Jackson Nephew, 13, Investigated for Playing with Stun Gun
Officials investigate home of Michael Jackson's kids following stun gun shocker.
March 2, 2010 -- Child protection authorities were called Monday to the sprawling Los Angeles mansion where Michael Jackson's children and mother live to investigate reports that one of Jackson's nephews purchased a stun gun online and played with it with his young cousins, sources told ABCNews.com.
Officials from the Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services were called Monday night to Hayvenhurst, the Jackson family compound in Encino, Calif., to investigate reports that Jaafar Jackson, the 13-year-old son of Jermaine Jackson, purchased the weapon, a law enforcement official and sources close to the family told ABCNews.com.
Jaafar allegedly bought at least one stun gun, and possibly two, off the Internet, and the children, who all live in the house, played with the weapon for three days before they were caught, sources close to the family say they were told.
One of those sources says they were told that when the children were finally caught using the weapon they allegedly were playing with it and chasing Jackson's youngest son, 8-year-old Prince Michael Jackson, nicknamed Blanket.
DCFS officers returned to the mock Tudor home Tuesday night, owned by Jackson family matriarch Katherine Jackson, 80, to interview more family members.
Sources said officials were surprised to learn that as many as 14 people regularly live in the home, and several others routinely stay there.
The sources' accounts were refuted in a statement released Tuesday by Katherine Jackson's attorney, Adam Streisand. According to the statement, Jaafar ordered only one taser online, opened the package alone in the bathroom and tested it on a piece of paper.
According to Streisand's account, Katherine Jackson and household security heard the taser and immediately confiscated it.
"Blanket Jackson never saw or heard the taser," concludes the attorney's statement. "Neither did Paris Jackson. Prince saw the taser in the possession of security. There is no second taser."
In addition to Jackson's three children, who were put in Katherine's custody following the singer's June 2009 death, Hayvenhurst regularly houses several of Katherine's other grandchildren, the youngest progeny of Michael's brothers Jermaine and Randy.
Still, the investigation offers a rare glimpse inside the hermetic walls of Hayvenhurst.
Michael's children, sons Blanket, 8, and Prince, 13, and daughter Paris, 12, moved into the home, which 20 years ago was purchased but later vacated by their father when he moved to Neverland Ranch, and for the first time in their lives regularly interact with many of the family members that Michael Jackson tried to keep them from, a source said.
"In the last two weeks Michael's kids have undergone a transformation. Remember they really didn't hang around with their cousins before Michael died," a source said.
Child Services Called to Jacksons' Home
Jermaine Jackson's youngest children Jaafar, 13, and Jermajesty, 9, both live at the home, along with their mother, Alejandra Oaziaza.
In addition to having children with Jermaine, Oaziaza also gave birth to his brother Randy Jackson's children Genevieve, 20, and Randy Jr., 18, both of whom also live at the house.
The parentage of another child in the house, Dante, is unknown, but he "has been cared for by Mrs. Jackson for many years," a source said.
Omer Bhatti, a 25-year-old Norwegian rapper, also lives in the house. Bhatti grew up around Michael Jackson, and some tabloids have claimed he might also be the singer's son.
Though the mother of Randy and Jermaine Jackson's children live in the house, Micahel's kids are primarily looked after by Grace Rwaramba, their longtime nanny.
Another woman, identified by sources only as Sister Rose, an elderly member of the Nation of Islam, also lives in the home and works as a babysitter.
The Jackson family became famous in the 1970s when Michael and his four brothers Jermaine, Tito, Jackie and Marlon formed the Jackson 5, a hit Motown group managed by their father. Later Michael, as well as his sisters Janet and LaToya each launched solo careers.
Michael Jackson died on June 25, 2009, in a rental home in Los Angeles following an overdose of a powerful anesthetic. Despite murmurings that Debbie Rowe, mother of Jackson's two oldest children, might contest his will and seek custody of the children, she never did. The mother of Jackson's youngest son Blanket is unknown.