written report began with a description of how Evan and Michael met, when Michael's car broke down. Jordie said that he and Michael became friends and that Michael would telephone him almost every day for 'long conversations about video games'. The conversations continued, he said, even when Michael was on tour. In February (1993) and in succeeding weeks, Michael began seeing more of him and his mother, June. He bought toys for Jordie and took him, June and his half-sister, Lily, to Las Vegas. There, Jordie recalled, they watched The Exorcist The Exorcist. The film frightened Jordie, he said, and that night he slept in the same bed as Michael a pattern, he said, that was repeated several times, including during visits to Neverland. During those initial encounters, however, s.e.xual abuse was not alleged. According to the report, at first Michael would merely 'cuddle and kiss him [Jordie] on the cheek'. However, on one occasion at the ranch while June slept in guest quarters and Michael and Jordie shared the same bed, the pop singer began to 'rub up against me'.

'Over time,' claimed Jordie in the report, 'Michael graduated to kissing me on the mouth. One time, he was kissing me and he put his tongue in my mouth. I said, "Don't do that". He started crying. I guess he tried to make me feel guilty.' The report then alleged that Michael told the boy their relations.h.i.+p was 'meant to be' and was 'in the cosmos'.

According to the report, Michael's relations.h.i.+p with Jordie became s.e.xual when he took the family to Monaco, and then continued to be s.e.xual from that time, onward. The details Jordie provided were graphic.

Jordie also claimed that Michael had threatened that if he ever told anyone what had transpired between them, they would both be in trouble and he [Jordan] would be sent to Juvenile Hall, a young offenders' inst.i.tution. 'Minor also said Mr Jackson told him about other boys he had done this with,' wrote the investigator, 'but did not go as far with them. Minor said Mr Jackson tried to make him hate his mother and father, so that he could only go with Mr Jackson.' The report ended with Jordie's wish to remain in his father's custody, and his belief that his mother liked the 'glitzy life' that surrounded Michael.

Later, when Jordie was interviewed by the police department, he relayed the same anecdotes of s.e.xual encounters and also gave officers what he said was a detailed description of Michael's genitalia.

With such stunning disclosures of a s.e.xual nature involving a star as world-famous, as controversial and as seemingly androgynous as Michael Jackson, there was no way the story would not emerge with some of the most sensational headlines in show-business history... It was just a matter of time.