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July 31, 2009
MICHAEL JACKSON’S DEATH
Custody deal reached <!–10 min–>
LOS ANGELES – MICHAEL Jackson’s mother is to get permanent custody of the late pop star’s children after agreeing a deal with the singer’s ex-wife, attorneys for the two sides said in a statement Thursday. The agreement – which averts the possibility of an ugly court case – will see Jackson’s former wife Debbie Rowe receive visitation rights to the two children she bore Jackson, Prince Michael, 12, and Paris, 11.The surrogate mother of Jackson’s third child, seven-year-old Prince Michael II, known as ‘Blanket’, has never been identified. Rowe will obtain visitation rights for Prince Michael and Paris but would receive no money beyond the spousal agreement already in place – reportedly worth some US$8.5 million (S$12.2 million) – a statement said. ‘Mrs Jackson and the family are pleased this matter is resolved and was handled in a caring, thoughtful and courteous manner by the parties and their representatives,’ Jackson’s lawyers Londell McMillan and Diane Goodman said. ‘We were all united in our goals to do what is best for Michael’s wonderful children, and both Mrs Jackson and Debbie Rowe were on the exact same page.’ The statement said the ‘timing, frequency and manner’ of Ms Rowe’s visits would be determined after consultation with a child psychologist. The custody agreement would be presented at Los Angeles Superior Court for likely approval by a judge on Monday, the statement added. Katherine Jackson, 79, was named temporary guardian of her grandchildren at a court hearing in Los Angeles four days after her son’s death on June 25. A will drawn up by Michael Jackson in 2002 named his mother as the guardian of the youngsters, with Motown legend Diana Ross named as an alternate. The three children have been staying with Katherine Jackson at the musical clan’s compound since their father’s death last month. — AFP http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=34272.1 |
Posts Tagged ‘MICHAEL JACKSON’S DEATH’
MICHAEL JACKSON: Custody deal reached
July 31, 2009
PROBE INTO MICHAEL JACKSON’S DEATH: Doc’s Vegas home raided
July 29, 2009
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Investigators search the home of Michael Jackson physician, Dr. Conrad Murray in Red Rock Country Club in Las Vegas on Tuesday, July 28, 2009, seeking documents as part of a manslaughter investigation into the singer’s death. — PHOTO: AP
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Local television networks showed several police cars outside doctor Conrad Murray’s residence in the Nevada gambling haven, less than a week after authorities carried out a raid on the doctor’s Houston office.
The TMZ.com website said agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) were executing a search warrant for Jackson’s medical records.
A spokesman for the LAPD confirmed detectives were searching Murray’s home as part of the ‘ongoing investigation’ into Jackson’s death. Murray’s lawyers were not immediately available for comment.
It was unclear if Dr Murray – who has reportedly been staying at the residence under the protection of a bodyguard in recent weeks – was at home. Agents were also carrying out a search of his Las Vegas offices, local media reported.
Last week DEA agents and police descended on Murray’s Houston practice with a search warrant seeking evidence for the ‘offense of manslaughter.’ CNN reported on Monday that police believe Dr Murray gave Jackson a lethal dose of an anesthetic Propofol, which is marketed under the trade name Diprivan.
Propofol is used in hospitals to induce unconsciousness in patients ahead of major surgery. Experts say the drug should only be administered by a trained anesthesiologist under strict monitoring conditions.
The possibility that Dr Murray gave Jackson the drug intravenously has fuelled speculation he may be charged with homicide.
Lawyers for Dr Murray, who have repeatedly insisted he is innocent of criminal wrongdoing, issued a statement late on Monday urging calm amid the flurry of reports suggesting the physician faced criminal charges.
‘It’s a waste of time responding to all these timed ‘leaks’ from ‘anonymous’ sources,’ attorney Ed Chernoff said. ‘I feel like a horse swatting flies.
