Michael Jackson's son testifies in 'wrongful death' case
- Published
Michael Jackson's eldest son has spoken publicly for the first time about his father's death as he testified at his wrongful death trial in Los Angeles.
Prince Jackson, 16, told jurors his father had some tense phone calls with concert promoter AEG Live, sometimes ending with his father in tears.
"He would say, 'They're going to kill me. They're going to kill me'."
Katherine Jackson, is suing AEG Live for $40bn (£26bn) over her son's death. The company has denied any wrongdoing.
The Jackson family claim AEG Live failed to properly investigate Dr Conrad Murray - the former cardiologist who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in 2011 - and missed warning signs about the singer's health.
Murray was caring for the singer as he prepared for his This Is It shows. AEG Live said it did not hire or supervise Murray and has argued Jackson had prescription drug and addiction problems long before entering into any agreement with the company.
AEG Live also said it could not have foreseen that Murray posed a danger to Jackson.
Prince was 12 when his father died in 2009, aged 50, from an overdose of surgical anaesthetic propofol, ahead of a series of comeback concerts in London.
He told the court that he and his two younger siblings - sister Paris and brother Prince Michael II, also known as Blanket - were at their Los Angeles home when they heard screams on the night of his father's death.
"I ran upstairs and I saw Dr Conrad doing CPR on my dad on the bed," he said. "My dad was hanging halfway off the bed, and his eyes were rolled back in his head."
He added: "My sister was screaming the whole time, saying she wants her daddy. I was waiting at the bottom of the stairs, crying, waiting for the ambulance."
Later, Murray told them in a hospital waiting room Jackson had a heart attack. "Sorry kids, your dad's dead," said Prince, recalling Murray's words in front of jurors on Wednesday.
He said he never saw the doctor's treatment of his father, who was hired to serve as his personal physician. "I was 12. To my understanding he was supposed to make sure my dad stayed healthy," he testified.
Murray was to be paid $150,000 (£98,000) a month during the This Is It concert series, but Jackson died before the tour began.
Murray is in prison, appealing against his conviction.
All three Jackson children are plaintiffs in the case against AEG Live, which their grandmother and primary carer filed in August 2010.
The trial, which is currently in its ninth week, is expected to last for another month.
- Published18 June 2013
- Published5 June 2013