Trial of Michael Jackson

WARNING: Graphic Content that many may find disturbing! Read at your own risk.

Michael Jackson at the Santa Barbara County courthouse (Monday, January 31, 2005)

People v. Jackson (full title: 1133603: The People of the State of California v. Michael Joe Jackson) was a criminal trial held in 2005 at the Santa Barbara County Superior Court in Santa Maria, California. Michael Jackson was charged with sexually abusing Gavin Arvizo, a 13-year old boy, previously seen around the artist during 2003's Living with Michael Jackson documentary, holding hands with Michael, who also defended sleepovers with children, again claiming them not to be sexual. This led to an investigation and eventual arrest of Jackson. Soon after, he endured the four-month trial, where on June 13, 2005 he was eventually found not guilty and acquitted of all charges.

Background

Jackson previously faced accusations of child sexual abuse from Evan Chandler - the father of Jordan Chandler, who would be around the singer for a couple of months. The Chandler family later sued Jackson, who settled the case for $23 million, but stated it wasn't admission of guilt, and he simply didn't want the case to interfere with his career. According to his attorney, the singer later regretted this decision.

Michael Jackson with Gavin Arvizo (Living with Michael Jackson, filmed in 2002)

In 2000, the 10-year old Gavin Arvizo was battling cancer, and his father, David often asked celebrities for supporting his son's treatments. Jackson was introduced to Arvizos by businessman and comedian Jamie Masada, and Gavin soon beat cancer. He then befriended Michael, who invited the boy and his family to the Neverland Ranch. However, contact between the two supposedly ended soon after. In 2002, Arvizo was invited by Jackson to be a part of Living with Michael Jackson - an ITV exclusive documentary, where Michael was interviewed by Martin Bashir for eight months. In the film, Michael and Gavin were seen holding hands, and the former mentioned having sleepovers, but that it was not sexual, as he always allowed guests to sleep in his bed alone, while he slept on the floor.

The movie ultimately tried to show Jackson in a negative light, who later called it "a gross distortion of the truth" Gavin's mother, Janet Arvizo also stated it misrepresents her son's relationship with Michael, and filed complaints against the Independent Television Commission. Bashir defended the documentary, stating he didn't see a reason to embrace "an individual who is 44 years old, sleeping in the bed of children who have no biological relationship with him".

Only seventeen days after the film's release, Jackson's production team released a rebuttal film on Fox Television, The Michael Jackson Interview: The Footage You Were Never Meant To See. This contained footage that was ultimately cut out of Living with Michael Jackson, and features interviews with Debbie Rowe, Joseph and Katherine Jackson, and Elizabeth Taylor. In the documentary, Bashir is also shown stating opposite opinions to those he previously stated in Living with Michael Jackson, here claiming Michael to be a great father, and praising children being allowed to come to Neverland.

Investigation

The Los Angeles Department of Child and Family Services investigated Jackson and Gavin from February 14 to February 27, 2003, following the release of Living with Michael Jackson. After doing so, it was decided the allegations were unfounded. However, the investigation was reopened by Thomas Sneddon in June. In November, Arvizo told the police he had been supposedly molested between February 7 and March 10. In the grand jury indictment, the dates were suddenly revised to February 21 and March 12.

Michael Jackson's mug shot

On November 18, the Neverland Ranch was raided by the police. Michael, Prince, Paris and Bigi were in Las Vegas, with the artist shooting the music video for "One More Chance". Due to the raid, the clip was never finished and it became his final music video. The King of Pop was arrested on November 20. On the same day, his infamous mug shot was taken. On December 18, Michael Jackson was charged with seven counts of child molestation and two counts of administering an intoxicating agent for the purpose of committing a felony.

Sometime after, Michael issued a statement, saying the accusations are lies. During a 2004 interview with 60 Minutes, the King of Pop stated he was mistreated by the police, who had made comments about his body during the arrest. Later, the California attorney general's office denied the claims.