‘Everyone needs to take a breath and wait for these long delayed toxicology results… Things tend to shake out when all the facts are made known, and I’m sure that will happen here as well.’ — AFP
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Doc’s drug killed MJ
July 28, 2009
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DR Murray, 51, has been identified in court papers as the subject of a manslaughter investigation. — PHOTO: AP
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The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing, said Jackson regularly received propofol to sleep, a practice far outside the drug’s intended purpose. On June 25, the day Jackson died, Dr Conrad Murray gave him the drug sometime after midnight, the official said.
Though toxicology reports are pending, investigators are working under the theory that propofol caused Jackson’s heart to stop, the official said.
DR Murray, 51, has been identified in court papers as the subject of a manslaughter investigation and authorities last week raided his office and a storage unit in Houston. Police say Dr Murray is cooperating and have not labeled him a suspect.
Dr Murray’s lawyer, Mr Edward Chernoff, has said the doctor ‘didn’t prescribe or administer anything that should have killed Michael Jackson.’ When asked on Monday about the law enforcement official’s statements he said: ‘We will not be commenting on rumors, innuendo or unnamed sources.’
Dr Murray became Jackson’s personal physician in May and was to accompany him to London for a series of concerts starting in July.
He was staying with Jackson in a rented Los Angeles mansion and, according to Mr Chernoff, found an unconscious Jackson in the pop star’s bedroom the morning of June 25. Murray attempted to revive him but could not.
Police searching Jackson’s home after his death found propofol and other drugs, an IV line and three tanks of oxygen in Jackson’s bedroom, and 15 more oxygen tanks in a security guard’s shack.
Propofol can depress breathing and lower heart rates and blood pressure. Because of the risks, propofol is only supposed to be administered in hospitals. Instructions on the drug’s package warn that patients must be continuously monitored, and that equipment to maintain breathing, to provide artificial ventilation, and to administer oxygen if needed ‘must be immediately available.’
Jackson had trouble sleeping and the official said he enlisted various doctors to administer propofol, relying on the drug like an alarm clock. He would decide what time he wanted to awaken and at the appointed hour a doctor would stop the intravenous drip that delivered the drug, the official said. — AP
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Publishers get MJ bio rights
July 25, 2009
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The book, in which the late pop icon talks of his fame, music career and famous family, will be released in October following his death last month. It will sell for US$25 (S$36). — PHOTO: AP
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The US and Canadian rights were bought by Harmony Books, an imprint of Random House, which is owned by Europe’s largest media group Bertelsmann . Harmony will print an initial run of 100,000 copies.
Harmony Books spokesman Campbell Wharton declined to comment on the terms of the deal made with Jackson’s estate.
The book’s publishing rights were bought by Michel Lafon in France, Heyne in Germany and Heinemann in Britain.
The US book deal was finalised by Shaye Areheart, Harmony’s publisher who was Jackson’s original editor at Doubleday, which first published the book.
In the book Jackson discusses figures like Quincy Jones, Paul McCartney, Brooke Shields, his sister Janet Jackson and his tumultuous relationship with his father, Joe Jackson.
Random House said it will soon reveal which entertainment figure close to Jackson will write a new introduction. The afterward will be written by Areheart.
‘This new edition of Moonwalk will continue to celebrate his life and career and show an extraordinary side of Michael that many have not seen,’ Areheart said in the statement.
Moonwalk, titled after Jackson’s signature dance move, soared to No. 1 on The New York Times best-seller list in 1988, selling 500,000 copies in the United States. — REUTERS
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I have no reason to harm my son
July 23, 2009| I have no reason to harm my son | |||||
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HE DENIED physically abusing Michael Jackson when he was young.
