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At 12:05 today, Michael Jackson
was taken into custody.

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NARRATOR: And so it began -

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the most divisive
and controversial trial in history.

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CHANTING: Pervert, pervert, pervert!

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In the dock, a global megastar.

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The most famous entertainer
the world had ever known.

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His accusers,

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young men who claim to have seen
a very private side to him.

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Michael Jackson was allegedly
sleeping in bed with little boys.

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It turned into a courtroom drama
like no other...

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He had to go after these two boys
with some ferocity.

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..full of star witnesses...

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Jay Leno came in,
Macaulay Culkin, of course.

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We were expecting
Diana Ross and Liz Taylor.

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..shocking revelations...

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He put his hand in my pants.

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..plot twists...

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When she actually gave evidence,

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she did the reverse
and supported the defence.

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She really did kind of this 180.

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..and disappearing acts.

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We all settle into court,
and then there's no Michael Jackson.

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With access to people
who were really there...

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I remember thinking, "Here he comes,
and he's wearing pyjamas."

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..who witnessed
every dramatic twist and turn...

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Judge Melville was very upset.

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Do you want me to shut
this trial down this afternoon?

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..this is the whole truth...

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He looked terrified,
just like he was scared to death.

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..of a trial
that shocked the world...

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That seems to be game, set, match.
Trial's over. You're guilty.

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..and changed many lives forever.

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It was an absolutely extraordinary
moment in criminal history.

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November 2003.

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The world's most famous man,
singer Michael Jackson, is arrested

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and charged with sexually abusing
a 13-year-old boy, Gavin Arvizo,

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at his home, the Neverland Ranch.

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Michael Jackson has now surrendered
into police custody behind me,

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a crushing humiliation for one
of the world's great entertainers,

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right now being read those charges
of child molestation.

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The prosecution's intent

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was to show that Jackson
was a serial paedophile.

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However, Jackson's defence

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claim he's being falsely accused
by a family after his money.

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REPORTER: Speaking to journalists
this morning,

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Michael Jackson's lawyer said
the pop star is denying all charges.

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A trial in California will decide
who is right and who is wrong.

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This morning, the whole world
is watching this small courthouse

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in Santa Maria, a town
in the county of Santa Barbara,

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in anticipation of what might be

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the biggest trial
we will ever witness.

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Michael Jackson was,
at that time, quite simply,

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the biggest entertainer,

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the most famous entertainer
the world had ever known.

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And we were there for, what,

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four long, long months,
covering this extraordinary trial.

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It was a very exciting case
to cover,

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in the sense of just the sheer
magnitude of the defendant.

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I mean, we were talking
about a massive major megastar

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that the world loved.

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STACY BROWN: And the fans -

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it was like a concert,
cos the fans were going crazy.

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Look, this is court.

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This is a felony charge
that can get him 20 years in prison.

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But you felt, that first day,
it felt like a concert.

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We're talking about tents
and lights and cameras

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and fans and protesters
and reporters.

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I mean, it truly built
into a media circus.

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We love you more!

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This was an extraordinary tableau
of ridiculousness.

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These Michael Jackson fans
moonwalking outside the court,

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impersonating Michael Jackson.

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SINGING: # We shall overcome... #

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People from all over the world
who come to this tiny town.

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And for four months, it was bedlam.

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With the prosecution set
to open its case,

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defendant Michael Jackson
makes his grand arrival.

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I remember the first day, because
he had gotten The Nation of Islam

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and their security team, and
they marched in ahead of Michael.

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They marched down the street
as Michael's motorcade was coming.

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It was such a powerful sight.

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FANS SCREAMING

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The first time I saw Michael Jackson
walk into the courtroom,

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he looked terrified,

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and he was so thin
and just looked fragile

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and just like
he was scared to death.

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Leading the prosecution
against Jackson is Tom Sneddon,

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who'd had dealings
with the pop star in the past.

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The lead prosecutor was the district
attorney for Santa Barbara,

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who was a very experienced
criminal prosecutor.

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NICK MADIGAN: Tom Sneddon
was a very well-known prosecutor,

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a very serious guy.

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He had been pursuing Michael Jackson
for years, at least a decade.

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12 years earlier,

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the world was stunned
when Jackson faced allegations

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of abusing another 13-year-old boy,
Jordan Chandler.

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Back then, Sneddon was unable
to criminally charge Jackson.

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He tried it once before,
back in the early '90s.

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That prosecution had failed.

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And you could really feel
from Tom Sneddon

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the importance
of what this case brought.

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Jackson is represented in court

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by highly regarded defence attorney
Thomas Mesereau.

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STACY BROWN: Tom Mesereau was one
of the top defence attorneys

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in America, hands down.

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He did Mike Tyson, and later on,
he would come to do Bill Cosby.

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And he was a great attorney,
as simple as that.

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Thomas Mesereau had a very
commanding presence in the courtroom

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and not only commanding presence,
but a calm about him, as well.

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He was tall, and then his hair
was just solid snow white.

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And he really knew
what he was talking about.

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Mesereau and his team
have their work cut out

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defending Jackson against
ten very serious charges.

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The prosecution's strategy
is to show

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that Michael Jackson was sleeping
in bed with little boys,

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and that what he was doing was
illegal, that it was a felony,

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and they wanted him convicted.

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THOMAS SNEDDON: Good morning.

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The private world of Michael Jackson
reveals that instead of cookies

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and instead of milk,

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you can substitute wine, vodka
and bourbon

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instead of children's
books and discussions of Peter Pan.

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This 44-year-old man is sharing
with 13-year-old Gavin

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his collection
of sexually explicit magazines.

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You are going to be able to peek

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into the private world
of the defendant,

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and you are going to hear from Gavin

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as he describes to you
his molestation.

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I sensed a bit of a kind

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of a frustration or an anger,
you know,

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like he really...
he really was serious about this.

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NICK MADIGAN: In court,
Jackson hardly said anything.

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He occasionally spoke
to his lawyers,

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but for most of the time,
he just sat there

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and had no expression
on his face at all.

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I submit to you, we will prove
it never, ever happened.

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So many people around the world
want to get near him.

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People are always just buzzing
around him,

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trying to grab hold of something

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that will give them
fame and fortune.

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It's an ongoing reality.
It's an ongoing problem.

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There are many, many challenges
in defending

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in a case of that nature

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that, when a young person
makes an allegation of sexual abuse,

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the big question is

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why would the individual do that
unless it was true?

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And obviously,
there's a lot of sympathy

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that goes with an allegation
like that.

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I think there was a feeling

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that Michael Jackson
was gonna be found guilty.

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CROWD CHANTING: Michael's innocent!
Michael's innocent!

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REPORTER: Michael Jackson arriving
for the second day of his trial,

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charged with the molestation of
former cancer victim Gavin Arvizo.

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Today, the first
prosecution witnesses

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will begin giving evidence.

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NARRATOR: The first witness
called by the prosecution

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is British journalist Martin Bashir.

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Three years earlier,
Bashir spent eight months

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filming a documentary called
Living With Michael Jackson.

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JACKSON: And using your heel.
Use your heel to slide back.

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Slide back on your heel.

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Initially, the star was excited
about the film.

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Michael calls, and he says,
"I have this huge thing coming out.

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"It's gonna change the world.

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"It's gonna change
everybody's perception of me.

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"It's gonna be great."

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During filming, Bashir noticed
Jackson spending time

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with the 12-year-old
called Gavin Arvizo,

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and he interviewed them together.

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BASHIR: When people hear
that children stayed in your bedroom

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and they say,
"Is that really appropriate

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"for a man, a grown man,
to be doing that?",

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how do you respond to that?

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I feel sorry for them,

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because that's judging someone
who wants to really help people.

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Why can't you share your bed?

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The most loving thing to do
is to share your bed with someone.

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It proved to be catastrophic
for the singer.

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Documentary drops on ABC
in February,

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and it was a disaster
from the word go.

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Jackson is seen in that documentary
holding hands with Gavin Arvizo.

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He also talked about sleepovers
with young children.

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The little boy was leaning
on Michael's shoulder.

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There was clearly affection there.

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A little too close for comfort.

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And that was what clearly proved
so inflammatory.

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The effect of that documentary
was extraordinary.

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Gavin Arvizo
had been battling cancer

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when he was introduced
to Michael Jackson in hospital.

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The star invited his family
to Neverland,

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and they became friends.

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After the jury is shown
his documentary,

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the prosecution questioned Bashir.

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The prosecution needed to call him
in order to exhibit the documentary

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that had been the trigger
for the whole investigation.

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Mr Bashir, what is
your profession or occupation?

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I've been involved
in journalism for 20 years,

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and I've been a television
journalist for around 18 years.

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Martin Bashir is happy to answer
questions from the prosecution,

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but in cross-examination,
he's less forthcoming.

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What I think Thomas Mesereau
desperately wanted to get into

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was the tactics
that Martin Bashir employed

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in order to get people
to open up to him -

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the fact that he would insinuate
himself into people's trust

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and then basically turn on them.

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Mr Bashir,

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in the process of attempting to
obtain statements from Mr Jackson,

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you called him "the boss",
didn't you?

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Did you want to answer that?
I don't, Your Honour.

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Mr Bashir clammed up
and refused to answer questions

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from Jackson's defence attorney,
Thomas Mesereau.

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Mr Bashir, to prepare,

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the show you've just shown the jury
in this courtroom,

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you told them you had
an abiding sense

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that he is a selfless
and most generous person.

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Correct?

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Do you wanna answer that question?
I don't, Your Honour.

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He relied almost entirely on
the right of journalistic privilege

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in declining to answer questions.

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Thomas Mesereau and, indeed,
his client, Michael Jackson,

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clearly believed
that the film fatally misrepresented

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who Michael Jackson was.

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VINCENT AMEN: Michael was very upset
by the way he was portrayed.

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He felt this wasn't
a true depiction of him.

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So he had one of his videographers
film over what Bashir was filming

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when he was filming the interview.

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Two weeks
after the Bashir film aired,

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Jackson broadcast his own version
in retaliation.

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It features footage his team filmed
of scenes Bashir edited out.

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I love them.

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Thank you so much.

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The boy with Jackson
in the Bashir documentary,

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Gavin Arvizo,
was also filmed with his family.

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Vincent Amen was involved
in the production.

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I was told that the Arvizos
were gonna

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be doing a video deposition
of their relationship -

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true relationship -
with Michael Jackson.

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We now know it
as the video rebuttal,

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as it was called during trial.

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In this rebuttal video,
you have Gavin

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and his sister, Davellin
and mom, Janet, and Star,

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and everybody is talking
about singing his praises,

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literally talking about
how great he is and how, you know,

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none of this
could have ever happened

245
00:14:06,080 --> 00:14:07,120
and they loved him.

246
00:14:07,160 --> 00:14:10,560
The first impression was
Janet was not happy at the time.

247
00:14:10,600 --> 00:14:13,840
She felt bad for Michael.

248
00:14:13,880 --> 00:14:16,120
And this was a mischaracterisation
of Michael

249
00:14:16,160 --> 00:14:20,440
and a mischaracterisation of
Gavin's relationship with Michael.

250
00:14:20,480 --> 00:14:24,400
I gave my brother the extra
little spark he needed in his mind,

251
00:14:24,440 --> 00:14:29,200
cos my brother was to the point
where he couldn't even move.

252
00:14:29,240 --> 00:14:31,480
He couldn't even... talk.

253
00:14:34,280 --> 00:14:36,760
And he gave
my little brother so much.

254
00:14:37,920 --> 00:14:39,080
I was generally moved.

255
00:14:39,120 --> 00:14:42,600
I felt this was
an ethical production,

256
00:14:42,640 --> 00:14:46,040
a very truthful production.

