On August 17, 1993 the Los Angeles police department opened an investigation against Michael Jackson based on an allegation that he sexually molested a 13-year-old boy called Jordan Chandler. In this section of our website we will discuss the Chandler case in-depth. We decided to go along a timeline which hopefully will make it easier to follow the events as they unfolded and to put them into a context.
While you go along with the timeline you will find links to longer articles. These articles explain the events listed in the timeline in-depth and they are essential for understanding the Chandler allegations against Michael Jackson. In the timeline we may cite one article several times if it is deemed relevant to several events. Our sources are listed at the end of each article.
And this one is a shorter, condensed version of the above material.
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May 1992 – Michael Jackson meets his later accuser Jordan Chandler and his family at a car rental agency owned by the boy’s stepfather David Schwartz, after the singer’s car breaks down on Wilshire Boulvard, Los Angeles. Schwartz offers Jackson a deal: he would rent him a car for free if Jackson promises to call Jordan who was a big fan of the star. Jackson accepts the deal and calls Jordan a couple of days later. He and the boy’s family become friends.
For details about this encounter and an introduction to the Chandler family see: Michael Jackson’s first accuser – meet the Chandler family!
May 1992-January 1993 – Jackson keeps a telephone contact with Jordan and the boy’s mother June Chandler. According to the Chandlers’ recollections Jackson called them about 8-10 times during this period, so approximately once a month. According to June Chandler she was present throughout all of the phone calls.
February 1993 – Jordan Chandler, his mother and his younger sister visit Neverland for the first time.
March 1993 – June and Jordan Chandler again visit the ranch in March. According to June, on several occasions Jordan asked her if he could sleep in Michael Jackson’s bedroom, because all the other kids were there. She described Jordan as being very pushy about this on a number of occasions but she did not allow him. Jordan did, however, play up in Jackson’s room until 2:00am before returning to his guest room.
March 28-April 1993 – Jackson invites June, Jordan and Jordan’s sister to Las Vegas where they stay at the Mirage Hotel. From then on the family frequently visits Neverland, Jackson’s Century City condo and goes with him on trips in and outside of the USA. The Chandlers claim Jordan and Jackson began sharing a bedroom at this Las Vegas trip, although they do not claim any abuse right away.
April 2-7, 1993 – The Chandlers spend 5 days at Neverland.
April 1993 – May 1993 – According to June Chandler’s 2005 testimony during this period Jackson stayed over at her house a number of times and slept in her son’s room.
May 9, 1993 – Jackson, June, Jordan and Jordan’s sister go to Monaco where Jackson is awarded at the World Music Awards on May 12, 1993. The family attends the ceremony with Jackson.
May 13, 1993 – Jackson and the Chandlers fly to Paris where they spend three days at Eurodisney.
May 16, 1993 – Jackson and the Chandlers fly back to Los Angeles.
May 20, 1993 – Michael Jackson first meets Jordan’s biological father Evan Chandler at June Chandler’s house.
May 21, 1993 – Jackson invites Evan Chandler to his Century City (Los Angeles) condo.
May 22-23, 1993 – Evan Chandler invites Jackson to spend the weekend in his house with Jordan and Evan’s side of the family.
May 25, 1993 – The National Enquirer publishes a story about the Chandlers and Jackson entitled “Michael Jackson’s Secret Family”. The story was sold by someone from the Chandler side. Evan’s brother, Ray Chandler claims in his book, All That Glitter (published in 2004), that the sister of June’s closest friend sold the story to the tabloid.
May 28-30, 1993 – Jackson spends Memorial Day Weekend at Evan Chandler’s house with Jordan and Evan’s side of the family. In Ray Chandler’s book it is claimed that by this time Evan started to have “suspicions” that Jackson sexually molested Jordan.
For details about how these “suspicions” emerged, and also details about some of the above mentioned events, please read our article Evan Chandler’s “Suspicions”!
June 9, 1993 – According to Ray Chandler’s book Evan Chandler shares his concern with June that Jordan might be gay. June says she would not care if that was the case, which Evan interprets in a peculiar way: “In his mind, June was admitting their son might be gay and having sex with Michael, and that it was no big deal.” [All That Glitters; page 55]
June 13, 1993 – According to Ray Chandler’s book Evan reveals his alleged concerns about the relationship between his son and Jackson to a lawyer Barry K. Rothman, who was a patient of his (Evan was a dentist). According to the book, in exchange of his dental treatment Rothman offers to help him “to end the relationship” by either filing a restraining order against Jackson or a custody lawsuit against June. It has to be noted that in 1992 Rothman represented a client in a custody battle who accused her estranged companion of molesting their child, which the man denied. When Rothman was fired by the woman he went on to represent the man’s company without notifying his former client. For this Rothman was disciplined by the state’s bar.
In a taped phone conversation between Evan and David Schwartz on July 8, 1993, the reasons given as to why Evan hired Rothman and how he hired him are different: “this attorney I found – I mean, I interviewed several, and I picked the nastiest son of a bitch I could find, and all he wants to do is get this out in the public as fast as he can, as big as he can and humiliate as many people as he can”, says Evan on the tape which we discuss in detail in this article.