And similarly said that reports of him approaching the pop star’s children about touring next year as the Jackson 3 was ‘a bunch of jive’ and not true. Mr Joe Jackson, father of the late singer, went on TV yesterday and spoke candidly about his son’s sudden death to CNN’s Larry King. Addressing persistent accusations that he had abused the pop star as a kid, Mr Jackson said: ‘Never. Never have…Harm Michael, for what? I have no reason. That’s my son. I loved him and I still love him.’ On the Jackson 3 allegation, the patriarch who turned his sons into the Jackson 5, said: ‘Not true. That’s a bunch of jive. That’s a bunch of – I wish I could say what I should say. That’s a bunch of bull.’ Wearing a black fedora and a gold medallion of Africa around his neck, Mr Jackson said he took the sudden 25 Jun death of his son ‘very hard’. Asked about the findings of the private autopsy – which daughter LaToya Jackson last week said she’s seen – he answered: ‘Well, they have not showed it to me’. He also said he did not know where his son’s body has been kept since the memorial service. He also denied that he was legally separated from Katherine Jackson – his wife of 60 years – although he did say he spends most of his time in Las Vegas. His wife lives in the family home in Encino, California. Mr Jackson repeated his suspicion that foul play was involved in his son’s death last month, but he conceded he did not know what happened. He said he had been blocked from seeing or talking to his son in the days before his death. But he implied his son’s personal doctor, Dr Conrad Murray, may be to blame for the death. ‘The doctor gave him something to make him rest, and then he don’t wake up no more. Something is wrong there,’ he said. He did not refer to Dr Murray by name. AP tried reaching the doctor but could not find a listing. Two messages left with his attorney, Mr Edward Chernoff, on Monday night were not immediately returned, it said. Investigators obtained a search warrant and removed several bottles of the powerful anaesthetic Propofol from Jackson’s home, according to a person with knowledge of the investigation. The person is not authorised to speak publicly and requested anonymity. ‘Not hurt’ Mr Jackson said he was not surprised or hurt to learn Michael had left him out of his will. ‘That’s the way he wanted it,’ he said. ‘And it’s not going to hurt me that I was left out of his will. But it happened.’ The will, written in 2002, places all of Jackson’s assets into a family trust that benefits his mother, his three children and various charities. Meanwhile, Sony movie studio has bid US$50 million ($72 million) to acquire the worldwide distribution rights to a film based on rehearsal footage for Michael Jackson’s ‘This Is It’ comeback concert series, a person familiar with the bid told AFP. The person said the bid came after several studios, including Paramount, Universal and 20th Century Fox, were shown footage starting early last week. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the bidding had not been completed. None of the studios would comment on the record. The winning studio would produce the film with Jackson’s concert promoter, AEG Live, and his estate. It would go a long way to helping AEG Live recoup some of the US$30 million to US$32 million it spent producing the 50-concert tour that Jackson was supposed to go on. |
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Quick-footed MJ escaped beatings as a kid
July 19, 2009Quick-footed MJ escaped beatings as a kid
July 19, 2009 Print Ready Email Article
POP legend Michael Jackson used to escape beatings from his father when he was a child by swiftly dodging and weaving his way to safety, brother Tito Jackson said on Thursday.
Tito said the King of Pop’s footwork was so fast when he was young that his belt-wielding father Joe Jackson was often reduced to laughter in efforts to catch him.
‘Most of the time Michael was so quick my father couldn’t hit him,’ Tito said in an interview with London’s Daily Mirror newspaper.
‘He’d swing the belt and Michael would be over there, he’d swing again and Michael would be over here.
‘My father used to just stop and laugh because he couldn’t hit him.’
‘Michael would just dance around him. My father would get tired and give up,’ he added.
Jackson died on 25 Jun aged 50 after suffering an apparent cardiac arrest at his home in Los Angeles.
Mr Joe Jackson, a steel worker in the industrial city of Gary, Indiana, groomed his nine children into musical sensations starting from the Jackson 5 to the phenomenal careers of Michael and younger sister Janet Jackson.
Michael later said that his father would beat him when he missed a note and emotionally humiliate him, contributing to the future star’s psychological fragility, but also planting in him the will to succeed.
Tito said he held no ill feelings towards his father about the way he was raised, saying he was a ‘disciplining type of father’, reported AFP.
‘From those of us not raised in our generation, they might not understand it. You got a big punishment or you got spanked for it. That’s the way it was.’
Autopsy report to take longer
On Thursday, the Los Angeles County coroner’s office said it will take longer than first expected to complete Jackson’s full autopsy report.