257
00:14:46,080 --> 00:14:51,200
And it actually moved me
to believe the Arvizo family

258
00:14:51,240 --> 00:14:53,720
and their relationship
to Michael Jackson

259
00:14:53,760 --> 00:14:56,320
and basically cleared up
any doubt that I had

260
00:14:56,360 --> 00:14:58,320
in Michael Jackson's innocence.

261
00:14:58,360 --> 00:15:02,280
The rebuttal video seems like
perfect evidence for the defence.

262
00:15:02,320 --> 00:15:04,880
However,
in a surprise turn of events,

263
00:15:04,920 --> 00:15:09,080
the interview is presented
in court by the prosecution.

264
00:15:11,000 --> 00:15:14,960
LAURA INGLE: In reality, according
to prosecutors, this was fiction.

265
00:15:15,000 --> 00:15:17,880
It wasn't reality.
They were told they had to do it.

266
00:15:17,920 --> 00:15:20,960
They needed to do it.
They'd been given so much.

267
00:15:21,000 --> 00:15:23,920
Michael Jackson, according
to other accusers, would say,

268
00:15:23,960 --> 00:15:28,880
"If you tell what we have done,
we're both going to jail.

269
00:15:28,920 --> 00:15:30,480
"We're going to be in trouble."

270
00:15:32,000 --> 00:15:35,600
Before long, Gavin's mum
dramatically turned on Jackson,

271
00:15:35,640 --> 00:15:39,800
alleging sexual abuse of her son,
and even kidnap.

272
00:15:39,840 --> 00:15:41,200
Following her complaint,

273
00:15:41,240 --> 00:15:46,400
70 police officers raid Neverland
in search of incriminating evidence

274
00:15:46,440 --> 00:15:49,720
and, a short time later,
Jackson was arrested.

275
00:15:52,800 --> 00:15:57,960
Gavin's 18-year-old sister Davellin,
who appears in the rebuttal video,

276
00:15:58,000 --> 00:16:01,240
is the first family member
called by the prosecution.

277
00:16:01,280 --> 00:16:05,000
Davellin, the sister,
said in her evidence

278
00:16:05,040 --> 00:16:07,800
that they had been given a script.

279
00:16:07,840 --> 00:16:09,680
Sneddon asked her...

280
00:16:09,720 --> 00:16:11,680
What did he say about the rebuttal?

281
00:16:11,720 --> 00:16:14,560
It was just we were supposed
to say nice things about him,

282
00:16:14,600 --> 00:16:18,080
and he offered us a piece of paper.

283
00:16:18,120 --> 00:16:20,960
Paper? What do you mean by a paper?

284
00:16:21,000 --> 00:16:24,440
Kind of like a script.
Do you remember what was on it?

285
00:16:24,480 --> 00:16:27,440
Just nice things of Mr Jackson,
and that's it.

286
00:16:27,480 --> 00:16:29,200
The effect of her testimony

287
00:16:29,240 --> 00:16:35,640
was that the rebuttal video
was pre-scripted

288
00:16:35,680 --> 00:16:41,640
in order to paint the most positive
light you could have of Michael.

289
00:16:41,680 --> 00:16:46,400
Davellin did not witness the central
accusation of alleged molestation.

290
00:16:46,440 --> 00:16:50,680
But in her testimony, other
disturbing behaviour comes to light.

291
00:16:50,720 --> 00:16:56,640
On the stand, Davellin,
the older sister, mentioned,

292
00:16:56,680 --> 00:17:01,400
among other things, that she and her
siblings had been served alcohol.

293
00:17:02,680 --> 00:17:04,600
You've got the idea
of Michael Jackson

294
00:17:04,640 --> 00:17:07,400
pouring red wine into a soda can

295
00:17:07,440 --> 00:17:10,680
and then giving it to a child
and calling it Jesus juice,

296
00:17:10,720 --> 00:17:14,440
like Jesus drank the red wine
with his disciples.

297
00:17:14,480 --> 00:17:18,440
This megastar is taking red wine and
pouring it into an empty coke can

298
00:17:18,480 --> 00:17:20,320
to give to a kid.

299
00:17:20,360 --> 00:17:21,720
That's what is being told to us,

300
00:17:21,760 --> 00:17:24,080
and so you have
to visualise that happening.

301
00:17:24,120 --> 00:17:28,640
And at first it seems like
"No way! Did that happen?"

302
00:17:28,680 --> 00:17:32,480
STACY BROWN: It seems
to kind of stun some people.

303
00:17:32,520 --> 00:17:38,160
What I saw, anyway, is a couple
of the jurors looking at him

304
00:17:38,200 --> 00:17:41,640
like a little bit,
"OK, I'm disappointed in you.

305
00:17:41,680 --> 00:17:43,200
"I'm a little angry."

306
00:17:43,240 --> 00:17:44,760
And I think the prosecution felt

307
00:17:44,800 --> 00:17:46,680
like they won
some big points with that.

308
00:17:46,720 --> 00:17:50,640
Yet alcohol is only the tip
of the iceberg.

309
00:17:53,360 --> 00:17:57,000
Next, the prosecution calls
Gavin's younger brother, Star,

310
00:17:57,040 --> 00:17:59,640
who has even more
disturbing revelations

311
00:17:59,680 --> 00:18:02,640
of what went on behind closed doors.

312
00:18:02,680 --> 00:18:06,440
We heard about pornography,
that pornography was in the house,

313
00:18:06,480 --> 00:18:09,400
that it was out, that it was shared,
that it was viewed,

314
00:18:09,440 --> 00:18:13,120
that, you know, it was something
that they all looked at together.

315
00:18:13,160 --> 00:18:17,640
"Do you recall whose idea it was
to go on the internet?"

316
00:18:17,680 --> 00:18:18,880
"Michael's.

317
00:18:18,920 --> 00:18:20,920
"While we were on
one of those sites,

318
00:18:20,960 --> 00:18:25,480
"a lady had her shirt up,
and Michael said, 'Got milk?'

319
00:18:25,520 --> 00:18:27,640
"Yeah, and then
he leaned over to Prince,

320
00:18:27,680 --> 00:18:32,360
"and he says,
'You're missing some P-U-S-S-Y.' "

321
00:18:32,400 --> 00:18:36,200
How many sites do you feel
that you went to that night?

322
00:18:36,240 --> 00:18:41,680
I don't really remember,
but probably, say, five or six.

323
00:18:41,720 --> 00:18:43,840
And what did those sites have?

324
00:18:43,880 --> 00:18:46,240
You don't need to go
into all of the details,

325
00:18:46,280 --> 00:18:49,760
but generally,
what was their common denominator?

326
00:18:49,800 --> 00:18:51,640
Females.

327
00:18:51,680 --> 00:18:55,120
The alcohol and the pornography
is important evidence

328
00:18:55,160 --> 00:18:56,360
for the prosecution.

329
00:18:56,400 --> 00:19:00,240
But Star has something
much more serious to reveal.

330
00:19:00,280 --> 00:19:04,080
And it's the first time
this evidence is heard.

331
00:19:04,120 --> 00:19:09,240
The bombshell moment
of Star Arvizo's evidence

332
00:19:09,280 --> 00:19:13,960
came when he claimed
to have seen his brother Gavin

333
00:19:14,000 --> 00:19:18,680
on a bed at Neverland Ranch
with Michael Jackson.

334
00:19:18,720 --> 00:19:23,240
I think the gist of it
was that Star observed

335
00:19:23,280 --> 00:19:28,560
Michael Jackson sexually abusing
his brother Gavin.

336
00:19:28,600 --> 00:19:31,960
You said you saw his hands.

337
00:19:32,000 --> 00:19:34,120
Whose hands were you talking about?

338
00:19:34,160 --> 00:19:37,840
Michael's.
And where were his hands?

339
00:19:37,880 --> 00:19:41,000
His left hand
was in my brother's pants,

340
00:19:41,040 --> 00:19:43,560
and the right hand was in HIS pants.

341
00:19:45,120 --> 00:19:49,720
Did you see, if anything,
what he was doing?

342
00:19:49,760 --> 00:19:52,160
He was masturbating.

343
00:19:54,160 --> 00:19:57,800
That was the first and, indeed,

344
00:19:57,840 --> 00:20:01,600
the only direct eye witness account

345
00:20:01,640 --> 00:20:04,280
of alleged molestation.

346
00:20:04,320 --> 00:20:05,760
And what does that tell you?

347
00:20:05,800 --> 00:20:08,760
This is a kid looking at something
happening to his own brother.

348
00:20:10,680 --> 00:20:11,760
SIGHS

349
00:20:12,840 --> 00:20:14,320
Seems clear to me.

350
00:20:14,360 --> 00:20:19,360
He witnessed his brother being,
I guess, molested by Michael.

351
00:20:19,400 --> 00:20:23,320
And when you have a eyewitness,

352
00:20:23,360 --> 00:20:27,280
that seems to be game, set, match -
trial's over, you're guilty.

353
00:20:27,320 --> 00:20:30,400
It's amazing to me that the jury,
having heard that...

354
00:20:31,520 --> 00:20:35,040
..did not, at least in their minds,
convict him right then and there.

355
00:20:36,120 --> 00:20:38,080
I mean,
how much more evidence do you need?

356
00:20:39,920 --> 00:20:43,520
Star's testimony
is undeniably powerful.

357
00:20:43,560 --> 00:20:46,040
However, the defence strategy
from the start

358
00:20:46,080 --> 00:20:49,160
is to undermine the prosecution case
and its witnesses.

359
00:20:52,800 --> 00:20:55,560
You didn't immediately go
to your mother and report that,

360
00:20:55,600 --> 00:20:57,120
did you, when you saw it?

361
00:20:57,160 --> 00:20:58,600
No.

362
00:20:58,640 --> 00:21:01,520
You didn't immediately go to
your father and report that, right?

363
00:21:01,560 --> 00:21:03,120
My dad wasn't there.

364
00:21:03,160 --> 00:21:06,040
You didn't immediately
tell Davellin about it, right?

365
00:21:06,080 --> 00:21:07,600
No.

366
00:21:07,640 --> 00:21:10,600
Now you've indicated -
for the first time ever -

367
00:21:10,640 --> 00:21:14,600
discussed any alleged inappropriate
touching by Michael Jackson

368
00:21:14,640 --> 00:21:17,600
was with psychologist Stanley Katz,
right?

369
00:21:17,640 --> 00:21:19,640
Yes.

370
00:21:19,680 --> 00:21:23,360
And you've admitted that you gave
Stanley Katz a different description

371
00:21:23,400 --> 00:21:25,880
than you've given
in this courtroom, right?

372
00:21:25,920 --> 00:21:27,040
Yes.

373
00:21:28,080 --> 00:21:30,480
In fact, you never mentioned
the third event

374
00:21:30,520 --> 00:21:33,360
that you've described today
to Stanley Katz.

375
00:21:33,400 --> 00:21:35,440
Because I might have forgot
about it.

376
00:21:38,320 --> 00:21:39,480
What Mesereau did with Star

377
00:21:39,520 --> 00:21:43,360
was he tried to point out
inconsistencies in his stories.

378
00:21:43,400 --> 00:21:46,440
And so, the more that you
can paint an inconsistent story

379
00:21:46,480 --> 00:21:50,600
from a witness, then that gives
reasonable doubt for jurors.

380
00:21:50,640 --> 00:21:53,480
And that's what
the defence is always trying to do

381
00:21:53,520 --> 00:21:56,480
to get to that reasonable doubt.

382
00:21:56,520 --> 00:21:57,960
In the rebuttal video,

383
00:21:58,000 --> 00:22:00,480
which the family claim
was scripted and false,

384
00:22:00,520 --> 00:22:04,120
Star praised Jackson
as a father figure.

