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Ex-maid says she saw singer laughing in shower with boy
April 6, 2005
BY LINDA DEUTSCH
SANTA MARIA, Calif. -- Michael Jackson's former maid testified Tuesday at his molestation trial that she found the singer showering with a boy who often slept in the pop star's bed.
The woman, who was Jackson's personal maid for about five years, told of seeing Jackson in the shower with a boy about 8 years old who frequently stayed at Neverland and slept in the singer's bed.
''Are you aware of him staying anywhere other than in Michael Jackson's bedroom?'' asked prosecutor Ron Zonen.
THE CASE: Jackson is accused of molesting a boy who is now 15 years old, giving him alcohol and conspiring to hold the boy's family captive to get them to rebut a damaging TV documentary. Jackson's defense contends the family has a history of filing false claims.
ON TUESDAY: Jackson's former maid said a boy, about 8, often slept with the star, and she caught them in the shower once.
THE QUOTE: ''First I thought they were playing in bathtub or Jacuzzi or outside in his garden and I walked in and they were in the shower," the maid said.
''No,'' said the woman, speaking with a Spanish accent. ''He stay there.''
One day, she said, she used a key to enter the bedroom and heard ''laughing, playing -- like playing around.''
''First I thought they were playing in bathtub or Jacuzzi or outside in his garden and I walked in and they were in the shower,'' she said, adding later, ''I peek in and they were in shower.''
The woman said she saw their clothes on the floor outside the shower but retreated because she thought Jackson would be mad if he found her there.
Who was behind the door?
Interrogated at length about how she knew who was in the shower when the door was clouded, the witness said she was certain that she saw ''Mr. Jackson and little kid'' through the steam.
Under cross-examination, she said she also recalled seeing Jackson and the boy in Jackson's bed watching TV, both wearing nothing from the waist up. She said they were under the covers and she could not tell if they were clothed.
She acknowledged that people would often hang out on Jackson's bed and watch TV, and that she even served guests food there.
Jackson is accused of molesting a 13-year-old boy in 2003 at his Neverland ranch.
The former maid testified as part of a prosecution effort to show that the pop star had a pattern of molesting or otherwise behaving inappropriately with other boys. The woman's own son received a $2.4 million settlement from Jackson in 1994 after claiming the pop star groped him.
The former maid told of seeing actor Macaulay Culkin at Neverland and said he also stayed in Jackson's bedroom. She called him ''the little kid from the movies'' and said he often came with his father, mother, brother and sister, but sometimes was brought alone by Jackson.
Culkin won't get involved
Although the prosecution was allowed to present testimony about Culkin, the defense has asserted that the ''Home Alone'' star has denied being molested. Culkin's spokeswoman has said he will not be involved in the case.
Earlier, the former maid's 24-year-old son clashed with defense attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr. as the attorney cross-examined him about inconsistencies between the story he told Monday and accounts he gave to authorities as recently as December.
''I don't mean to sound like I'm wasting your time,'' he told the lawyer at one point. ''It's hard being up here.''
The jury was told he received a financial settlement from Jackson. The young man's attorney acknowledged that the settlement involved no admission of wrongdoing by Jackson. AP
Ex-maid says she saw singer laughing in shower with boy
April 6, 2005
BY LINDA DEUTSCH
SANTA MARIA, Calif. -- Michael Jackson's former maid testified Tuesday at his molestation trial that she found the singer showering with a boy who often slept in the pop star's bed.
The woman, who was Jackson's personal maid for about five years, told of seeing Jackson in the shower with a boy about 8 years old who frequently stayed at Neverland and slept in the singer's bed.
''Are you aware of him staying anywhere other than in Michael Jackson's bedroom?'' asked prosecutor Ron Zonen.
THE CASE: Jackson is accused of molesting a boy who is now 15 years old, giving him alcohol and conspiring to hold the boy's family captive to get them to rebut a damaging TV documentary. Jackson's defense contends the family has a history of filing false claims.
ON TUESDAY: Jackson's former maid said a boy, about 8, often slept with the star, and she caught them in the shower once.
THE QUOTE: ''First I thought they were playing in bathtub or Jacuzzi or outside in his garden and I walked in and they were in the shower," the maid said.
''No,'' said the woman, speaking with a Spanish accent. ''He stay there.''
One day, she said, she used a key to enter the bedroom and heard ''laughing, playing -- like playing around.''
''First I thought they were playing in bathtub or Jacuzzi or outside in his garden and I walked in and they were in the shower,'' she said, adding later, ''I peek in and they were in shower.''
The woman said she saw their clothes on the floor outside the shower but retreated because she thought Jackson would be mad if he found her there.
Who was behind the door?
Interrogated at length about how she knew who was in the shower when the door was clouded, the witness said she was certain that she saw ''Mr. Jackson and little kid'' through the steam.
Under cross-examination, she said she also recalled seeing Jackson and the boy in Jackson's bed watching TV, both wearing nothing from the waist up. She said they were under the covers and she could not tell if they were clothed.
She acknowledged that people would often hang out on Jackson's bed and watch TV, and that she even served guests food there.
Jackson is accused of molesting a 13-year-old boy in 2003 at his Neverland ranch.
The former maid testified as part of a prosecution effort to show that the pop star had a pattern of molesting or otherwise behaving inappropriately with other boys. The woman's own son received a $2.4 million settlement from Jackson in 1994 after claiming the pop star groped him.
The former maid told of seeing actor Macaulay Culkin at Neverland and said he also stayed in Jackson's bedroom. She called him ''the little kid from the movies'' and said he often came with his father, mother, brother and sister, but sometimes was brought alone by Jackson.
Culkin won't get involved
Although the prosecution was allowed to present testimony about Culkin, the defense has asserted that the ''Home Alone'' star has denied being molested. Culkin's spokeswoman has said he will not be involved in the case.
Earlier, the former maid's 24-year-old son clashed with defense attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr. as the attorney cross-examined him about inconsistencies between the story he told Monday and accounts he gave to authorities as recently as December.
''I don't mean to sound like I'm wasting your time,'' he told the lawyer at one point. ''It's hard being up here.''
The jury was told he received a financial settlement from Jackson. The young man's attorney acknowledged that the settlement involved no admission of wrongdoing by Jackson. AP