The office previously expected to wrap up the report late this week or early next week.
But Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter said that it’s now expected to be two weeks away. He declined to explain the reason for the delay, reported AP.
The toxicology report should include what drugs were in Jackson’s system when he died and whether they caused his death. That will be key in determining whether any criminal charges are brought.
Meanwhile, a new Michael Jackson song titled A Place with No Name was unveiled on celebrity news website TMZ.com on Thursday.
The website, the first media outlet to report Jackson’s death, carries a snippet of the song, saying it was unclear when it was recorded.
The lyrics and the tune are similar to the 1971 hit ballad A Horse with No Name by the group America.
‘The band was honoured that Michael chose to do their song and they hope it becomes available for all Michael’s fans to hear,’ Mr Jim Morey, America’s current manager, told TMZ.com.
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Michael Jackson’s scars revealed in video
July 19, 2009| Michael Jackson’s scars revealed in video |
| NEW graphic pictures have emerged that show the extent of Michael Jackson’s drug use. |
| 18 July 2009 |
| NEW graphic pictures have emerged that show the extent of Michael Jackson’s drug use.
The superstar died on 25 Jun aged 50 from an apparent cardiac arrest. The pictures obtained by ABC News in America show discoloured needle marks and a hideous blotch on the King of Pop’s legs seven years ago. Spokesman for the American Academy of Dermatology Dr Debra Jaliman told the TV network: ‘It looks like there are multiple punctures from intravenous placement.’ She said that it is unusual for injections to be placed in the leg, a measure she believed must have been necessary if no veins in the upper body were accessible. Dr Jaliman said the blotch might have been the result of Necrosis, a condition that could have surfaced due to intravenous fluids dripping into the Thriller star’s lower leg. She said the damage also might be attributable to a caustic, damaging fluid which the late singer’s skin made contact with. Jackson was on a cocktail of prescribed drugs and painkillers before his death. One possible reason why he was on drugs may have been because of a 1984 accident at the height of his career, reported AFP. He was making a Pepsi advert at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on January 27, 1984 when the horrific accident took place, caused by fireworks that exploded too early. A video, recently released, shows Jackson dancing in the 1984 commercial unaware that his head was in flames, an incident said to have triggered his addiction to painkillers. Jackson suffered severe burns to his hair and scalp. ‘He was never the same after the accident,’ sources told Us Weekly. http://forums.delphiforums.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=sunkopitiam&msg=33450.1 |
Jacko’s body in mogul’s tomb?
July 15, 2009| Jacko’s body in mogul’s tomb? | |||||
| Remains believed to be kept there until family feud over burial ends | |||||
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HIS FAMILY still cannot decide how to make the best from the death of their most famous child.
So while Michael Jackson’s kin quibble over how to best profit from his death, the King of Pop’s body lies in the crypt belonging to music industry mogul Barry Gordy, reported the New York Post. According to the Post, Jackson’s gold-plated casket was taken from the memorial service back to the white marble, above-ground crypt Mr Gordy bought for his family in the Court of Remembrance section of the Forest Lawn Cemetery in the Hollywood Hills. Jackson’s body is still missing his brain, which coroners are temporarily keeping for testing. Besides Jackson, the simple mausoleum is empty and marked only with a distinctive swooping letter ‘G’. Sources told the Post that Gordy, who discovered the Jackson 5 singing group, of which Jackson was a part of, offered the use of the crypt until Jackson’s family sort out what to do with his remains. But the New York Daily News said Gordy’s spokesman denied that Gordy’s family had a crypt at the cemetery, or that Jackson’s body was in it. Jackson’s death certificate names Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the Hollywood Hills as his body’s temporary resting place. On Friday, a spokesman for the Jackson family said they had not told him of the final burial plans and it seems the family is divided. Jackson’s brother Jermaine and his father, Mr Joseph Jackson, allegedly want the King of Pop to be buried at Neverland ranch in southern California, so they can profit off a proposed Graceland-style museum there. But Jackson’s mother, Mrs Katherine Jackson, and most of his other siblings, want his body to be buried somewhere else out of respect for his wish – to never return to Neverland following his acquittal on child-molestation charges. A family source said: ‘Jermaine is the one that wants him at Neverland – he and Joseph – because of the whole Elvis thing… They are seeing dollar signs.’ But the family plans to go ahead with a proposed documentary that could bring in US$20 million ($30m). Los Angeles police department chief William Bratton told CNN that detectives are looking at Jackson’s medical and drug history. He said the US Drug Enforcement Administration and California’s Attorney General’s Office, which keeps a database of drugs, are helping with investigations. |
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‘Killed’ by others’ greed
July 12, 2009
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‘I said to my family a month ago, ‘He’s never going to make it to London’. He was worth more dead than alive,’ said La Toya. — PHOTO: AP
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The King of Pop’s sister spoke about her younger brother’s death and the aftermath with The Mail on Sunday and the News of the World weeklies.
