Michael Jackson defence rests without calling singer

Michael Jackson waves to fans as he arrives at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse. Picture / Reuters

SANTA MARIA, California - Lawyers for Michael Jackson have rested their case without calling the entertainer to testify in defence of the child molestation accusations against him.

"Your Honour, the defence rests," said lead Jackson attorney Tom Mesereau after calling some 50 witnesses over 15 days intended to cast doubt on the motives and background of Jackson's accuser and family.

The final defence witness was comedian Chris Tucker, who said he had warned Jackson about the mother of the boy before the charges were brought.

Tucker, a friend of the 46-year-old entertainer, said he befriended the boy after meeting him in 2000 at a time when the youth was battling cancer.

But Tucker, who co-starred with Jackie Chan in the "Rush Hour" movies, said he became concerned about the mother and about the boy's own wheedling, "cunning" ways.

The mother of the boy was so emotional and overwrought at one point when she was calling him about a truck that he had promised to provide the family that she seemed "possessed," Tucker said.

Defence lawyers have sought to portray the mother of Jackson's accuser as a grifter who tried to wheedle money from celebrities and coached her son to lie about the molestation charges against Jackson.

Relating an incident at a Los Angeles comedy club where he had helped in a fund raiser for the boy, Tucker said the boy approached him and said the event had not raised enough money.

"He was just real sad looking. He said they didn't raise any money and they really needed some money." Tucker said, adding that he subsequently wired him US$1,500.

"He was really smart and he was cunning, but at the time I always overlooked it," Tucker said of the boy. "He was always saying stuff like, Chris, let me have this, let me have that. Come on, I'm not feeling good."

CRITICAL DOCUMENTARY

Tucker said he took Jackson aside in February 2003 to warn him about the boy's mother. At the time Jackson, Tucker and the family were staying at a hotel in Miami.

The comedian also said that the boy's family had been eager to travel with him to Miami to be with Jackson, countering prosecution claims that the trip had been a ploy by Jackson's camp to keep the family from seeing a critical documentary featuring the pop star holding hands with the boy and defending his practice of sharing his bed with children.

"Something in my spirit didn't feel right about her. She started acting frantic, like mentally something wasn't right."

Tucker said he took Jackson into a room away from the family. "I told him to watch out for (the mother) because I felt suspicious about her. I took him in the room and I was trying to talk to him, I said, 'Michael, something ain't right."'

Tucker was the final witness to be called by Jackson's defence team over 15 days, a much shorter case than originally projected.

At the start of the trial in January Lead defence lawyer Tom Mesereau said he had a witness list of some 300 people, including a galaxy of stars such as Elizabeth Taylor, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross and basketball player Kobe Bryant.

In the end, only a handful of stars, including Tucker and comedians Jay Leno and George Lopez, took the witness stand.

Jackson is charged with molesting the boy, then 13, at his Neverland Valley Ranch in California in early 2003, plying the youth with alcohol in order to abuse him and conspiring to commit child abduction, extortion and false imprisonment.

Tucker said before the Miami incident the family once showed up unannounced on a movie set in Las Vegas set where he was working and would not leave.

He said while in Las Vegas the mother "was always saying I was their brother and all that stuff and she loved me. I was getting a little nervous because my whole thing was just to help the kid, not get involved with the whole family."

KEY EVENTS IN THE MICHAEL JACKSON CASE

August 1993 - Los Angeles police launch criminal investigation against Jackson while he is on his Dangerous world concert tour following the disclosure by a 13-year-old boy to his therapist that he was sexually molested by the pop star.

September 1993 - The boy files suit against Jackson accusing him of sexual battery, negligence and fraud.

December 1993 - Jackson proclaims his innocence on television, saying he was humiliated by police who photographed his genitals as part of their sex abuse investigation.

January 1994 - Lawyers for the boy and Jackson say the singer has agreed to a multimillion-dollar settlement -- which is later reported to be US$23 million ($33 million). Prosecutors later announce no charges will be filed.

February 2003 - A British documentary in which Jackson defends his practice of sharing his bed with boys prompts an investigation by child welfare officials that is dropped after a 13-year-old boy featured in the show denies being molested.

June 2003 - A Los Angeles psychologist alerts child welfare officials that the same boy told him he was abused, prompting an investigation by the Santa Barbara Sheriff's Department.

November 2003 - Jackson is booked on suspicion of child molestation two days after sheriffs launch a raid on Neverland Valley Ranch. The singer, who denies the accusations, is freed on a US$3 million bond.

December 2003 - Jackson is charged with seven counts of committing "lewd acts" on a young boy and plying him with alcohol in order to abuse him.

January 2004 - Jackson pleads innocent. Outside the Santa Maria courtroom, the singer dances atop his black sport utility vehicle and blows kisses to a cheering throng of fans.

April 2004 - Santa Barbara Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville unseals a 10-count grand jury indictment against Jackson, who pleads innocent to child molestation, furnishing alcohol to a minor and conspiracy to commit child abduction, false imprisonment and extortion.

February 2005 - Opening statements begin. Santa Barbara District Attorney Tom Sneddon paints the pop star as a sexual predator who lures young boys to Neverland. Jackson attorney Tom Mesereau attacks the mother of Jackson's accuser as a grifter with a history of making false claims who manipulated her son into betraying the star for financial gain.

March 11, 2005 - Judge Melville threatens to arrest Jackson after the singer fails to appear in court on the second day of testimony by his accuser. The entertainer shows up wearing pyjamas and complaining of a back injury.

March 28, 2005 - Judge Melville rules prosecutors can introduce evidence of past sexual misconduct by Jackson dating back to the 1990s. The ruling opens the door to testimony about Jackson's 1993 accuser and another, the son of a Neverland maid, who settled a lawsuit against Jackson for US$2 million in the 1990s.

May 4, 2005 - Prosecutors rest their case against the pop star after calling 85 witnesses and introducing more than 500 pieces of evidence.

May 5, 2005 - The defence launches their case with two young men portrayed by prosecutors as victims of Jackson's in the 1990s who adamantly deny ever being molested by the pop star.

May 11, 2005 - Actor Macaulay Culkin calls the accusations against Jackson "ridiculous" and denies any inappropriate behaviour by the star.

May 19, 2005 - Judge Melville rules that talk show host Larry King may not testify before the jury after he recounts how the attorney for the family of Jackson's accuser once told him the boy's mother was a "wacko" out for money.

May 24, 2005 - The defence calls its last witness, comedian Chris Tucker, and announces it will rest its case without calling Jackson to testify on his own behalf.

May 25, 2005 - The defence rests its case after calling some 50 witnesses over 15 days.

- REUTERS