385
00:22:04,160 --> 00:22:06,520
Defence counsel
asked the following -

386
00:22:06,560 --> 00:22:10,040
"Star, do you remember making those
comments about Michael Jackson?"

387
00:22:10,080 --> 00:22:12,600
Sure.
Were you telling the truth?

388
00:22:16,280 --> 00:22:19,000
No, not really.

389
00:22:19,040 --> 00:22:22,080
Were you lying?
Yeah.

390
00:22:22,120 --> 00:22:24,000
On there, yes.

391
00:22:24,040 --> 00:22:29,720
So you were lying when you said
Michael let you feel like his son.

392
00:22:29,760 --> 00:22:33,320
You weren't telling the truth?
Yes.

393
00:22:33,360 --> 00:22:36,240
And when you said
he let you call him father,

394
00:22:36,280 --> 00:22:38,320
you weren't telling the truth?

395
00:22:38,360 --> 00:22:40,120
Yes.

396
00:22:40,160 --> 00:22:43,000
Defence counsel is demonstrating

397
00:22:43,040 --> 00:22:46,560
that Star had lied
on previous occasions.

398
00:22:46,600 --> 00:22:49,560
And that's a very, very
significant development.

399
00:22:49,600 --> 00:22:51,600
You've got the statements
in the rebuttal video,

400
00:22:51,640 --> 00:22:53,560
you've got what we're hearing
on the stand.

401
00:22:53,600 --> 00:22:55,720
Some of the time,
it's two different things.

402
00:22:55,760 --> 00:22:57,080
Which one was it?

403
00:22:57,120 --> 00:22:59,120
And some of these stories
are inconsistent.

404
00:22:59,160 --> 00:23:02,560
The defence strategy seems
to be working.

405
00:23:02,600 --> 00:23:05,680
However, next comes
their biggest challenge

406
00:23:05,720 --> 00:23:07,720
as the accuser
is called to testify...

407
00:23:07,760 --> 00:23:13,040
He started acting like he was having
sex with the mannequin.

408
00:23:13,080 --> 00:23:18,080
..not, though, before
the court is thrown into chaos.

409
00:23:18,120 --> 00:23:21,360
This was the circus,
and this was another day in it.

410
00:23:28,120 --> 00:23:31,360
REPORTER: It is the second week
of the Michael Jackson trial,

411
00:23:31,400 --> 00:23:34,600
and the prosecution has called
the main accuser, Gavin Arvizo,

412
00:23:34,640 --> 00:23:36,200
to give evidence.

413
00:23:36,240 --> 00:23:38,960
LAURA INGLE: This is
the star witness of the case.

414
00:23:39,000 --> 00:23:41,880
This is Gavin on the stand
to tell his story.

415
00:23:41,920 --> 00:23:45,240
This is the accuser
facing Michael Jackson.

416
00:23:45,280 --> 00:23:49,400
Tom Sneddon would have realised,
as an experienced prosecutor,

417
00:23:49,440 --> 00:23:53,040
this was the most important part
of his case.

418
00:23:53,080 --> 00:23:57,600
He had to present Gavin
as a credible witness to the jury,

419
00:23:57,640 --> 00:23:59,600
otherwise his case would fail.

420
00:24:00,760 --> 00:24:03,960
And when it's a child,
it's a particularly daunting

421
00:24:04,000 --> 00:24:08,440
and complicated and challenging
state of affairs.

422
00:24:13,200 --> 00:24:16,520
NARRATOR: However,
on the day Gavin, now 15,

423
00:24:16,560 --> 00:24:19,160
is due to talk
about the alleged abuse,

424
00:24:19,200 --> 00:24:21,520
the court is suddenly thrown
into chaos.

425
00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:25,720
We're talking
about high-stakes drama.

426
00:24:25,760 --> 00:24:28,960
This is the moment
that everybody is waiting for.

427
00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:30,360
What's gonna happen?

428
00:24:30,400 --> 00:24:35,680
And then you've got this entirely
different scenario that unfolds.

429
00:24:35,720 --> 00:24:40,040
We all settle into court,
and then there's no Michael Jackson.

430
00:24:40,080 --> 00:24:43,240
Where is the famous defendant?

431
00:24:43,280 --> 00:24:46,800
That's what the judge,
Judge Melville, wanted to know.

432
00:24:46,840 --> 00:24:53,000
And as the clock... clock ticked,
no sign of Jackson whatsoever.

433
00:24:53,040 --> 00:24:56,040
So Judge Melville was very upset.

434
00:24:56,080 --> 00:24:59,400
I notice
the defendant's not present.

435
00:24:59,440 --> 00:25:01,200
Yes, Your Honour.

436
00:25:01,240 --> 00:25:04,560
Mr Jackson is at Cottage Hospital
in Santa Ynez

437
00:25:04,600 --> 00:25:06,280
with a serious back problem.

438
00:25:06,320 --> 00:25:09,720
We are all standing out there.
I'm outside now, right?

439
00:25:09,760 --> 00:25:12,040
And, you know,
we were gonna go live.

440
00:25:12,080 --> 00:25:15,120
Breaking news -
Michael Jackson is gone.

441
00:25:15,160 --> 00:25:18,680
I mean, of all the days, this is
the day everybody wants to see.

442
00:25:18,720 --> 00:25:20,920
They want to see him
come through that door,

443
00:25:20,960 --> 00:25:24,360
take his seat inside the courtroom
and face his accuser.

444
00:25:24,400 --> 00:25:25,600
This is the moment.

445
00:25:25,640 --> 00:25:29,160
I'm going to issue a warrant
for his arrest.

446
00:25:29,200 --> 00:25:31,760
I'm forfeiting his bail,

447
00:25:31,800 --> 00:25:35,320
and I will hold that order
for one hour.

448
00:25:35,360 --> 00:25:38,840
In one hour,
I will execute that order.

449
00:25:38,880 --> 00:25:40,320
If your bail is revoked.

450
00:25:40,360 --> 00:25:44,000
you go behind bars
for the duration of the trial.

451
00:25:44,040 --> 00:25:47,040
And that was what he was facing
at the time.

452
00:25:47,080 --> 00:25:50,880
Mesereau is forced to make
a desperate call to his client

453
00:25:50,920 --> 00:25:53,400
and insist
Jackson returns immediately.

454
00:25:53,440 --> 00:25:56,400
When, an hour later,
the singer finally appears,

455
00:25:56,440 --> 00:25:59,360
no-one can quite believe their eyes.

456
00:25:59,400 --> 00:26:00,920
When he did turn up,

457
00:26:00,960 --> 00:26:06,360
Jackson walked into court
in his pyjama bottoms.

458
00:26:06,400 --> 00:26:10,280
See, I'm thinking,
"What in the world is going on here?

459
00:26:10,320 --> 00:26:15,280
"Is he crazy? Has he lost it?
Has he totally gone bonkers here?"

460
00:26:15,320 --> 00:26:20,520
And he's walking,
like, so slow and gingerly, and...

461
00:26:20,560 --> 00:26:24,640
and I'm saying, "OK, this is...
this is bad, this is really bad."

462
00:26:24,680 --> 00:26:27,360
It was just a crazy moment,
because it's not often

463
00:26:27,400 --> 00:26:30,760
that you see a defendant walking
into court wearing pyjamas.

464
00:26:30,800 --> 00:26:33,840
But listen, this was the circus,

465
00:26:33,880 --> 00:26:35,760
and this was another day in it.

466
00:26:38,000 --> 00:26:39,320
It was certainly speculated

467
00:26:39,360 --> 00:26:42,120
that the reason that he had to go
to the hospital suddenly

468
00:26:42,160 --> 00:26:45,920
for back pain was because
he didn't wanna face his accuser.

469
00:26:45,960 --> 00:26:47,320
That's what it felt like.

470
00:26:47,360 --> 00:26:51,360
Jackson now has to hear
the most serious allegations

471
00:26:51,400 --> 00:26:54,360
from his accuser in his pyjamas.

472
00:26:55,360 --> 00:26:57,080
Sneddon asked Gavin

473
00:26:57,120 --> 00:27:01,000
about a mannequin Jackson had
in his bedroom.

474
00:27:01,040 --> 00:27:05,720
Did you ever see Mr Jackson
do anything with that mannequin?

475
00:27:06,880 --> 00:27:08,040
Yes.

476
00:27:09,000 --> 00:27:14,280
He started acting like he was
having sex with the mannequin.

477
00:27:14,320 --> 00:27:17,920
So, what did he do
with the mannequin?

478
00:27:17,960 --> 00:27:20,000
He acted like he was humping it.

479
00:27:20,040 --> 00:27:22,960
And where was he
when he was doing this?

480
00:27:23,000 --> 00:27:24,440
On the bed.

481
00:27:25,840 --> 00:27:27,440
According to Gavin,

482
00:27:27,480 --> 00:27:31,400
the singer pressurised him
to engage in sexual activity.

483
00:27:31,440 --> 00:27:32,800
What did he say to you?

484
00:27:32,840 --> 00:27:36,200
He said that
if men don't masturbate,

485
00:27:36,240 --> 00:27:40,200
they might rape a girl
or be kind of unstable.

486
00:27:43,480 --> 00:27:46,480
The jury has already heard
about the alleged abuse

487
00:27:46,520 --> 00:27:48,040
from Gavin's younger brother, Star.

488
00:27:48,080 --> 00:27:51,520
Now it's time to hear it
from the accuser.

489
00:27:51,560 --> 00:27:53,160
This is the crucial evidence

490
00:27:53,200 --> 00:27:56,440
from the most important witness
in the case.

491
00:27:56,480 --> 00:27:58,920
This is Gavin on the stand.

492
00:27:58,960 --> 00:28:02,280
So, he says, "And then so he..."

493
00:28:02,320 --> 00:28:05,920
"We were under the covers,
and I had his pyjamas on,

494
00:28:05,960 --> 00:28:08,920
"because he had
this big thing of pyjamas,

495
00:28:08,960 --> 00:28:10,440
"and he gave me his pyjamas."

496
00:28:12,520 --> 00:28:15,520
And so I was under his covers,

497
00:28:15,560 --> 00:28:18,720
and that's when he put his hand
in my pants.

498
00:28:21,760 --> 00:28:23,680
And he started masturbating me.

499
00:28:27,640 --> 00:28:32,080
Do you know approximately

500
00:28:32,120 --> 00:28:37,000
how long Mr Jackson,
uh, masturbated you?

501
00:28:39,920 --> 00:28:42,640
Maybe five minutes, I guess.

502
00:28:46,040 --> 00:28:48,920
STACY BROWN: The onlookers,
the media in the courtroom...

503
00:28:50,640 --> 00:28:53,160
You saw some mouths open, literally.

504
00:28:53,200 --> 00:28:56,160
You know that expression?
"Oh, gosh, their mouths are open."

505
00:28:56,200 --> 00:28:58,960
Well, literally,
you saw mouths open

506
00:28:59,000 --> 00:29:02,040
with Gavin's, uh, testimony.

507
00:29:02,080 --> 00:29:04,400
I think Sneddon,
after that testimony,

508
00:29:04,440 --> 00:29:07,080
might have felt
that he had landed another punch.

509
00:29:07,120 --> 00:29:08,760
That is pretty strong stuff.

510
00:29:08,800 --> 00:29:10,200
And that was a moment, too,

511
00:29:10,240 --> 00:29:14,000
you thought, "OK,
Michael Jackson's in trouble here."

512
00:29:18,200 --> 00:29:19,600
From what I remember,

513
00:29:19,640 --> 00:29:23,800
Mesereau's cross-examination
of Gavin was very direct,

514
00:29:23,840 --> 00:29:28,080
very pointed and very sceptical.

515
00:29:28,120 --> 00:29:31,680
But that's his job.
He had to do that.