On April 21, the grand jury indicted Michael on several additional related charges, including conspiracy involving child abduction, false imprisonment, and extortion. He pleaded not guilty on April 30 but faced 18 years in prison if convicted.

Trial

Michael Jackson and his family members leaving the Santa Barbara County Courthouse (June 13, 2005)

Process

The trial took place between February 28 and June 13, 2005, spanning four months. Thomas Mesereau defended the artist and witnesses for the defense included testimony from Macaulay Culkin, Chris Tucker, Wade Robson, Brett Barnes, George Lopez and Jay Leno.

Verdict

In the end, the jurors decided the timeline of accusations is problematic, and the prosecution's case weak, later stating they "expected better evidence, something that was a little more convincing. It just wasn't there". On June 13, 2005, Michael Jackson was acquitted of all 14 charges, as it was decided he was found not guilty.

Aftermath

Health

Michael Jackson shopping (November 15, 2007)

Post-trial, Michael closed and abandoned the Neverland Ranch. Between 2005 and 2009 the artist roamed around, finding new places to live in Bahrain, Las Vegas and Los Angeles. According to Mesereau, the artist became very isolated and wouldn't allow people to enter his life as easily anymore. His physical and mental health had worsened overtime, feeling alone, having nowhere to go and no one to trust.

Financial troubles

As Jackson made more public appearances post-trial, media also started spreading, that the artist was rather a thing of the past. At the time, Michael also couldn't find any sponsors and was facing financial troubles. As media outlets reported, the artist supposedly faced many different lawsuits and was deeply in debt, owing around $400 million. In 2008, talks began about a new concert tour. The following year, it was announced that a ten-show residency, titled This Is It, would take place in UK at the O2 Arena. Later on, it was changed to fifty shows.

Death

On June 25, 2009 Michael Jackson passed away after being injected with a lethal dose of Propofol by his personal doctor, Conrad Murray. Afterwards, FBI had released their files regarding Jackson's case, stating that through their over 10-year search (1993-2005), they have found zero evidence that Michael Jackson would be guilty of the accusations.

Gavin Arvizo

Gavin Arvizo and Shelby (2018)

Following the trial, Gavin made no more public appearances, and is now living a much more quiet life. In 2010 he was revealed to had become "deeply religious", and to be a third-year student intending to go to law school. In 2013 he was mentioned to had worked at sales and as a teacher in a Catholic school. The same year, he got married to his girlfriend of four years, Shelby Lynn Drake, who he now has a child with. She used to post photos with Gavin on her Instagram and Facebook profiles, however her accounts disappeared later on. Similarly to Jordan Chandler's, his current whereabouts are unknown.

Trivia

• Martin Bashir later stated, that while he saw Michael's lifestyle as "a bit unorthodox", he believed that since the artist was never convicted of any crime, he doesn't see Jackson as a criminal.
• When getting married, at the reception the DJ played "The Way You Make Me Feel", which Gavin smiled to and shrugged his shoulders.
• In 1998, at the age of eight, Gavin stole two school uniforms from a J.C. Penney. As he was chased by the guards, Gavin's parents arrived in time to protect their son. The two were arrested and charged with burglary, assault and battery, and petty theft, but the charges were dropped by the store and Arvizo's were released on the same day. The family filed a civil lawsuit against J.C. Penney for battery, false imprisonment, infliction of emotional distress, and sexual assault. This later ended in a settlement, in which the store paid the Arvizo family $152,200. According to David, Janet exploited Gavin's cancer in raising sympathy and putting J.C. Penney under pressure to settle.
• Some of the Neverland Ranch employees came out to say Gavin and his siblings were "troublemakers", as they acted rude towards them, vandalized the park, and more.
• While making Leaving Neverland, Dan Reed tried to reach out to Gavin Arvizo, but he apparently didn't write back or refused to be a part of the project. Reed previously expressed his interest in making a documentary on the People v. Jackson trial.