‘I believe Michael was murdered, I felt that from the start,’ the 53-year-old said.
‘Not just one person was involved, rather it was a conspiracy of people. He was surrounded by a bad circle. Michael was a very meek, quiet, loving person. People took advantage of that. Less than a month ago, I said I thought Michael was going to die before the London shows because he was surrounded by people who didn’t have his best interests at heart.’
La Toya said she had ordered a private autopsy.
Jackson, one of the world’s most popular entertainers, died on June 25 at the age of 50.
‘Michael was worth more than a billion dollars. When anyone is worth that much money, there are always greedy people around them. I said to my family a month ago, ‘He’s never going to make it to London’. He was worth more dead than alive.’ Murder under Californian law can include killings that are not premeditated.
La Toya accused a ‘shadowy’ group of cutting her sibling off from his family and friends and forcing him to sign up for 50 comeback concerts at London’s O2 Arena, shows billed ‘This Is It’.
They saw him as a ‘cash cow’ and ‘got him hooked on drugs… I think it shocked his system so much it killed him,’ she claimed.
‘I am not going to stop until I find out who is responsible. Why did they keep the family away? It’s not about money. I want justice for Michael. I won’t rest until I find out what – and who – killed my brother.’ La Toya said Jackson was found in the bedroom of his physician Doctor Conrad Murray. — AFP
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No clues yet on MJ’s burial site
July 11, 2009| COFFIN CONUNDRUM | |||||
| No clues yet on MJ’s burial site | |||||
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MYSTERY surrounds where Michael Jackson will be buried.
By law, the golden casket is supposed to be where the death certificate says its location should be before burial – Forest Lawn Memorial Park Hollywood Hills cemetery. But as that is not the case, speculation and rumour is rife over where he is to be buried. Will he be interred at Forest Lawn? Is Neverland Ranch still a possibility? What if he’s not buried at all, but cremated? The family isn’t talking – and may not even have decided yet. Forest Lawn is one likely possibility. If Jackson is buried there, he would join other celebrities such as Liberace, Gene Autry, Bette Davis, Andy Gibb and recently, actor David Carradine. The Jackson family seems divided over whether the body should go to Neverland, which would surely turn the Santa Barbara County ranch into a West-coast version of Graceland – Elvis Presley’s estate. But Jackson abandoned the 1,000 ha estate after going into seclusion following his acquittal on child molestation charges in 2005, and many of the things that made it unique – the merry-go-round, Ferris wheel and zoo – are gone. Funeral experts said the delay in Jackson’s funeral may be due to the fact that such celebrity deaths create logistical, security and legal headaches. ‘One of the issues you’re going to run into with any high-profile name, whether it be a former president of the US or somebody of Michael Jackson’s stature, is what does the cemetery… do to establish security, to protect the remains, to protect the privacy of the family during the service, to protect remains afterward…’ said Mr Paul Elvig, former president of the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association. Experts said even a two-week delay between death and funeral is not unusual. The body of singer James Brown was kept in a sealed gold casket inside his South Carolina home for more than two months before being interred in 2007 at the home of one of his daughters. AP |
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Singapore Trivia 