516
00:29:31,720 --> 00:29:34,840
In order to undermine
the credibility of the witness,

517
00:29:34,880 --> 00:29:37,320
he had to go after
not only that kid,

518
00:29:37,360 --> 00:29:41,720
but the other kids,
with some ferocity.

519
00:29:43,360 --> 00:29:47,760
You testified that Mr Jackson told
you what masturbation is, right?

520
00:29:48,800 --> 00:29:49,800
Yes.

521
00:29:49,840 --> 00:29:51,240
Do you remember being interviewed

522
00:29:51,280 --> 00:29:53,440
by the Santa Barbara
Sheriff's department?

523
00:29:53,480 --> 00:29:54,520
Yes.

524
00:29:55,600 --> 00:30:00,760
Remember you said, "My grandma
told me that if men don't do it,

525
00:30:00,800 --> 00:30:02,120
"men might get to a point

526
00:30:02,160 --> 00:30:04,400
"where they might go ahead
and rape a woman."

527
00:30:05,440 --> 00:30:06,880
I believe so.

528
00:30:06,920 --> 00:30:10,600
Well, you came into court under oath

529
00:30:10,640 --> 00:30:15,440
and told the jury
Mr Jackson made that quote to you.

530
00:30:17,000 --> 00:30:21,600
My grandmother and Michael
were both trying to talk to me

531
00:30:21,640 --> 00:30:25,360
about "the birds and the bees"
story.

532
00:30:25,400 --> 00:30:30,040
And they pretty much said
the identical thing.

533
00:30:30,080 --> 00:30:33,440
Is that what you're telling me?
Not exactly.

534
00:30:33,480 --> 00:30:36,400
Not exactly?
No.

535
00:30:36,440 --> 00:30:39,040
What Gavin said was
that Michael Jackson had said,

536
00:30:39,080 --> 00:30:42,480
"If you don't masturbate,
you'll end up raping a woman."

537
00:30:42,520 --> 00:30:44,040
But Gavin also said

538
00:30:44,080 --> 00:30:46,200
that his grandmother
had said the same thing,

539
00:30:46,240 --> 00:30:49,800
which is, on the face of it,
a very remarkable coincidence,

540
00:30:49,840 --> 00:30:52,640
and clearly,
the defence homed in on this

541
00:30:52,680 --> 00:30:56,880
to undermine the disputed claim
that Michael Jackson had said it.

542
00:30:56,920 --> 00:30:59,280
And this was, you know,

543
00:30:59,320 --> 00:31:02,800
an important aspect
of their strategy to say,

544
00:31:02,840 --> 00:31:05,160
"Of course he never said that,
and this is ridiculous,

545
00:31:05,200 --> 00:31:07,680
"because you're now saying
your grandmother said it as well."

546
00:31:07,720 --> 00:31:09,840
So they were trying
to illustrate and highlight

547
00:31:09,880 --> 00:31:12,280
that this
simply couldn't be believed.

548
00:31:12,320 --> 00:31:17,000
Mesereau focuses on inconsistencies
in Gavin's statement

549
00:31:17,040 --> 00:31:19,160
about whether
the alleged abuse occurred

550
00:31:19,200 --> 00:31:21,720
before or after the rebuttal video.

551
00:31:21,760 --> 00:31:23,800
You said repeatedly in this trial

552
00:31:23,840 --> 00:31:28,040
that Mr Jackson
did not inappropriately touch you

553
00:31:28,080 --> 00:31:31,080
until after this video was done,
correct?

554
00:31:31,120 --> 00:31:32,720
Yes.

555
00:31:32,760 --> 00:31:36,760
Do you remember telling Mr Sneddon
and the sheriffs on one occasion

556
00:31:36,800 --> 00:31:39,960
that you were molested
before the video was done?

557
00:31:40,000 --> 00:31:41,040
No.

558
00:31:42,440 --> 00:31:44,040
Would it refresh your recollection

559
00:31:44,080 --> 00:31:46,600
if I showed you a transcript
of that interview?

560
00:31:46,640 --> 00:31:47,680
Yes.

561
00:31:57,440 --> 00:31:58,920
But the thing was, I don't...

562
00:32:00,320 --> 00:32:01,480
Even to this day...

563
00:32:03,680 --> 00:32:08,320
..I don't remember exactly
when everything happened...

564
00:32:08,360 --> 00:32:10,760
exactly, so, I mean...

565
00:32:10,800 --> 00:32:14,640
So, then,
why does your story change?

566
00:32:14,680 --> 00:32:18,400
I don't know. It...
It happened after. I...

567
00:32:18,440 --> 00:32:19,440
I mean...

568
00:32:20,560 --> 00:32:22,280
By the end of the cross-examination,

569
00:32:22,320 --> 00:32:25,920
he'd clearly identified
a number of features of...

570
00:32:25,960 --> 00:32:29,280
of the complainant's evidence
that were unsatisfactory.

571
00:32:29,320 --> 00:32:31,280
And that was his ultimate goal.

572
00:32:31,320 --> 00:32:34,880
So he'd clearly achieved
what he set out to do

573
00:32:34,920 --> 00:32:38,200
by leaving the jury
asking serious questions

574
00:32:38,240 --> 00:32:40,960
about the reliability
of the main prosecution witness.

575
00:32:46,200 --> 00:32:47,960
Despite this success,

576
00:32:48,000 --> 00:32:50,600
defence attorney Mesereau
is not happy

577
00:32:50,640 --> 00:32:52,560
about the prosecution's next move.

578
00:32:58,280 --> 00:33:01,120
So, the next stage of the trial
revolved around the question

579
00:33:01,160 --> 00:33:05,880
of whether historic alleged abuse
should be admitted in evidence.

580
00:33:05,920 --> 00:33:08,440
And we all know
from covering Michael Jackson

581
00:33:08,480 --> 00:33:10,200
and following his story

582
00:33:10,240 --> 00:33:13,120
that there have been
many allegations of sexual abuse.

583
00:33:13,160 --> 00:33:15,720
And that's what the prosecutor,
Tom Sneddon, wants to bring in.

584
00:33:15,760 --> 00:33:18,760
He wants to present that
to the jurors

585
00:33:18,800 --> 00:33:20,360
to show that this isn't
just a one-off,

586
00:33:20,400 --> 00:33:22,280
this isn't just something
that happened once.

587
00:33:22,320 --> 00:33:24,600
If you can tell the jury
and paint this picture,

588
00:33:24,640 --> 00:33:27,880
this guy's been doing stuff
like this for decades,

589
00:33:27,920 --> 00:33:30,000
then it's easier
for that jury to believe

590
00:33:30,040 --> 00:33:32,400
that Gavin Arvizo was molested.

591
00:33:32,440 --> 00:33:35,000
Now, the defence tried
to exclude all that.

592
00:33:35,040 --> 00:33:37,800
Mesereau wanted it to be
simply about the Arvizos,

593
00:33:37,840 --> 00:33:40,040
and he had every right
to... to want that.

594
00:33:41,120 --> 00:33:45,720
The judge took the view that
the existence of other allegations

595
00:33:45,760 --> 00:33:48,160
was relevant
for the jury to consider,

596
00:33:48,200 --> 00:33:50,960
and that, in the end,
it will be up to the jury

597
00:33:51,000 --> 00:33:54,520
to decide the weight to be attached
to those allegations.

598
00:33:54,560 --> 00:33:59,120
This is a very important application
for the prosecution.

599
00:33:59,160 --> 00:34:00,560
At this point,

600
00:34:00,600 --> 00:34:03,480
the trial has not gone
particularly well for them.

601
00:34:03,520 --> 00:34:05,560
Every witness
has been demonstrated

602
00:34:05,600 --> 00:34:09,520
to be materially inconsistent
on important matters.

603
00:34:09,560 --> 00:34:13,480
The judge's ruling means
the next witness to take the stand

604
00:34:13,520 --> 00:34:17,520
will really turn the heat up
on Mesereau and his team.

605
00:34:19,920 --> 00:34:24,600
The first witness to testify
about previous abuse by Jackson

606
00:34:24,640 --> 00:34:26,200
was Jason Francia,

607
00:34:26,240 --> 00:34:31,120
whose mother had worked at Neverland
in the early '90s,

608
00:34:31,160 --> 00:34:36,360
when Jason was between
seven and ten years old,

609
00:34:36,400 --> 00:34:39,840
and he testified as to that abuse.

610
00:34:39,880 --> 00:34:43,160
Was there ever an occasion
that you were with Michael Jackson

611
00:34:43,200 --> 00:34:46,600
where something happened
that made you feel uncomfortable?

612
00:34:46,640 --> 00:34:47,680
Yes.

613
00:34:47,720 --> 00:34:49,920
Did that happen more than once?
Yeah.

614
00:34:51,560 --> 00:34:54,040
Do you have a recollection
of these events?

615
00:34:54,080 --> 00:34:56,120
Yeah.
What happened?

616
00:34:57,680 --> 00:35:02,120
I'm tickling, and he's tickling,
and I'm tickling, and he's tickling.

617
00:35:02,160 --> 00:35:05,560
And eventually, he moves down
to my little private region.

618
00:35:06,880 --> 00:35:11,000
Did he actually make contact
with your genital area?

619
00:35:11,040 --> 00:35:13,960
Not skin to skin, but yeah.

620
00:35:14,000 --> 00:35:16,400
Yeah, he was in my clothes.

621
00:35:16,440 --> 00:35:20,160
I thought his testimony
was damaging, to say the least,

622
00:35:20,200 --> 00:35:23,200
because now you have another victim.

623
00:35:24,920 --> 00:35:29,520
And people had not heard
of Jason Francia until the trial.

624
00:35:29,560 --> 00:35:33,720
It shows, doesn't it,
that this is perhaps part

625
00:35:33,760 --> 00:35:36,320
of a pattern of behaviour
on the part of Michael Jackson,

626
00:35:36,360 --> 00:35:37,800
that he has this propensity

627
00:35:37,840 --> 00:35:42,080
to ingratiate himself
into the lives of young people,

628
00:35:42,120 --> 00:35:45,600
to attract them
to his Neverland Ranch,

629
00:35:45,640 --> 00:35:50,440
with its carousel and its zoo
and all the other hullabaloo,

630
00:35:50,480 --> 00:35:53,680
and groom them and abuse them.

631
00:35:54,880 --> 00:35:57,560
The testimony
of someone other than Gavin

632
00:35:57,600 --> 00:36:00,760
who claims he was abused
is damaging for Jackson.

633
00:36:00,800 --> 00:36:03,840
However, Mesereau seizes upon the
one thing that unites many of those

634
00:36:03,880 --> 00:36:07,920
who'd made such allegations
against the singer.

635
00:36:07,960 --> 00:36:12,720
Tom Mesereau did a masterful job
of painting this picture

636
00:36:12,760 --> 00:36:15,840
that everybody who testified,
it was all about money.

637
00:36:15,880 --> 00:36:18,240
They either had already been paid,

638
00:36:18,280 --> 00:36:21,600
that they were gonna be paid.

639
00:36:21,640 --> 00:36:24,040
They were looking to make money
off of Michael Jackson.

640
00:36:24,080 --> 00:36:26,400
At some point,

641
00:36:26,440 --> 00:36:30,600
you and your mother settled a case
with Mr Jackson.

642
00:36:30,640 --> 00:36:32,000
Correct?

643
00:36:32,040 --> 00:36:35,200
There was a financial settlement.

644
00:36:37,720 --> 00:36:42,920
Jason Francia's family settled
for $2 million in 1993,

645
00:36:42,960 --> 00:36:46,240
and not long after this,
another alleged abuse victim,

646
00:36:46,280 --> 00:36:49,600
Jordan Chandler,
received over 20 million.

647
00:36:49,640 --> 00:36:52,840
To an extent, it was true.

648
00:36:52,880 --> 00:36:56,120
He's got all this money.
He's the biggest star in the world.

