Original subtitles

You wish you would know what lies afterlife.

Yeah. What heaven is like.

I always said if I had to die, I want to be buried right where there's children.

I want them next to me. I would feel safer that way.

I need their spirit to protect me.

Where are they protecting you from?

I see them as protection. I see them as like angels.

Michael Jackson is back in court for what could be the most crucial phase of

trial on child abuse charges.

A key prosecution witness is expected to testify today.

We needed to put Gavin's mother on the witness stand.

Janet was intelligent, not well educated, but intelligent, and had a

memory of events.

This is someone who was a guest at Michael Jackson's ranch during the

time that he engaged in the alleged molestations, and they were worried

her.

She was capable of blowing a whistle in a way that could be very harmful for

them.

Gavin's mother is a key witness, and some observers believe the outcome of

trial could hinge on her testimony.

Throughout the trial, I had to give Michael Jackson the benefit of the

That's what a defendant has a right to, not guilty until proven guilty.

But I thought when Janet Arvizo got on the stand, she would be convincing

to make things look bad for Michael Jackson.

I wanted the jury to know that when Janet was in Neverland, She was very

distrusting of what was going on. They were continuously trying to separate her

from the children.

She told the jury that she's relegated to one of the guest cottages on the

property. Her sons are in the house in his room.

The front door is locked.

So her kids are no longer with her, and she doesn't have access to them.

And you couldn't just walk into his bedroom unannounced.

There's a combination lock in the access to the bedroom suite.

And then you walk down a hallway. And the hallway had chimes in it that were

activated by a motion detector.

So he would hear chimes going off if somebody was walking down the hallway.

Do you think Janet knew that her son was being molested? I asked her that many

times.

She certainly had concerns.

He reached the point where she knew she just had to get out of there, and she

had to get her kids out of there.

But she just wasn't allowed to leave.

To keep her and the kids on Neverland, they were telling her there are killers

who want to do harm to her children.

You need to stay here.

Very quiet.

Everybody settle. Thank you.

She had to tell the jury.

She was compelled to do this video by Michael Jackson's people because they

that the Bashir documentary was a problem for him.

So they had the whole family sitting in chairs talking about how wonderful

Michael Jackson was.

But it was a tape that they did deliberately to be able to use in

the contingency of this happening, where there was an arrest, where there was a

prosecution.

My responsibility of a mother is to make sure that my children are in safe...

safety.

They were controlling her and where she went and what she did and who she talked

to. You know, they were desperate to keep this under the carpet.

The stories by these accusers were extraordinarily convincing.

Was she kidnapped?

Absolutely not.

Most false fabrication you ever heard in your life.

Most of the jurors were really taken aback by what Janet said on the witness

stand.

i think they were not totally convinced that the allegation

was true none of it computed

none of it made sense to me my family's visit to neverland

coincided with the arvizo family

we said hello to them and we got to know them and their kids seemed like really

Friendly. Gavin, thank God, seemed healthy, which was a really good thing.

And I spoke to his mother, and she explained to me the journey they had

I felt that they were very happy to be at Neverland.

Gavin was completely normal, and there was no weirdness with his family.

So none of this stuff makes sense.

I am subpoenaed by the prosecution to testify about what I saw at

Neverland.

His name is Rudy Provencio. He reportedly has kept diaries and logs

of the weirdness and things that he thought wasn't quite right.

I was fearful and anxious, but I didn't see anything wrong with just telling the

truth of what I know.

especially when a child might have been violated in some way.

It's a person's responsibility.

I told the jury I had overheard a conversation that is being told to the

that these killers could be out there to get you, and you have to be careful.

You need protection.

It was obvious to me that they were worried that the Avizos were going to

and make the problem worse for Michael.

One of the witnesses that I remember quite clearly was Rudy Provencio.

I totally believed him.

Thought he was telling the truth about his feelings about the Orvisos and that

they were being held at the ranch.

Rudy was a compelling witness.

And not only that, we found a tape.

where they recorded the call, and they told her there are killers who are out

there who want to do harm.

The DA revealed today that he can actually corroborate some of the points

claimed. So a lot of the stories she tells seem to be true.

