Jim Avila's Daily Updates From Inside the Michael Jackson Trial

SANTA MARIA, Calif., June 3, 2005 — -- Here are key moments from today's proceedings in the Michael Jackson child molestation trial.

Quote of the Day

"This has been a nightmare for Michael Jackson."

-- Defense attorney Tom Mesereau, speaking to jurors in his closing statement.

Summary

As he wrapped up his closing statement, defense attorney Tom Mesereau continued to skewer not just the accuser's mother, but the accuser and his siblings as well. Mesereau repeated the line that this is a family of "con artists, actors and liars." He questioned prosecutors on the allegation that Jackson showed boys pornography pointing to the lack of corroboration from Macaulay Culkin and other boys who testified.

In his final remarks, Deputy District Attorney Ron Zonen attempted to rebut many of the accusations Mesereau put forth before him. He said that all told this family spent 13 days on the witness stand and Mesereau was only able to pick apart 40 minutes of that material. He said that a 45-year-old man doesn't just start this kind of sexual abuse and that the past evidence helps to understand what goes on, and how the grooming of potential victims occurs. Zonen said that defense witness Brett Barnes and his mother were very evasive on the stand, but that when Barnes' sister said Jackson slept in bed with her brother for 365 days, it was like a "ton of bricks landing in the middle of the floor." He questioned why there was no testimony about Jackson having that companionship with an adult. He called Jackson's involvement with young boys "relationships."

Courtroom Color

Jackson stood and stared at the jury as they left the room. One of Jackson's attorney's, Susan Yu, came over to give him tissues after the jury left. Jackson used them to wipe his hands. Unlike most days during the trial, the jury did not take many notes today.

In his closing statement, Mesereau mocked the accuser's testimony and accused him of being scripted and using practiced phrases like "in my 11-year-old mind." He said that the district attorney would have the jury think these boys were "innocent little lambs" and that Jackson told them everything about sexuality. He said that the family and their attorneys were involved in the "biggest con of their careers" and said they are just waiting for the jury to help them. He went through the testimony of the accuser and called him a "liar and a perjurer." He said he "flip-flopped all over the place" because "he is a liar." He used Chris Tucker's testimony against the boy and asked the jury to decide who they were going to believe -- this kid with his baggage or the movie star who has nothing to gain. He did the same with testimony from the rest of the family calling them all "terrible witnesses."

Mesereau displayed two pictures of the accuser's mother: her booking photo from the J.C. Penney case, and a shot of her looking more made up in the rebuttal video. He asked the jury if she seemed to like being on camera and if her statements seemed spontaneous.

Instructing the jury on the law, Mesereau said the district attorney "can't prove this case beyond a reasonable doubt." He said what they are trying to do to Jackson is "so harmful, so brutal," and that the jury must acquit Jackson under the law if there is any reasonable doubt.

Before finishing his close, Mesereau played 25 minutes of material shot by Jackson's former personal videographer as the Bashir documentary was being filmed. It allowed the jury another shot at seeing Jackson explain that people take his sleeping in bed with boys the wrong way. In the video, Jackson also says the 1993 allegation was false and that he would "slit my wrists before he would hurt a child." He compares what he does with children to Lady Diana, Mother Teresa, and Audrey Hepburn and says that people are jealous of his success.

In closing, Mesereau said, "This has been a nightmare for Michael Jackson." He said Jackson has been careless with his money, associated himself with the wrong people and shouldn't have let this family anywhere near him. But he said Jackson "wasn't guilty of any crime" and that he must be acquitted.

In his final remarks for the prosecution, Zonen said the accuser's mother does not present herself well and is not sophisticated enough to commit the kind of "vast fraud" that the defense claims. He said this is a woman who can barely string together two sentences that make sense.

Zonen defended the current accuser, saying it was inconceivable for a 13-year-old boy to humiliate himself with a false allegation in the hopes of getting money somewhere down the line. Zonen questioned whether Jackson had any money left. He also defended the boy against accusations of bad behavior at Neverland. He said that even if these allegations are true, any adolescent boy would start acting up after being exposed to the "ordeal that is Neverland." He questioned the allegation that the boys were caught masturbating by Jackson's cousin and defended the mother on the J.C. Penney case, saying that it wasn't a fraudulent case - she just was not truthful about her husband hitting her. He also said there was no evidence that the accuser's mother asked celebrities for money, except for Tucker, who he said had "taken sides" in this case.

Zonen said that Jackson was not a victim of people taking advantage of him where his finances are concerned. He said it was his extravagant lifestyle and living on credit that put him in the position he is in today. Zonen charged that Mesereau's comments about there being no DNA in the case were meaningless. He said that it was ridiculous to think that semen would exist nine months after the abuse occurred. He took issue with Mesereau writing the Bashir documentary aftermath off as a public relations problem, saying that it was not like a celebrity drug problem or having an affair.

Once again, the prosecution ended its presentation by showing the video of the accuser telling police for the first time about how Jackson molested him. The tape shows the boy looking very uncomfortable, sighing and pausing as he meekly says that Jackson touched his private area.

Up Next

The jury will resume deliberations Monday. Jurors are not being sequestered. Jackson will be given one hour to get back to court after the jury comes to a verdict. If the jury asks for testimony to be read back, the attorneys for both sides will be given 10 minutes to get back to the courthouse.