649
00:36:56,160 --> 00:36:58,280
What do they want? They want money.

650
00:36:58,320 --> 00:37:00,080
They want money.
Everybody wants his money.

651
00:37:00,120 --> 00:37:03,800
This is a story that is
a long, old one in Hollywood,

652
00:37:03,840 --> 00:37:07,360
that people go after celebrities,
say that they did something wrong,

653
00:37:07,400 --> 00:37:08,960
get a little something in return,

654
00:37:09,000 --> 00:37:11,640
whether that's fame themselves,
a shot at a try-out,

655
00:37:11,680 --> 00:37:14,960
an audition, a trip,
whatever the case may be.

656
00:37:15,000 --> 00:37:16,160
I mean, when you're talking

657
00:37:16,200 --> 00:37:19,040
about people
who had had previous allegations

658
00:37:19,080 --> 00:37:21,800
of sexual misconduct
with Michael Jackson

659
00:37:21,840 --> 00:37:26,360
and then you learn that they
received financial compensation,

660
00:37:26,400 --> 00:37:30,440
then that might make you want
to question who's telling the truth.

661
00:37:30,480 --> 00:37:32,800
Now, there was never any evidence

662
00:37:32,840 --> 00:37:35,840
that the Arvizos sought money
from Michael Jackson,

663
00:37:35,880 --> 00:37:40,320
and Janet
had... had swore under oath

664
00:37:40,360 --> 00:37:42,720
that she was...
had never sued Michael

665
00:37:42,760 --> 00:37:46,280
and would never sue him,
something that held up.

666
00:37:46,320 --> 00:37:50,400
Gavin's mum, Janet, might not
be seeking money from Jackson,

667
00:37:50,440 --> 00:37:52,800
but will she be able
to convince the jury

668
00:37:52,840 --> 00:37:55,320
that her motivations are sincere?

669
00:37:55,360 --> 00:38:01,360
Gavin's mother, Janet, was seen as a
crucial witness for the prosecution.

670
00:38:01,400 --> 00:38:06,160
As it turned out,
she came across as unreliable,

671
00:38:06,200 --> 00:38:08,080
almost from the beginning.

672
00:38:08,120 --> 00:38:11,280
Well, you're correct,
I did an inadequate job.

673
00:38:11,320 --> 00:38:13,520
I'm a poor actress. You're right.

674
00:38:13,560 --> 00:38:15,680
I think you're a good one.

675
00:38:23,320 --> 00:38:25,200
NARRATOR: Jackson's Neverland Ranch

676
00:38:25,240 --> 00:38:27,360
was the perfect place
to invite children,

677
00:38:27,400 --> 00:38:31,040
with a theme park, zoo
and never-ending candy.

678
00:38:31,080 --> 00:38:33,920
Today, the prosecution
calls witnesses

679
00:38:33,960 --> 00:38:36,840
to what went on behind its walls -

680
00:38:36,880 --> 00:38:39,280
the staff who worked there.

681
00:38:39,320 --> 00:38:43,240
Some of the most interesting
testimony at this trial, for me,

682
00:38:43,280 --> 00:38:45,880
was hearing from the people
that worked at Neverland,

683
00:38:45,920 --> 00:38:48,640
because you've got the direct people
that are, you know,

684
00:38:48,680 --> 00:38:50,280
the management team,
the security team,

685
00:38:50,320 --> 00:38:53,280
but the people that worked
inside the walls of Neverland

686
00:38:53,320 --> 00:38:55,520
are the people who saw everything.

687
00:38:56,640 --> 00:38:58,400
One of these members of staff

688
00:38:58,440 --> 00:39:01,800
is the former head of security,
Ralph Chacon.

689
00:39:01,840 --> 00:39:06,160
Now, during the time you were
employed at Neverland Ranch,

690
00:39:06,200 --> 00:39:12,280
did you personally observe anything
that you felt was inappropriate?

691
00:39:12,320 --> 00:39:13,640
Yes.

692
00:39:13,680 --> 00:39:15,640
Ralph Chacon, to me,

693
00:39:15,680 --> 00:39:17,480
not only seemed
to be a reliable witness,

694
00:39:17,520 --> 00:39:18,960
but a relatable one.

695
00:39:19,000 --> 00:39:22,280
Ralph Chacon had allegedly witnessed

696
00:39:22,320 --> 00:39:27,160
Jackson abusing 13-year-old
Jordan Chandler in 1993.

697
00:39:27,200 --> 00:39:31,640
I saw him standing in the nude.

698
00:39:31,680 --> 00:39:34,360
Jackson was caressing
the boy's hair,

699
00:39:34,400 --> 00:39:38,040
was kissing him on his head,
on his face...

700
00:39:38,080 --> 00:39:39,840
his lips.

701
00:39:42,200 --> 00:39:43,720
He started kissing him
on his nipples.

702
00:39:45,760 --> 00:39:47,360
He started to move down
to his penis.

703
00:39:50,120 --> 00:39:52,920
Once again in this trial, the jury

704
00:39:52,960 --> 00:39:56,640
is hearing some very damning
testimony about the singer.

705
00:39:56,680 --> 00:40:00,000
But in cross-examination,
Mesereau wants to find out

706
00:40:00,040 --> 00:40:04,400
if the witness has shared
this testimony with anyone else.

707
00:40:04,440 --> 00:40:08,800
Well... we went to a tabloid.

708
00:40:08,840 --> 00:40:10,560
Which one?

709
00:40:10,600 --> 00:40:12,680
It was The Star.

710
00:40:12,720 --> 00:40:14,760
The problem with Ralph Chacon
is, like, he...

711
00:40:14,800 --> 00:40:17,320
he had also talked
to tabloid media

712
00:40:17,360 --> 00:40:19,200
and got paid for his stories.

713
00:40:19,240 --> 00:40:22,640
And you wanted money for a story?

714
00:40:22,680 --> 00:40:24,440
Yes, sir.

715
00:40:26,120 --> 00:40:28,960
Did you sell a story to the tabloid?

716
00:40:30,640 --> 00:40:31,640
Yes, sir.

717
00:40:33,640 --> 00:40:38,000
This is another example
of how the defence find ways

718
00:40:38,040 --> 00:40:41,720
of undermining
the testimony of witnesses

719
00:40:41,760 --> 00:40:44,560
by attacking their own conduct.

720
00:40:44,600 --> 00:40:48,160
It all goes back
to Tom Mesereau's defence strategy,

721
00:40:48,200 --> 00:40:49,520
that everybody is out for money,

722
00:40:49,560 --> 00:40:53,960
everybody's out to make a buck off
of my poor client, Michael Jackson.

723
00:40:57,680 --> 00:41:01,440
The defence's success
at sowing doubt in the jurors' minds

724
00:41:01,480 --> 00:41:03,360
is an issue for the prosecution,

725
00:41:03,400 --> 00:41:07,680
so they hope their next witness
will be a potential game-changer.

726
00:41:07,720 --> 00:41:09,720
Gavin's mother, Janet,

727
00:41:09,760 --> 00:41:13,080
was seen as a crucial witness
for the prosecution

728
00:41:13,120 --> 00:41:15,800
because she was viewed as someone

729
00:41:15,840 --> 00:41:19,160
who could corroborate
what Gavin had said

730
00:41:19,200 --> 00:41:21,520
and what his siblings had said.

731
00:41:21,560 --> 00:41:24,760
Gavin's mother, Janet,
called to the stand.

732
00:41:24,800 --> 00:41:27,520
And this is a moment that a lot
of people have been waiting for.

733
00:41:27,560 --> 00:41:30,800
But no-one in the court
could anticipate

734
00:41:30,840 --> 00:41:33,960
exactly how Janet's testimony
would play out

735
00:41:34,000 --> 00:41:35,560
over the next few days.

736
00:41:37,280 --> 00:41:42,160
I found a sketch of Janet Arvizo
going like this,

737
00:41:42,200 --> 00:41:44,200
just being dramatic.

738
00:41:44,240 --> 00:41:46,760
By the time she got to the stand,

739
00:41:46,800 --> 00:41:52,200
Janet was a little bit
out of sorts, nervous,

740
00:41:52,240 --> 00:41:56,000
and found it hard
to answer direct questions.

741
00:42:02,560 --> 00:42:04,280
Tell us what it was that you saw.

742
00:42:08,320 --> 00:42:09,800
Please don't judge me.

743
00:42:11,840 --> 00:42:15,560
At the time,
I hadn't slept for so long.

744
00:42:16,760 --> 00:42:19,880
And everyone was asleep.

745
00:42:19,920 --> 00:42:21,760
And it was hours into the flight.

746
00:42:21,800 --> 00:42:24,160
She describes an incident

747
00:42:24,200 --> 00:42:27,560
involving Michael Jackson
and her son on board a private jet.

748
00:42:29,120 --> 00:42:31,360
I figured this was my chance

749
00:42:31,400 --> 00:42:35,840
to go and check to see
what was going on back there, and...

750
00:42:36,960 --> 00:42:41,400
..that's when I saw Michael licking
Gavin's head.

751
00:42:43,040 --> 00:42:44,520
And I... I thought it was me.

752
00:42:44,560 --> 00:42:46,640
I thought I was seeing things,
I thought it was me.

753
00:42:49,520 --> 00:42:51,400
That's the sketch I drew,

754
00:42:51,440 --> 00:42:55,680
was of Janet going... like that

755
00:42:55,720 --> 00:43:00,920
to show how Michael was licking
Gavin's head.

756
00:43:00,960 --> 00:43:03,320
People called her combative
at times,

757
00:43:03,360 --> 00:43:06,360
and there were some times
where she did these snap moves,

758
00:43:06,400 --> 00:43:10,200
where you were just taken aback
in the courtroom,

759
00:43:10,240 --> 00:43:12,160
and you could see
the physical reaction

760
00:43:12,200 --> 00:43:13,720
that some of the jurors had.

761
00:43:13,760 --> 00:43:16,520
You know, that's just not
typical behaviour of a witness.

762
00:43:16,560 --> 00:43:20,360
I don't think that people felt like
it went over well with the jury.

763
00:43:20,400 --> 00:43:24,960
She was very animated,
and it wasn't in a good way.

764
00:43:25,000 --> 00:43:26,360
It was astonishing, really.

765
00:43:26,400 --> 00:43:32,440
I mean, she just did not seem
a credible witness at all.

766
00:43:32,480 --> 00:43:35,200
She faltered. She prevaricated.

767
00:43:35,240 --> 00:43:38,200
She pointed her fingers at the jury.

768
00:43:38,240 --> 00:43:40,240
She lost her train of thought.

769
00:43:40,280 --> 00:43:44,400
She was the...
the ultimate unreliable witness.

770
00:43:44,440 --> 00:43:46,880
It was very sad,
cos, you know, she...

771
00:43:46,920 --> 00:43:49,600
that... that didn't look good
for her.

772
00:43:50,640 --> 00:43:53,640
By the time the prosecution
has finished questioning Janet,

773
00:43:53,680 --> 00:43:56,680
there is a feeling she has been
something of an own goal.

774
00:43:58,400 --> 00:44:02,440
So when Mesereau gets to his feet,
he smells blood.

775
00:44:07,240 --> 00:44:10,600
Mesereau's first point of attack
is Janet's claim

776
00:44:10,640 --> 00:44:13,640
that she and the children
were held captive at Neverland

777
00:44:13,680 --> 00:44:16,960
after their relationship
with Jackson broke down.

778
00:44:17,000 --> 00:44:20,320
Did you think you were being held
against your will by Mr Jackson

779
00:44:20,360 --> 00:44:22,320
or anyone associated with him?

780
00:44:22,360 --> 00:44:24,680
Did I think it?
Yes.

781
00:44:24,720 --> 00:44:26,640
I knew it.