I told Michael, I said, Michael, if you had done this, it makes you a

freakazoid.

It makes you horrible.

He says, I know, Brian.

Michael said, Brian, I didn't do those things. Never.

Never. Brian, show them it's not true. Tell them. Tell the world.

I told Michael I would overturn every stone, and I did.

Michael Jackson's defense team got a hold of every record dealing with the

entire family.

Not just Gavin, but everyone.

Any job application that their mother had ever applied for, they were able to

get their hands on it.

Medical records, they got their hands on.

Gavin, of course, had been horribly sick and undergone surgery.

They had all of his medical records as well.

They had the gynecological records of his sister, who at the time was 15 years

old.

There was no piece of paper that they ever generated that they weren't going

get their hands on.

There was nothing in their lifetime that they weren't going to know about.

The mother was getting welfare from the Los Angeles County Bureau of Welfare.

When you apply for welfare, you must do a full welfare application.

And I sat in my office looking at this going, oh my, oh my, oh my, oh my.

Talk about a gold mine.

Michael Jackson's defense team gets its first chance today to cross -examine the

mother of the pop star's main accuser.

The documents showed repeated, continuous falsity, concealing the

money that Michael spent taking him to day spas, getting him bikini waxed,

buying this and paying that, and luxury dinners. They concealed it all.

They lied to welfare, and you won't believe what they did before.

The jury heard she made previous accusations of sexual assault, claiming

security guards at this JCPenney store, quote, followed them into the mall

parking lot and proceeded to beat them, and that a Tower Records security guard,

quote, joined the fracas, sexually assaulted her.

The family had claimed that they were molested.

by a security guard at J .C. Penney. And the guard just said, oh, you've got to

be kidding.

Well, J .C. Penney's parted with $152 ,000, and all of this was concealed

from welfare.

They're just defrauding everybody they can defraud.

And when Michael Jackson brought this family into his fold, this was

a moment of opportunity that they...

to bring down the greatest, biggest superstar in the world.

This was all a scam.

The defense was painting the accusers' family as grifters, as people

who went after celebrities for money.

What I've learned covering trials is that the best lawyers are good

storytellers. And if they tell a story that the jury can picture and absorb and

go, aha, I get that, that is damning.

They were trying to show that she was just looking for a payday.

I knew it wasn't true.

But this was what Michael Jackson would do, discredit the mothers of these

children.

Even as Michael Jackson, through the course of the trial, was becoming frail

more gaunt and thinner, it looked like the chances of him walking away a free

man were increasing with every disastrous prosecution witness.

Next month, Wade Robson leaves his hometown of Brisbane for Los Angeles,

he'll live with the reclusive millionaire entertainer.

What's the thing you most want to do, then?

Stay with Michael forever.

Really?

All right.

I understood the importance of being able to look at other victims. And, of

course, Wade Robson was at the top of the list because we knew that he had

involved with Michael Jackson for years.

We were absolutely convinced that he was a victim, even though he had not come

forward and disclosed it.

Wade Robson was a successful choreographer, and Jackson was

getting his career going.

We reached out to him, hoping that he would testify, and he said no.

There was another young boy from Australia, Brett Barnes.

who traveled with him throughout Europe and South America over a year.

But he wouldn't testify.

Jimmy Safechuck, we believed he was a victim, but he wouldn't come forward

either.

So we needed the cooperation of all of them, and we had the cooperation of none

of them.

But, you know, I understand.

I handled a number of child molest cases over the years.

It's a tough thing.

for kids to come forward and publicly talk about having been victim of sex

crime, and they disclose when they disclose.

And there's nothing we can do to speed up that process.

Michael, innocent!

Michael, innocent!

We also understood that it's not easy being an accuser of Michael Jackson.

not easy dealing with his fans.

There are multitudes of them, and they can be vicious.

Michael, innocent!

I was getting death threats on a regular basis, saying, I know where you live, I

know where your children are, I know your wife's name, I'm going to kill all

them.

I mean, it was horrible.

There's an absurdity and almost like a cult -like following.

