This book is considered to be the definitive work about Michael Jackson’s fall from grace. Investigative reporter Diane Dimond first broke the story of 12-year-old Jordan Chandler’s child sex allegations against the King of Pop in 1993 on the syndicated television program Hard Copy. After the Jackson camp settled with the Chandler family for some $25 million Jordan refused to testify at trial, no charges were filed.
Dimond stayed close to the story and in 2003 she once again reported exclusively on Court TV the story of a second accuser. 13-year-old cancer patient Gavin Arvizo claimed Jackson gave him alcohol, showed him porn, molested him, held his family captive at Neverland and planned to spirit them away to Brazil on one-way tickets. Dimond covered the criminal trial in 2005 – from jury selection to acquittal.
Now, Dimond delivers four additional chapters revealing exclusive new information about the final, secretive years of the King of Pop. For the first time one of the unindicted co-conspirator in the 2005 case speaks about what life was like inside Team Jackson. Who was calling the shots as Jackson fought for his freedom following the second round of child sex allegations? Dimond obtained one of the juror’s private trial notebooks which give readers a fascinating and contemporaneous view of how the prosecution’s case was received. In addition, new information was discovered about the jury foreman’s influence during deliberations.
Also included in the new chapters: where and how Jackson spent his post-trial time in exile, from Bahrain to Ireland and then Las Vegas; his worsening anorexia and drug and alcohol addictions (and how it affected his children) and startling facts about what happened to the official Santa Barbara County investigatory files on Michael Jackson.
The aftermath of HBO’s explosive documentary Leaving Neverland is also discussed and dissected. Readers will already have learned about its two main characters, Wade Robson and James Safechuck from Dimond’s earlier chapters. Now she draws from her exhaustive decades-long investigation to help readers come to understand the forces against these two men and why they kept the secret of sexual molestation by Jackson to themselves for so long.
Dimond narrates the audio book giving readers a unique, author-centric perspective into her investigation. www.dianedimond.com
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