782
00:44:26,680 --> 00:44:28,840
And did you think
you were the victim

783
00:44:28,880 --> 00:44:32,520
of either force or fear created by
anyone associated with Mr Jackson?

784
00:44:32,560 --> 00:44:33,920
I knew it.

785
00:44:33,960 --> 00:44:38,640
Yet you never went to court
to get a restraining order

786
00:44:38,680 --> 00:44:41,800
at any time
regarding Mr Jackson - true?

787
00:44:41,840 --> 00:44:43,400
I was too scared of him.

788
00:44:44,880 --> 00:44:48,840
The defence attorney is suggesting
Janet's testimony does not add up.

789
00:44:50,280 --> 00:44:52,600
Yes, the two of them
did not care for each other.

790
00:44:52,640 --> 00:44:53,800
CHUCKLES

791
00:44:53,840 --> 00:44:57,320
And, uh, yeah,
Thomas Mesereau and her,

792
00:44:57,360 --> 00:45:00,280
when it was on cross-examination,
she...

793
00:45:00,320 --> 00:45:03,280
she was not liking the questions
he was asking.

794
00:45:03,320 --> 00:45:07,480
I felt that she was no match
for Tom Mesereau -

795
00:45:07,520 --> 00:45:10,080
not that many people
are a match for Tom Mesereau -

796
00:45:10,120 --> 00:45:13,160
but she was absolutely gonna be
out of her league.

797
00:45:13,200 --> 00:45:17,000
And I think that the prosecution
was wary of that, too.

798
00:45:17,040 --> 00:45:19,880
Janet becomes more irritated

799
00:45:19,920 --> 00:45:22,520
when defence attorney Mesereau
turns his attention

800
00:45:22,560 --> 00:45:25,920
to her claims of acting
in the rebuttal video.

801
00:45:25,960 --> 00:45:29,040
Well, you're correct.
I did an inadequate job.

802
00:45:29,080 --> 00:45:31,480
I'm a poor actress. You're right.

803
00:45:31,520 --> 00:45:33,600
I think you're a good one.

804
00:45:33,640 --> 00:45:35,160
"Oh, I think you're a good actress."

805
00:45:35,200 --> 00:45:39,480
You know, when he takes that tone,
you can feel his disdain.

806
00:45:39,520 --> 00:45:41,720
You know, you can feel it
in the courtroom

807
00:45:41,760 --> 00:45:45,200
that he doesn't like her,
he doesn't believe her.

808
00:45:45,240 --> 00:45:49,560
And he wants the jury to also call
into question her credibility.

809
00:45:49,600 --> 00:45:51,960
This is Thomas Mesereau

810
00:45:52,000 --> 00:45:57,480
basically lampooning Janet Arvizo
to highlight

811
00:45:57,520 --> 00:46:03,080
what an extraordinarily bad witness
for the prosecution she has been.

812
00:46:03,120 --> 00:46:06,800
He's having a bit of humour,
really, for the jury's benefit.

813
00:46:06,840 --> 00:46:10,480
Do you want me to shut
this trial down this afternoon?

814
00:46:10,520 --> 00:46:12,520
No, Your Honour, I don't.

815
00:46:12,560 --> 00:46:16,320
Then let's start taking this
seriously and act correctly.

816
00:46:16,360 --> 00:46:18,000
Yes, Your Honour.

817
00:46:18,040 --> 00:46:19,240
Go ahead.

818
00:46:20,440 --> 00:46:25,360
Mesereau might be toying with Janet
at times in his cross-examination,

819
00:46:25,400 --> 00:46:28,080
but he also wants to land
a knockout punch.

820
00:46:29,520 --> 00:46:32,160
There was a case in 1998
where Janet Arvizo

821
00:46:32,200 --> 00:46:36,160
claimed she'd been assaulted
by security officers from JCPenney,

822
00:46:36,200 --> 00:46:39,800
the store, where she was shown
to have lied,

823
00:46:39,840 --> 00:46:44,400
and where her and her family
had been awarded,

824
00:46:44,440 --> 00:46:47,480
I think, in excess of £150,000.

825
00:46:47,520 --> 00:46:49,320
The family was in the store

826
00:46:49,360 --> 00:46:51,880
when the children
had been suspected of shoplifting.

827
00:46:51,920 --> 00:46:55,480
In the car park, security guards
confronted Janet and her family.

828
00:46:55,520 --> 00:46:59,480
A fight ensued, and she claimed
she received injuries.

829
00:46:59,520 --> 00:47:01,120
So, she claimed that these injuries

830
00:47:01,160 --> 00:47:02,960
had been inflicted
by security guards,

831
00:47:03,000 --> 00:47:04,200
but she'd failed to accept

832
00:47:04,240 --> 00:47:08,040
that her husband
sometimes beat her up as well.

833
00:47:08,080 --> 00:47:10,200
In her testimony to the police,

834
00:47:10,240 --> 00:47:13,040
she claimed that
her husband had never beaten her up,

835
00:47:13,080 --> 00:47:15,600
something she later retracted.

836
00:47:15,640 --> 00:47:17,600
You told the Los Angeles
Police Department

837
00:47:17,640 --> 00:47:20,400
that for approximately 17 years

838
00:47:20,440 --> 00:47:23,480
he'd been physically
and emotionally abusing you, right?

839
00:47:23,520 --> 00:47:24,560
This is correct.

840
00:47:25,760 --> 00:47:29,480
But in the JCPenney case,
when you wanted money...

841
00:47:31,200 --> 00:47:33,960
..you said the opposite about David,
didn't you?

842
00:47:34,000 --> 00:47:36,960
So, Tom Mesereau
asks Janet on the stand,

843
00:47:37,000 --> 00:47:39,120
"You were not telling the truth
under oath

844
00:47:39,160 --> 00:47:40,800
"when you made those statements."

845
00:47:42,680 --> 00:47:44,640
The problem you had is

846
00:47:44,680 --> 00:47:47,760
that when you made allegations
later on

847
00:47:47,800 --> 00:47:53,120
regarding David abusing you
for 17 years,

848
00:47:53,160 --> 00:47:55,480
there's a deposition
that previously had been taken

849
00:47:55,520 --> 00:47:58,640
where you said the opposite
under oath.

850
00:47:58,680 --> 00:47:59,760
Correct?

851
00:47:59,800 --> 00:48:02,960
You're... It's too long.

852
00:48:03,000 --> 00:48:06,000
It's a yes and a no
and a yes and a no.

853
00:48:06,040 --> 00:48:07,440
And now I don't know.

854
00:48:10,320 --> 00:48:12,680
LAURA INGLE: So she lied under oath
in the JCPenney's case.

855
00:48:12,720 --> 00:48:14,480
Is she lying under oath now?

856
00:48:14,520 --> 00:48:18,760
That is a big question being put
to jurors in this exchange.

857
00:48:18,800 --> 00:48:21,600
When a witness admits lying,

858
00:48:21,640 --> 00:48:25,000
this is always
an important stage of a trial.

859
00:48:25,040 --> 00:48:29,800
The impact of that revelation,
that admission,

860
00:48:29,840 --> 00:48:34,520
was devastating
to Janet Avizo's testimony

861
00:48:34,560 --> 00:48:38,440
because it basically portrayed her
as a liar,

862
00:48:38,480 --> 00:48:41,480
somebody who would lie for money.

863
00:48:41,520 --> 00:48:45,600
The mother of the accuser has failed
to deliver for the prosecution,

864
00:48:45,640 --> 00:48:49,640
so Sneddon and Zonen decide
radical action is needed

865
00:48:49,680 --> 00:48:53,160
and call another mum to the stand.

866
00:49:02,800 --> 00:49:05,520
REPORTER: Another day
in this Santa Maria courtroom,

867
00:49:05,560 --> 00:49:08,880
and another prosecution witness
in the trial of Michael Jackson.

868
00:49:08,920 --> 00:49:10,240
However, today's witness

869
00:49:10,280 --> 00:49:13,240
is a surprising choice
for the prosecution.

870
00:49:13,280 --> 00:49:16,400
NARRATOR: With the prosecution
feeling their case is slipping away,

871
00:49:16,440 --> 00:49:21,680
they decide to take a huge gamble
on their next witness...

872
00:49:21,720 --> 00:49:24,960
Deborah, D-E-B-O-R-A-H

873
00:49:25,000 --> 00:49:26,720
Rowe, R-O-W-E.

874
00:49:26,760 --> 00:49:31,280
..someone closer to the defendant
than any other witness...

875
00:49:31,320 --> 00:49:36,040
Jackson, J-A-C-K-S-O-N.

876
00:49:36,080 --> 00:49:38,800
..the former wife
of Michael Jackson

877
00:49:38,840 --> 00:49:40,520
and the mother of his children.

878
00:49:42,760 --> 00:49:47,360
Rowe gave birth to two of Jackson's
children, Prince and Paris,

879
00:49:47,400 --> 00:49:51,360
in the late '90s,
but they separated in 1999.

880
00:49:51,400 --> 00:49:53,520
I remember having a conversation
with Steve Robel,

881
00:49:53,560 --> 00:49:56,720
the lead detective,
before Debbie testified,

882
00:49:56,760 --> 00:50:00,320
and they thought, you know,
this is huge for the prosecution.

883
00:50:00,360 --> 00:50:02,680
Michael Jackson's ex-wife
is gonna testify.

884
00:50:02,720 --> 00:50:07,000
But why would Rowe testify
against the father of her children?

885
00:50:10,040 --> 00:50:11,960
Do you know the defendant,
Michael Jackson,

886
00:50:12,000 --> 00:50:14,120
seated to my right,
with the long dark hair?

887
00:50:14,160 --> 00:50:15,800
Yes, I do.

888
00:50:16,800 --> 00:50:18,600
How do you know Mr Jackson?

889
00:50:18,640 --> 00:50:22,800
We've been friends,
and we were married.

890
00:50:22,840 --> 00:50:26,440
The prosecution understand
that Rowe is estranged from Jackson

891
00:50:26,480 --> 00:50:29,560
and hasn't seen her children
for nearly three years.

892
00:50:29,600 --> 00:50:31,960
I think they were expecting her

893
00:50:32,000 --> 00:50:35,360
to come up there and say that
she had concerns with his behaviour,

894
00:50:35,400 --> 00:50:39,400
that she even... she even warned him
about his behaviour.

895
00:50:39,440 --> 00:50:41,440
This is a key moment
for the prosecution.

896
00:50:41,480 --> 00:50:44,640
We were thinking that
this person is going to talk

897
00:50:44,680 --> 00:50:47,960
about some of the maybe shady things
that happened behind the scenes.

898
00:50:48,000 --> 00:50:50,160
Well, I think
the defence clearly anticipated

899
00:50:50,200 --> 00:50:52,960
that Debbie Rowe would say
very bad things about him.

900
00:50:53,000 --> 00:50:54,000
That was...

901
00:50:54,040 --> 00:50:58,040
All the evidence suggests that
that's what they anticipated.

902
00:50:58,080 --> 00:50:59,560
Like the Arvizo family,

903
00:50:59,600 --> 00:51:02,000
Rowe was also filmed
praising Jackson

904
00:51:02,040 --> 00:51:04,640
in response
to the Bashir documentary.

905
00:51:04,680 --> 00:51:06,520
And like the Arvizos,

906
00:51:06,560 --> 00:51:10,160
the prosecution believed
Jackson's ex-wife was coerced.

907
00:51:10,200 --> 00:51:13,760
And they expect her
to admit this on the stand.

908
00:51:16,000 --> 00:51:20,000
In that interview, what kind of
person did you say Michael was?

909
00:51:25,720 --> 00:51:30,080
Generous to a fault,
giving and kind.