People who love Michael Jackson, they defended him to the teeth. You know,

referred to him more like a god.

He trained his fans to be his soldiers.

There's no question. His behavior, his idea that he was such a victim and he

needed this protection.

His fans bought it. Hook, line, and sinker.

And boy, oh boy, did they ever come to his defense.

Do you feel now that the public is fickle?

The loyal ones. That no matter what, they're there, man.

They're thick and thin.

They're right there with you. And you feel unconditional love from them.

Yeah.

They have been loyal.

They'll fight you about me.

It's been a white -knuckle ride, but now, 43 days after it started, the

prosecution has rested its case. And it's time now for Michael Jackson to

his side of the story.

The prosecution had said that Wade Robson was molested by Michael Jackson.

I had called Wade. He was in Australia.

Wade.

You've got to come and testify.

Brian, I have told everybody it's not true. I wasn't molested.

I'm not coming. No, I'm not. I'm not setting foot anywhere near this.

I must have called him at least six times.

Finally, he says, you're a persistent man. I says, yes, I am, Wade.

The first witness for the defense was Wade Robeson.

It's interesting because Wade Robson has said that he declined and then was

subpoenaed by the defense.

But when he did take the stand, he was a very strong witness.

Wade Robson told jurors he first met Jackson at age five and shared a bed

him more than 20 times until he was 14.

He got up in that courtroom and he said, Michael Jackson never molested me.

Michael Jackson never put his hands any place that they weren't supposed to be.

Michael Jackson never harmed me. Michael Jackson did not commit child

molestation with me.

Uncanny testimony.

Fabulous.

That was a problem for us.

Because we were really hammering on the fact that he was a victim. And he's up

there saying, I'm not.

And I'm telling you, it didn't happen.

The second defense witness, Rhett Barnes, said the same thing, adding, I

tell you that if he had, I wouldn't be here.

Did they do a good job?

Oh, my.

You betcha.

The defense has now presented its witness list, and there are some big

Hollywood heavy hitters on there.

When this started, a lot of people felt that this was an open and shut case.

But it became a soap opera, as they say, but really a soap opera on steroids.

The prosecution was claiming that Michael's employee saw Michael put his

up Macaulay Culkin's pants and play with his privates.

Okay, well, what does Mack say? What does Macaulay Culkin say?

One of the most anticipated witnesses in the Michael Jackson case took the stand

today.

Macaulay Culkin denied it, and to this day denies that he was molested by

Michael Jackson.

You know, I remember cross -examining Macaulay Culkin, and he's an actor, you

know, and so everything has a certain flair to it.

His appearance, his fame, his celebrity, he was just an extraordinarily

effective witness.

We live in a celebrity -driven society, and people are really attracted to

celebrities. They're mesmerized by them. So that certainly happened at the

trial, and I'm sure the jury was impacted too.

During the trial...

Gavin's mind was completely scrambled, and it was heartbreaking.

They were just stuck in this apartment for months and months.

There was a school out the window, and they just look at the kids

going, they just wanted to be in school. This was really tough on everybody.

Gavin was by himself in that trial.

He was literally by himself.

And it was very burdensome for him. It was very challenging.

But he was courageous, and he never told us, I'm not going to do it, I can't do

it, this is just ruining my life.

But he understood the importance of it. At 15, he understood his obligation to

do it.

The trial had raised a lot of doubts, in my mind anyway.

So I wanted to talk to Gavin.

I wanted to, you know, get a chance to talk to him myself. You know, obviously

all was off the record, and I didn't report it because, you know, I wanted to

respect his privacy.

He says, you know, the world has me all wrong. He says, you know, I enjoyed my

time with him.

You know, I just...

The things he did was wrong.

He hurt me.

And I just thought, wow, you know, this kid is telling me that this grown man,

this international icon, hurt him.

I couldn't help but to believe him.

I found no reason not to believe him.

Michael, are you happy? The case is almost over.

Silence will be maintained.

It's now certain that Michael Jackson won't be taking the witness stand in his

own defense.

Just as it seemed that this case was drawing quietly to an end, there is word

a possible dramatic finale.

