Michael Jackson’s oldest son Prince Michael testifies in wrongful death trial, as home videos played in court
The 16-year-old gave an emotional testimony about what he saw and heard in the days leading up to his father's 2009 death: 'My dad was hanging half off the bed, and his eyes kind of rolled in the back of his head.'
By Nancy Dillon / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Published: Wednesday, June 26, 2013, 1:14 PM
Updated: Thursday, June 27, 2013, 1:09 AM
A courtroom sketch depicting the testimony of Prince Michael Jackson, son of late pop star Michael Jackson, during Katherine Jackson's negligence suit against AEG Live, is pictured at Los Angeles Superior Court in Los Angeles, California June 26, 2013.
In emotional testimony Wednesday, Michael Jackson’s teen son described harrowing scenes from the King of Pop’s last moments and laid bare the family’s heartbreak over his untimely death.
Prince Jackson, 16, said he was called upstairs the morning his father died at their Los Angelese home on June 25, 2009, and saw Dr. Conrad Murray attempting CPR.
“My dad was hanging half off the bed, and his eyes kind of rolled in the back of his head,” Prince said, his voice quavering slightly as he spoke publicly about his father’s death for the first time.
Scene from Michael Jackson wrongful death trial videos: Michael Jackson with children Prince and Paris.
“My sister came upstairs, but we kept pulling her downstairs. She was screaming the whole time saying she wants her daddy.”
Prince said he was in tears when the paramedics arrived and rushed the 50-year-old “Thriller” singer from the family’s rented mansion to UCLA Medical Center. He said relatives followed the ambulance to the hospital and hoped for the best.
“I told my sister something that my dad always told us, that angels were still watching over him, and there had to be angels on Earth,” he recalled.
Scene from Michael Jackson wrongful death trial videos: Paris Jackson tells her father Michael what she wants to be when she grows up: a gymnast who wants to help the poor. Prince (right) says he wants to be a movie director and architect.
He said that eventually, Murray returned and told the family their dad didn’t make it.
“Sorry, kids, Dad is dead,” Murray said, Prince testified. The doctor blamed a heart attack, he said.
Michael Jackson's children (from left), Prince, Blanket and Paris Jackson, speak on stage during the 'Michael Forever' concert in memory of the late singer in 2011.
“We just cried,” Prince said Wednesday, his otherwise measured voice breaking.
He said the loss of his father still haunts him.
“Nothing will ever be the same,” he said. “I can’t sleep at night. I have a hard time sleeping. For a while after he died, I became emotionally distant from a lot of people.”
Scene from Michael Jackson wrongful death trial videos: Prince and Paris Jackson as children.
He said his sister Paris, 15, who recently attempted suicide, also has suffered greatly.
“Out of all my siblings, she was probably hit the hardest because she was my dad’s princess,” he said. “It really hurt her a lot. She definitely is dealing with it in her own way.”
Prince Jackson says he wants to be an architect and movie director in Michael Jackson home video.
He said Blanket, 11, “doesn't have a father to guide him.”
Earlier in his testimony, Prince
recalled his father as a doting dad who instilled a strong work ethic in him and a love of film. He said he now has a 3.68 grade point average in high school and wants to study film and business at the University of Southern California.
Scene from Michael Jackson wrongful death trial videos: Blanket Jackson (Prince Michael Jackson II) says he wants to be a movie director when he grows up.
Prince testified that his father loved to shower his kids with attention and then capture their milestones on film.
He spent much of his two-hour testimony describing intimate family snapshots and videos showing him sitting at a piano with his dad, playing with his sister Paris at Neverland Ranch and receiving a chocolate Labrador puppy with a big red bow around its neck for Christmas.
A Los Angeles Police Department photo shows the master bedroom at the home where Michael Jackson died in 2009.
In one touching clip, Michael interviewed his kids about what they wanted to be when they grew up.
Paris, who looks about 8 years old on the tape, said she wanted to "help the poor." Prince said he wanted to be an architect or an action movie director.
During his testimony, Prince recalled his father feeling “excited” about his planned This Is It tour but also frustrated with AEG Live CEO Randy Phillips and another manager, Tohme Tohme.
Prince Jackson pictured out with girlfriend Remi Alfalah in Beverly Hills on June 24
Prince also recalled Michael offering Murray money to pay for essentials and seeing his father finish a phone call with either Phillips or Tohme that left him “upset.”
“He would cry sometimes after he got off the phone,” Prince said. “He would say, ‘They’re going to kill me. They’re gonna kill me.’ ”
Prince also recalled Phillips visiting the mansion once when his father was out and speaking privately to Murray. “He was talking to Dr. Murray and he was grabbing his elbow and it looked aggressive to me,” Prince testified.
Prince is the first family witness to testify in the wrongful-death trial pitting his grandmother against AEG Live.
After court ended for the day, family lawyer Brian Panish said it was “tough” for Prince to “relive the memories of that tragic day.”
“He was relieved to get it over with but he was strong,” Panish said.
He said it “has not been decided” if Paris will testify. “There are other issues and factors . . . she’s doing the best she can,” Panish said.
Jackson family matriarch Katherine Jackson is suing AEG Live for damages estimated at more than $1 billion, saying the promoter behind Michael’s ill-fated tour put its desire for “massive profits” ahead of Michael’s health and safety.
Katherine, the co-guardian of Michael’s three children, claims AEG hired a debt-ridden Murray in May 2009 and then made it clear the doctor would forfeit his $150,000-a-month salary if Michael failed to perform. Murray is now serving four years for recklessly providing a deadly dose of the anesthetic propofol to Michael as a sleep aid.
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