910
00:51:32,400 --> 00:51:34,600
When she actually gave evidence,
she did the reverse

911
00:51:34,640 --> 00:51:36,480
and supported the defence case.

912
00:51:36,520 --> 00:51:38,240
LAURA INGLE:
She really did this 180.

913
00:51:38,280 --> 00:51:42,000
She says Michael Jackson
is "great with kids,

914
00:51:42,040 --> 00:51:44,200
"puts other people ahead of him".

915
00:51:44,240 --> 00:51:48,080
So, you know, that is only good
for the defence at this point.

916
00:51:50,200 --> 00:51:52,240
The prosecutors are shocked.

917
00:51:54,840 --> 00:51:57,440
Their gamble has backfired.

918
00:51:59,440 --> 00:52:01,920
What is it you're intending
to represent in this interview?

919
00:52:04,360 --> 00:52:07,720
Michael as a wonderful person

920
00:52:07,760 --> 00:52:12,520
and as a great father,
and generous and caring.

921
00:52:16,040 --> 00:52:20,360
I think the decision
to call her was a mistake.

922
00:52:20,400 --> 00:52:21,680
And suddenly, you're presented

923
00:52:21,720 --> 00:52:25,160
with a witness you didn't think
was gonna be helpful who is,

924
00:52:25,200 --> 00:52:27,240
then it's like anything in life,
you know.

925
00:52:27,280 --> 00:52:29,640
You've been given a free gift.
You're delighted about it.

926
00:52:30,720 --> 00:52:35,920
It showed or gave the impression
the prosecution was desperate.

927
00:52:35,960 --> 00:52:39,880
I don't know her personally,
but I knew she would never do...

928
00:52:39,920 --> 00:52:42,400
It's crazy to think
she would turn on Michael Jackson.

929
00:52:44,880 --> 00:52:48,360
Debbie Rowe has been
a disappointment to the prosecution.

930
00:52:48,400 --> 00:52:52,040
And four days later, after
nine weeks and over 80 witnesses,

931
00:52:52,080 --> 00:52:55,320
Sneddon and Zonen
finally rest their case.

932
00:52:56,600 --> 00:53:00,360
Now it's time for the defence to
present its arguments to the jury.

933
00:53:01,760 --> 00:53:04,360
And there is one question
on everyone's mind.

934
00:53:05,760 --> 00:53:10,040
I would say that
during this phase of the trial,

935
00:53:10,080 --> 00:53:13,400
almost every conversation
that we had on television

936
00:53:13,440 --> 00:53:17,000
and on radio and in the parking lot
and in restaurants

937
00:53:17,040 --> 00:53:19,000
was "Will Michael Jackson
take the stand?

938
00:53:19,040 --> 00:53:21,680
"Will he be called to testify
in his own defence?"

939
00:53:23,080 --> 00:53:26,160
Mesereau has to weigh up
the pros and cons

940
00:53:26,200 --> 00:53:29,920
of putting this global superstar
on the stand.

941
00:53:29,960 --> 00:53:31,920
NICK MADIGAN: He had a right
to take the stand.

942
00:53:31,960 --> 00:53:33,920
By law, you can,
if you're accused of something,

943
00:53:33,960 --> 00:53:36,720
you can get on the stand
and be your own witness.

944
00:53:36,760 --> 00:53:38,440
Uh, but he chose not to do that.

945
00:53:39,560 --> 00:53:41,480
Can you imagine
the cross-examination

946
00:53:41,520 --> 00:53:44,200
that Tom Sneddon would have with
Michael Jackson on the stand

947
00:53:44,240 --> 00:53:45,440
after all this time?

948
00:53:45,480 --> 00:53:48,800
This is a prosecutor who has
been trying to get Michael Jackson

949
00:53:48,840 --> 00:53:51,760
in a courtroom and on
a witness stand for years and years.

950
00:53:51,800 --> 00:53:53,960
And now here's the moment

951
00:53:54,000 --> 00:53:57,080
that would have opened up,
really, just a huge can of worms.

952
00:53:57,120 --> 00:54:00,800
He was very meek,
very mild, very quiet.

953
00:54:00,840 --> 00:54:05,440
And the notion that he would
have forcefully defended himself

954
00:54:05,480 --> 00:54:08,720
against these allegations
seems a little far-fetched.

955
00:54:13,280 --> 00:54:15,760
Instead of calling Mr Jackson,

956
00:54:15,800 --> 00:54:19,480
the defence begins its case
by calling forward witnesses

957
00:54:19,520 --> 00:54:22,720
who'd known the singer
when they were young boys.

958
00:54:22,760 --> 00:54:26,040
Good afternoon, Mr Robson.
Hey, how are you doing?

959
00:54:26,080 --> 00:54:29,200
How old are you?
I'm 22.

960
00:54:29,240 --> 00:54:30,840
Wade Robson was called
by the defence

961
00:54:30,880 --> 00:54:33,640
to say that he'd befriended
Michael Jackson,

962
00:54:33,680 --> 00:54:35,640
that he'd, as a child,
he'd often go to Neverland,

963
00:54:35,680 --> 00:54:37,360
he'd sleep over there.

964
00:54:37,400 --> 00:54:42,400
Mr Robson, did Michael Jackson
ever molest you at any time?

965
00:54:42,440 --> 00:54:44,480
Absolutely not.

966
00:54:44,520 --> 00:54:48,800
The defence clearly decided
to call witnesses

967
00:54:48,840 --> 00:54:53,840
who had not been the subject
to any sort of molestation at all.

968
00:54:53,880 --> 00:54:59,440
Mr Robson, did Michael Jackson
ever touch you in a sexual way?

969
00:54:59,480 --> 00:55:01,400
Never, no.

970
00:55:01,440 --> 00:55:05,200
This was powerful evidence
in the case.

971
00:55:05,240 --> 00:55:10,240
Mr Robson, has Michael Jackson ever
inappropriately touched

972
00:55:10,280 --> 00:55:14,080
any part of your body at any time?

973
00:55:14,120 --> 00:55:15,880
No.

974
00:55:19,320 --> 00:55:20,680
In cross-examination,

975
00:55:20,720 --> 00:55:24,120
the prosecution tried to sow doubt
in the jury's mind

976
00:55:24,160 --> 00:55:29,240
by undermining what is potentially
very strong testimony.

977
00:55:29,280 --> 00:55:32,920
You're saying nothing happened,
is that right?

978
00:55:32,960 --> 00:55:34,080
Yes.

979
00:55:35,160 --> 00:55:39,000
What you're really saying is nothing
happened while you were awake.

980
00:55:39,040 --> 00:55:40,880
Isn't that true?

981
00:55:40,920 --> 00:55:43,680
I'm telling you
that nothing ever happened.

982
00:55:45,400 --> 00:55:48,840
Mr Robson, when you were asleep,

983
00:55:48,880 --> 00:55:51,840
you wouldn't have known what had
happened, particularly at age seven.

984
00:55:51,880 --> 00:55:53,000
Would you have?

985
00:55:54,280 --> 00:55:57,080
I would think something like that
would wake me up.

986
00:55:58,520 --> 00:56:00,920
What is a witness supposed to say
when he's asked,

987
00:56:00,960 --> 00:56:03,120
"Is it possible you were abused
when you were asleep?"

988
00:56:03,160 --> 00:56:06,000
And what can a witness say,
other than that "I was asleep"?

989
00:56:06,040 --> 00:56:10,000
This seems to me
to be highly improbable

990
00:56:10,040 --> 00:56:12,800
and must have seemed
highly improbable to the jury.

991
00:56:12,840 --> 00:56:16,200
And the fact that
the prosecution were suggesting it

992
00:56:16,240 --> 00:56:19,240
does rather smack of desperation.

993
00:56:19,280 --> 00:56:21,080
It's all... It's a bit farcical.

994
00:56:24,520 --> 00:56:27,520
The next defence witness
is Macaulay Culkin,

995
00:56:27,560 --> 00:56:29,840
the star of Home Alone

996
00:56:29,880 --> 00:56:34,160
and a long-time friend of Jackson
as a young boy and as a teenager.

997
00:56:34,200 --> 00:56:38,000
There was a fair amount of
anticipation with the Culkin case

998
00:56:38,040 --> 00:56:39,640
because he was well known,

999
00:56:39,680 --> 00:56:42,920
and I think people were very
interested in what he had to say.

1000
00:56:45,080 --> 00:56:49,920
There had been rumours that he had
been molested by Michael Jackson,

1001
00:56:49,960 --> 00:56:52,680
and then, when Macaulay Culkin
got on the stand,

1002
00:56:52,720 --> 00:56:55,440
he saw Michael, and he just melted.

1003
00:56:55,480 --> 00:56:57,600
Just like Wade Robson,

1004
00:56:57,640 --> 00:57:00,280
Macaulay Culkin spent
long periods of time

1005
00:57:00,320 --> 00:57:03,120
hanging out with Michael Jackson
at Neverland.

1006
00:57:03,160 --> 00:57:07,200
He was adamant
that he had never been molested.

1007
00:57:07,240 --> 00:57:09,800
The strategy
with these two witnesses

1008
00:57:09,840 --> 00:57:11,800
was to corroborate the notion

1009
00:57:11,840 --> 00:57:14,240
that Michael had never engaged
in sexual abuse.

1010
00:57:14,280 --> 00:57:16,480
That's good for the defence.

1011
00:57:18,400 --> 00:57:22,720
Over 14 days,
the defence calls 50 witnesses,

1012
00:57:22,760 --> 00:57:26,720
and this includes other celebrities
there to defend Jackson's good name.

1013
00:57:26,760 --> 00:57:31,080
For the defence, we practically had
this conga line of celebrities -

1014
00:57:31,120 --> 00:57:35,560
Chris Tucker, George Lopez,
Jay Leno.

1015
00:57:36,680 --> 00:57:39,680
STACY BROWN: If a celebrity tells
you something, it must be the truth.

1016
00:57:39,720 --> 00:57:43,560
They pay more attention and
they put more weight on celebrity.

1017
00:57:43,600 --> 00:57:45,320
We hold them up as royalty.

1018
00:57:45,360 --> 00:57:48,200
And so Macaulay Culkin
was seen as royalty.

1019
00:57:48,240 --> 00:57:51,360
He's a celebrity.
He's a... You know, he's an icon.

1020
00:57:51,400 --> 00:57:53,760
He's a god to some of them.

1021
00:57:53,800 --> 00:57:55,800
The prosecution found it difficult

1022
00:57:55,840 --> 00:57:57,760
to undermine the testimony
of these stars.

1023
00:57:58,960 --> 00:58:03,120
I think the prosecution
didn't see it coming,

1024
00:58:03,160 --> 00:58:05,560
and it seemed like
they were very unprepared.

1025
00:58:11,800 --> 00:58:13,680
With the defence resting its case,

1026
00:58:13,720 --> 00:58:16,200
the judge is ready
to send the jury out.

1027
00:58:16,240 --> 00:58:21,280
But the prosecution asks if it can
present one final piece of evidence.

1028
00:58:22,440 --> 00:58:26,320
It's a video of Gavin giving
a police interview,

1029
00:58:26,360 --> 00:58:29,920
shortly after he claimed
he was abused.

1030
00:58:29,960 --> 00:58:31,120
I think that every time

1031
00:58:31,160 --> 00:58:34,560
that we have seen a police interview
played in a court of law,

1032
00:58:34,600 --> 00:58:37,680
it's very impactful
because it's in the moment.

1033
00:58:37,720 --> 00:58:39,680
Sneddon wasn't allowed
to show it before

1034
00:58:39,720 --> 00:58:43,840
because Gavin had testified
in court in person instead.

1035
00:58:43,880 --> 00:58:48,840
The prosecution chose to show
that tape at the end of the trial

1036
00:58:48,880 --> 00:58:52,440
because it was a way
of reminding the jury

1037
00:58:52,480 --> 00:58:54,800
of the central element of the case.