Months before the trial actually started, the police had interviewed

I wanted the jury to see it.

Because I think if you watch that, it's very hard for somebody to watch that and

say, oh yeah, they're making the whole thing up.

He said that he wanted to show me how to masturbate.

He wanted to show you how to masturbate?

Okay. I said no.

Then he said you do it for me.

Okay.

And did he do it for you?

Kevin, it's fine?

He put his hand in my pants.

Did he put it on the outside?

Inside. Inside?

And what did he do next?

He started masturbating.

Okay.

After a while, I told him I didn't want to do that.

Did he stop?

I told him not.

He kept on doing it.

If there was a smoking gun in the whole case, That was Gavin's interview with

the sheriff's department.

I had really been convinced that Gavin was telling the truth.

Others on the jury saw this as not being the case at all.

A lot of people in that courtroom were very moved by that video.

I got to tell you, Jim, I got to tell you, a lot of people were moved by that

video, but a lot of people thought the kid was acting.

You know, I suppose there's reasonable doubt that he made it up. Or he was told

by Janet to tell the sheriff's department that he had been molested.

It just didn't come across that way to me.

He absolutely looked believable.

After 14 weeks of often lurid testimony, Michael Jackson's trial is now entering

its most crucial phase.

In Santa Maria, California tonight, it's all in the hands of the jury now. Eight

women, four men on the Michael Jackson jury will decide whether or not he is

guilty of child molestation.

I was worried about the jury.

I had complete faith in everything Gavin was saying.

And there was never a question in my mind as to the honesty or accuracy of

statements. Never.

But this was an international superstar, one of the most powerful men in the

world. And that changes the equation.

No matter what humanitarian actions or no matter what joy and entertainment he

brought to the world, if Michael was harming children, he was a monster.

But he was not a monster. He didn't do any of those things.

There are people here from more than 28 countries reporting on the trial. Hotel

rooms are booked within a 40 -mile radius.

Special fences and security have been brought in. And the fan contingent

continues to grow as well.

The fan presence was there from beginning to end. And they were

Those are the hardcore Michael Jackson fans from around the world.

Michael had encouraged his family and by extension his fans to wear white,

saying that he was innocent.

But I thought, at the very least, it's going to be a hung jury, but they'll

probably get a conviction.

He could face nearly 20 years in prison. If the jury comes back guilty, Jackson

will be off to Corcoran State Prison's protective housing unit, home to, among

others, convicted murderer Charles Manson.

Michael was feeling...

You're the biggest star in the world.

You have magic that nobody else has, and you are scared to death.

Your life is coming to an end.

And I said to him, I said, Michael, we're going to win.

Do you understand?

We're going to win.

He says, Brian, I'm so scared, I don't think so.

Transmission, can you hear me? Can anyone hear me?

Edgar, they're on the... Come with me, it's okay.

There is breaking news that the jury in Santa Maria, California, has sent word

that it has reached a verdict.

They announced that they had a verdict and it would be presented in the

courtroom in two hours.

He drove up the freeway from Neverland Ranch and...

The convoy of cars and fans behind him was unbelievable.

His motorcade, as you see from this helicopter shot live, left his so

Neverland Ranch within the past 30 minutes.

In the car, you had Michael in the middle and Latoya on the right.

And she prayed with him, Dear Lord, take care of your child, Michael Jackson.

He is your servant, Lord.

He does your bidding.

Protect him, defend him.

And Michael is stoic.

He doesn't say a word.

Outside the courtroom was a zoo.

I've never seen anything like that before.

Gavin was not there.

It felt like too much to take on.

If he's found guilty, it'll be a journey not back to Neverland but straight to

prison.

We're in a waiting game now.

By the way, we should point out that the local police department has dispatched

a number of officers trained to watch for potential suicidal behavior on the

part of some of these fans.

Brian, I'm told he's opening each ballot one at a time.

I'm told the room is very silent.

I'm sorry, we have to interrupt you because we're beginning to hear a little

of audio coming from the courtroom.

The microphone's on.

Superior Court of the State of California, count one, verdict.

We, the jury in the above entitled case, find the defendant not guilty.

Count two, verdict.

Not guilty. Count

three,

verdict. Not guilty of a lewd act upon a minor child.

The clerk read it. Not guilty, not guilty, not guilty, not guilty, not

not guilty, not guilty.

Not guilty on all 10 counts.

I always believed in him. I would not have came here if Michael Jackson was

guilty of these crimes. I believed in him, and I fought for him.

Michael Jackson is now free.

This case is over. This is an all -out vindication for Michael Jackson and his

supporters.

Michael got up, everyone congratulated everyone, didn't say a

word, turned around, and he walked out.

There he is, the first look at Michael Jackson after his acquittal on

all ten counts.

Clearly, this jury did not buy that these people were telling the truth.

There's no doubt about it. The defense said this family, this mother, wanted to

ride the gravy train.

Jurors realize that, you know, in the celebrity land of Michael Jackson,

do get accused of things that they haven't done.

Your reaction to the news, Stacey?

Well, Brian, I'm stunned.

I really thought that there was going to be a couple of convictions there.

He dodged a bullet.

I truly felt that Michael Jackson was a child molester.

I felt that then, and I haven't changed my mind now. But the problem was proving

it.

And the jury had a hard time believing the Arvizos.

We got Gavin on the phone.

And Gavin, poor Gavin.

I just remember that voice.

Why didn't they believe me?

Why didn't they believe me?

It was over.

We would talk about Michael going through the fire, or the book of Daniel.

And I said, Michael, you are being tested by fire, Michael.

As it turns out, this trial hurt him.

It hurt him badly.

He never went back to Neverland.

It was spoiled. It was ruined. It was defiled.

It was no longer the place of dreams.

So I think it was three days after the verdict, Michael got in his limousine.

to LAX, to Bahrain.

Michael Jackson turned up at a Bahrain shopping mall, hiding his face behind a

veil and wearing a black robe traditionally worn by Middle Eastern

He became what even his family described as a vagabond.

Michael and his kid would go from place to place, anywhere he could find a home.

He was lost. Michael was lost.

Last night, his crown was looking distinctly tarnished.

Amid the adulation, the clear sound of booing.

Michael hated being hated.

He disliked being disliked.

He took it very personally. He was very fragile in that regard. He was used to

being loved.

But at that time, he really was...

Very unhappy at how hated he felt.

Michael Jackson finally came back to Las Vegas.

But he was a broken man.

There was tremendous financial problems.

And also believed that his drug problems continued to mount.

There were terrible reports I got that Michael was using medications.

And the family staged an intervention.

Well, no, no, no, I got this under control. I'm not addicted.

I'm not, I go, whatever, Michael. I tried. I tried to.

After the trial, Gavin was a different person.

He was very different.

He was subdued.

I would take him out driving.

We would just kind of process everything that had gone on.

It just was tough. Things were tough.

They had all changed their names to go back to school, but some

of the Michael Jackson fans had discovered.

their aliases and sort of outed them on MySpace.

He became extremely depressed.

It was very, very difficult for him to picture a life for himself.

Michael believed that if he could perform again, that he would gain

from his fans.

Because his livelihood and his life was the stage.

I love you.

I really do. You have to know that. I love you so much.

We were.

concerned that the phones were being disconnected.

Mrs. Jackson had indicated at one point she hadn't spoken to him in 12 weeks.

Every time she tried calling, the line was disconnected.

Well, that's the same thing that was happening to us.

But I don't think anybody really thought it was anything very sinister going on.

My show, I want to say, I've never

seen anything like this in my life.

It's the greatest entertainment in the world.

When I heard that, I was shocked.

I'm like, that's pure bullshit. Somebody took a recording and put it on slow

motion. That didn't even sound right.

Okay, how old is he?

He's 50 years old, sir.

If he's unconscious, he's not breathing?

Yes, he's not breathing, sir.

Where's he at right now?

He's on the bed, sir, but he's not responding to the CPR or anything.

I went to the emergency room, and inside the emergency room was the family. I

saw them. I saw Mrs. Jackson. I saw Mr. Jackson.