1038
00:58:56,320 --> 00:58:59,240
"This man molested me."

1039
00:58:59,280 --> 00:59:01,560
And that's it.
That's the heart of it.

1040
00:59:01,600 --> 00:59:04,120
Did he do it, or didn't he?

1041
00:59:04,160 --> 00:59:07,600
The prosecution convinced the judge
to change his mind,

1042
00:59:07,640 --> 00:59:10,400
concerned the defence
have made Gavin look

1043
00:59:10,440 --> 00:59:12,240
like he is making things up.

1044
00:59:12,280 --> 00:59:15,040
Sneddon wants jurors
to see how he came across

1045
00:59:15,080 --> 00:59:16,880
when he first gave evidence.

1046
00:59:28,520 --> 00:59:30,320
The video was so powerful,

1047
00:59:30,360 --> 00:59:34,880
cos you saw this child
squirming in his seat,

1048
00:59:34,920 --> 00:59:36,760
and you could see clearly

1049
00:59:36,800 --> 00:59:40,680
that he wasn't uncomfortable
because of the questions -

1050
00:59:40,720 --> 00:59:43,400
he was uncomfortable because
something happened to him.

1051
00:59:55,320 --> 00:59:56,360
Yeah.

1052
00:59:56,400 --> 01:00:01,520
The true, unvarnished truth is
what prosecutors say he is giving,

1053
01:00:01,560 --> 01:00:03,440
the truth
of what happened to him.

1054
01:00:03,480 --> 01:00:05,840
For a witness like Gavin,

1055
01:00:05,880 --> 01:00:08,400
who's been heavily criticised
during the trial

1056
01:00:08,440 --> 01:00:09,720
and made to look like a liar,

1057
01:00:09,760 --> 01:00:12,400
then to be portrayed
on the original police video

1058
01:00:12,440 --> 01:00:15,400
as being vulnerable and distressed

1059
01:00:15,440 --> 01:00:18,520
and... and very different
to how he's been portrayed,

1060
01:00:18,560 --> 01:00:21,320
could be extremely powerful
for the prosecution.

1061
01:00:21,360 --> 01:00:26,560
I think the demeanour of a child
when giving an account of abuse

1062
01:00:26,600 --> 01:00:30,920
can be very powerful evidence
in front of a jury.

1063
01:00:30,960 --> 01:00:32,960
I thought that
that was brilliant

1064
01:00:33,000 --> 01:00:37,280
to... to leave the jury with that.

1065
01:00:37,320 --> 01:00:39,760
And because of that,

1066
01:00:39,800 --> 01:00:43,680
I thought that they had
a good chance of a conviction.

1067
01:00:43,720 --> 01:00:50,400
It is time for the jury to decide
if Michael Jackson is guilty or not.

1068
01:00:59,000 --> 01:01:01,560
REPORTER: The jury in the four-month
trial of Michael Jackson

1069
01:01:01,600 --> 01:01:02,960
for molestation of a child

1070
01:01:03,000 --> 01:01:06,080
is expected to begin
their deliberations today.

1071
01:01:06,120 --> 01:01:09,760
The law says that there has
to be no doubt in a juror's mind.

1072
01:01:09,800 --> 01:01:13,040
If you're voting a certain way
in a case like this,

1073
01:01:13,080 --> 01:01:16,360
it's got to be ironclad.

1074
01:01:16,400 --> 01:01:17,960
After four months in court,

1075
01:01:18,000 --> 01:01:20,400
the judge instructs the jury
to retire

1076
01:01:20,440 --> 01:01:21,960
and consider their verdicts.

1077
01:01:24,040 --> 01:01:25,480
There was really no way of telling,

1078
01:01:25,520 --> 01:01:27,960
because a lot
of the prosecution's testimony

1079
01:01:28,000 --> 01:01:31,520
had been undermined by the defence.

1080
01:01:31,560 --> 01:01:35,920
And so you didn't know
how it would... how it would land.

1081
01:01:36,960 --> 01:01:40,360
It's an anxious wait
for both legal teams.

1082
01:01:40,400 --> 01:01:43,440
I would have thought the defence
were feeling relatively optimistic.

1083
01:01:43,480 --> 01:01:48,600
I think there was a feeling that...
that he would be found guilty.

1084
01:01:48,640 --> 01:01:50,200
Is this gonna be a hung jury?

1085
01:01:50,240 --> 01:01:51,560
Is this gonna be a mistrial,

1086
01:01:51,600 --> 01:01:53,640
after everything
that everybody's been through?

1087
01:01:53,680 --> 01:01:56,760
There was a lot of question
about how this was gonna end.

1088
01:01:56,800 --> 01:01:59,520
I mean, it was a nail-biter.

1089
01:02:02,720 --> 01:02:06,960
One day passes, then a second,
and no word from the jury.

1090
01:02:09,240 --> 01:02:12,520
Every day we went to the courthouse,
we're like, "Today's the day."

1091
01:02:12,560 --> 01:02:14,480
And then it wasn't.
And then it wasn't.

1092
01:02:14,520 --> 01:02:17,680
It was a lot of tension,
and the longer they stay out...

1093
01:02:18,880 --> 01:02:21,640
..you're thinking,
"OK, what's going on here?"

1094
01:02:21,680 --> 01:02:25,080
It was really extraordinary.

1095
01:02:25,120 --> 01:02:28,240
I mean, we'd waited, what,
seven days?

1096
01:02:28,280 --> 01:02:31,080
Usually, at a murder trial,
you know,

1097
01:02:31,120 --> 01:02:32,320
people will take their time.

1098
01:02:32,360 --> 01:02:33,720
It's somebody's life on the line.

1099
01:02:33,760 --> 01:02:36,680
And this was Michael Jackson's life
that was on the line.

1100
01:02:39,720 --> 01:02:43,600
Eventually, after seven days
of deliberating the evidence,

1101
01:02:43,640 --> 01:02:45,040
the jury returns.

1102
01:02:46,440 --> 01:02:51,360
When that announcement was made that
the jury came up with a verdict,

1103
01:02:51,400 --> 01:02:53,800
it was like an explosion.

1104
01:02:53,840 --> 01:02:56,520
I mean, people came from everywhere.

1105
01:02:56,560 --> 01:03:00,040
We had fans, we had protesters,
the world's media.

1106
01:03:00,080 --> 01:03:02,400
Everybody swarmed this courthouse.

1107
01:03:07,440 --> 01:03:09,400
WOMAN: The people
of the state of California,

1108
01:03:09,440 --> 01:03:12,760
Plaintiff versus
Michael Joe Jackson,

1109
01:03:12,800 --> 01:03:18,320
defendant case number 1133603.

1110
01:03:18,360 --> 01:03:20,200
Count one, verdict.

1111
01:03:22,880 --> 01:03:26,160
The crowd was on edge.

1112
01:03:26,200 --> 01:03:29,120
Hundreds of them,
Michael Jackson fans,

1113
01:03:29,160 --> 01:03:33,880
who really had their...
their hearts in their mouths.

1114
01:03:33,920 --> 01:03:36,880
We, the jury
in the above entitled case

1115
01:03:36,920 --> 01:03:40,520
find the defendant
not guilty of conspiracy

1116
01:03:40,560 --> 01:03:43,240
as charged
in count one of the indictment.

1117
01:03:43,280 --> 01:03:46,720
When that "not guilty" verdict
came out,

1118
01:03:46,760 --> 01:03:48,880
you could hear people screaming.

1119
01:03:48,920 --> 01:03:50,080
CROWD SCREAMS

1120
01:03:50,120 --> 01:03:52,160
STACY BROWN: They start yelling.

1121
01:03:52,200 --> 01:03:53,800
Second one.

1122
01:03:53,840 --> 01:03:56,080
We, the jury
in the above entitled case

1123
01:03:56,120 --> 01:04:00,920
find the defendant not guilty
of a lewd act upon a minor child.

1124
01:04:00,960 --> 01:04:03,360
Not guilty,
and then the third was...

1125
01:04:03,400 --> 01:04:05,000
Not guilty.

1126
01:04:05,040 --> 01:04:06,480
With each of them,

1127
01:04:06,520 --> 01:04:10,440
one of those fans
was releasing white doves.

1128
01:04:10,480 --> 01:04:12,440
And they are yelling,
and they're screaming,

1129
01:04:12,480 --> 01:04:14,400
and they're "Michael, Michael!"

1130
01:04:14,440 --> 01:04:16,000
Not guilty.

1131
01:04:16,040 --> 01:04:18,120
Not guilty.
Not guilty.

1132
01:04:18,160 --> 01:04:19,760
Not guilty.

1133
01:04:19,800 --> 01:04:22,480
He did it. He won.

1134
01:04:24,160 --> 01:04:26,520
It was one
of the most dramatic moments

1135
01:04:26,560 --> 01:04:28,600
that we have seen
inside of a courtroom.

1136
01:04:28,640 --> 01:04:34,200
All ten exonerating
Michael Jackson comprehensively.

1137
01:04:36,080 --> 01:04:42,280
It was an absolutely extraordinary
moment in criminal history.

1138
01:04:42,320 --> 01:04:44,840
I was stunned in the moment,

1139
01:04:44,880 --> 01:04:47,080
because I didn't think
he was walking out of that court.

1140
01:04:47,120 --> 01:04:48,360
He's a free man.

1141
01:04:49,640 --> 01:04:53,440
I recall people saying
that he had wiped away a tear,

1142
01:04:53,480 --> 01:04:56,440
that he looked visibly relieved.

1143
01:04:59,320 --> 01:05:01,360
Did he do it, or didn't he?

1144
01:05:01,400 --> 01:05:04,680
The trial was a way
of finding out if that was true.

1145
01:05:04,720 --> 01:05:06,400
For the second time,

1146
01:05:06,440 --> 01:05:10,000
prosecutor Sneddon has failed
to convict Michael Jackson,

1147
01:05:10,040 --> 01:05:12,960
who is cleared of all ten charges.

1148
01:05:13,000 --> 01:05:14,720
The verdict is no surprise.

1149
01:05:15,800 --> 01:05:19,520
I think it was
a weak prosecution case,

1150
01:05:19,560 --> 01:05:24,760
and I would have expected
most juries

1151
01:05:24,800 --> 01:05:27,160
to come to the same conclusion.

1152
01:05:27,200 --> 01:05:30,000
The case wasn't quite strong enough
to convict.

1153
01:05:32,160 --> 01:05:34,400
And then you add to that

1154
01:05:34,440 --> 01:05:37,240
the sheer celebrity
of Michael Jackson.

1155
01:05:37,280 --> 01:05:40,080
And I think the jury might have
been hesitant

1156
01:05:40,120 --> 01:05:43,480
to convict someone so well-known
and so renowned

1157
01:05:43,520 --> 01:05:45,600
and so loved by a lot of people.

1158
01:05:45,640 --> 01:05:46,840
More than any other place,

1159
01:05:46,880 --> 01:05:50,360
more than any other place
in the United States,

1160
01:05:50,400 --> 01:05:55,800
California has a very hard time
convicting its celebrities.

1161
01:05:55,840 --> 01:05:58,640
And in Michael Jackson's case,
the biggest celebrity in the world

1162
01:05:58,680 --> 01:06:00,840
was never going to prison.

1163
01:06:04,800 --> 01:06:08,160
Michael Jackson died in 2009.

1164
01:06:09,760 --> 01:06:12,800
14 years after testifying
for the defence,

1165
01:06:12,840 --> 01:06:15,760
Wade Robson admitted lying
under oath.

1166
01:06:16,960 --> 01:06:20,480
He claims he too
was molested by Jackson.

1167
01:06:22,320 --> 01:06:27,080
One other alleged victim
has since also come forward.