And I was looking through the window, and they're in the background. They're

pumping somebody's chest.

I said, oh, my.

Oh, my.

Michael Jackson is dead at the age of 50.

What I felt was absolute infernal

Rage. You stupid, stupid man.

Michael, Michael, what have you done? You've orphaned your children.

I think it took a few hours for the rage to wear off and then terrible grief set

in.

Are you afraid of death?

Yes.

We all want to see what that other side look like, though, don't we?

Do you think there are children playing in heaven?

Oh, God, I pray that that's what it's like.

Like Adam and Eve, the way they're described.

Yeah, like Adam and Eve.

It's just a happy garden, a perfect, peaceful place.

Just a pure innocence.

I pray that it's like that.

Michael's favorite word with innocence.

because Michael was robbed of that childhood innocence.

He said to me, I never had innocence.

My life has been a constant effort to reclaim lost innocence, like a return

to Eden, a return to paradise.

There is new global backlash tonight following the bombshell documentary,

Leaving Neverland. The accusations made by Wade Robson, who's now 36, and James

Safechuck, now 41, are quite similar.

Both were befriended by Jackson when they were young boys, and both were

to his Neverland ranch, where they claimed the abuse began.

So what are you alleging that he actually did?

He sexually abused me from 7 years old until 14.

I've lived in silence.

and denial for 22 years and i can't spend another moment in that

i was appalled i was shocked

wade robson told the jury under penalty of perjury it didn't happen and then he

does this film and says oh yeah it happened well the two don't jive it

me that it's false

I have never seen the documentary, but I think these are cases of people coming

out and saying horrible things long after anything is provable, when there's

lot of money at stake.

The Michael Jackson I knew was a really, really sweet, kind -hearted person.

I don't know why I get so protective.

It doesn't make any sense.

Do you think he's innocent?

After everything you've seen, do you feel that he's possibly innocent?

The world will say what it will say, and perhaps only God knows the truth.

Could I believe that he was a pedophile?

Absolutely, categorically not.

But how do you know?

How do I know that he wasn't a pedophile?

Oh, I don't know. I can only say based on all the evidence, all the trials, and

my personal knowledge of him, he was absolutely incapable of harming a child.

I remember him putting my hands on his head

when he was down there.

I'll never forget the feeling of his hair.

The way they painted the picture of inappropriate behavior, sexual

it moved me. I just thought, oh, my gosh.

If you saw that documentary, you have to have some compassion for Wade and

James.

I think I was just kind of wincing.

I was asking him not to do it, but he did it, and he said, oh, you'll like it.

It was so powerful.

So powerful. I was as big a Michael Jackson fan as anyone.

But that documentary showed how this man manipulated

not just those boys, not just their family.

Michael manipulated the entire world.

I believe that the outcome could have been different if Jimmy Safechuck and

Robson had been able to talk about what had happened.

But I don't blame them.

I'm not angry.

I may be a little frustrated, but I'm really not angry. I'm glad that they

come forward now.

I think it's helpful. It's helpful for Gavin.

I think it's helpful for the rest of the country to understand what actually

happened.

A lot of folks did not.

want to believe Gavin. They wanted to believe their hero, their idol.

We're talking about the king of pop, and we don't want to believe that

such a phenomenal talent is dangerous.

We just don't want those two things in the same place.

It's very difficult.

I'll be the first one to tell you because...

I love his music. I love what he created.

But Gavin, his story has never shifted.

And we would know by now if the reason they had done this was money. There's

been no exchange of money in regards to any of this for the Arvizo family.

So maybe we need to ask ourselves, is that body of work worth

the price of...

James, Wade, Gavin, is that a fair price?

Gavin is doing extraordinarily well.

I'm magnificently proud of him, but he's fought for it.

He's fought hard.

Yeah, it's hard to talk about.

Support information for the issues raised can be found online at channel4

A trophy hunter who tracked and killed a beloved lion living in a Zimbabwe

national park.

What's the story and why wasn't the killer charged?

Cecil, the lion and the dentist is new next Thursday at 10.

Next tonight, a double -edged debate. The battle to stop the boats.