June 20, 1993 – Jordan Chandler, despite demands from Evan, refuses to call his father on Father’s Day.
July 7, 1993 – Because his son has repeatedly refuses to return his phone calls Evan Chandler leaves a threatening message on June Chandler’s answering machine. [Details in our article entitled Evan Chandler’s “Suspicions”]
July 8, 1993 – Jordan’s stepfather David Schwartz tapes three telephone conversations he had with Evan Chandler in which Chandler threatens to “destroy” Jackson with the help of a plot he carefully prepared and with people who are only waiting for his phone call to set everything in motion if the star refuses to communicate with him and refuses to give him what he wants.
For details see our article entitled Taped phone conversations between Evan Chandler and David Schwartz on July 8, 1993].
July 9, 1993 – Dave Schwartz and June Chandler plays the tape that Schwartz made of his phone conversations with Evan Chandler to Anthony Pellicano – a private investigator working for Jackson’s lawyer, Bertram Fields. Pellicano meets with Jordan in Jackson’s Century City condo the same day. Without Jackson being present he asks the boy very specific questions about whether he has ever been molested or inappropriately touched by the entertainer. The boy’s answer to each and every question is that nothing inappropriate has ever been done to him by Jackson. According to Pellicano, Jordan also said his father only wanted money.
July 11, 1993 – Jordan is sent to his father for a one-week visitation but at the end of the week Evan Chandler refuses to return the boy to his mother.
July 12, 1993 – Evan Chandler has his ex-wife June sign a document prepared by his lawyer Barry Rothman that prevents her from taking Jordan out of Los Angeles County and letting Jordan meet Michael Jackson. In the document June also agrees to remit the money ($68,804) that Evan owed her in back child support. June later said she signed the document under duress since Evan threatened that he would never let her see Jordan again if she would not sign it.
July 14, 1993 – Evan Chandler and his lawyer Barry Rothman contact Dr. Mathis Abrams a Beverly Hills psychiatrist and present him with a hypothethical situation about child molestation. In reply, without having met either the child or the accused, just based on Evan’s words and story, Abrams sent Rothman a two-page letter in which he stated that “reasonable suspicion would exist that sexual abuse may have occurred”. Evan later used this letter as a “negotiation” tool with his ex-wife June and with Michael Jackson. Details in our chapter entitled How Did The Allegations of the Chandlers Emerge?
July 16, 1993 – According to Ray Chandler’s version of events Jordan “confesses” to his father about his alleged sexual molestation – just one day before Evan was scheduled to return Jordan to June. The circumstances of this alleged “confession” are very problematic. For details see our article entitled How Did The Allegations of the Chandlers Emerge?
According to some sources the boy was administered the controversial drug Sodium Amytal which can make the human mind suggestible. However, we doubt this claim for reasons detailed in an article entitled The Use of Sodium Amytal?
July 20, 1993 – June Chandler and David Schwartz meet Evan’s attorney Barry Rothman in latter’s office. During that meeting Dr. Mathis Abrams’ letter is shown to them and it is demanded that they sign a document that would transfer custody of Jordan from June to Evan.
July 27, 1993 – According to a book written by a legal secretary of Barry Rothman, Geraldine Hughes (Redemption: The Truth Behind the Michael Jackson Child Molestation Allegations), Rothman writes a letter to Evan Chandler advising him how to report child abuse without liability to the parent.
August 4, 1993 – A meeting takes place between Michael Jackson, private investigator Anthony Pellicano, Evan Chandler and Jordan Chandler in a suite at the Westwood Marquis Hotel. Later that day Evan Chandler and Barry Rothman meet Pellicano in Rothman’s office where they make a demand for $20 million to not to turn to authorities and not to go public with allegations of child sexual abuse against the entertainer.
For details see: The Chandlers’ Monetary Demands.
August 16, 1993 – June Chandler’s attorney Michael Freeman calls Barry Rothman and informs him that they would appear in Court the next day to obtain an Ex Parte order demanding the immediate return of Jordan to his mother. The Court then orders Evan Chandler to return the boy to his mother and also that the document that June signed on July 12 be overturned. In the motion that Evan Chandler files against the order he does not mention any suspicion of sexual abuse by Michael Jackson.
August 17, 1993 – This is the deadline that the Court set for Evan to return Jordan to June. At this point Jordan has been with his father for more than a month – Evan should have returned the boy to his mother on July 16. (Details about what happened during this month are in our article about The Chandlers’ Monetary Demands.) As an answer to the Court order and frustrated by Jackson’s refusal to pay him off, Evan takes Jordan to Dr. Mathis Abrams where the boy makes his detailed allegations against Jackson for the first time. This triggers a criminal investigation against the entertainer. As a result of the allegations Evan does not have to return Jordan to his ex-wife despite the Court’s order a day before.
August 19, 1993 – June Chandler’s attorney Michael Freeman meets with Barry Rothman in latter’s office. June has a change of heart and now sides with Evan. “Mother stated that if Jordie had said it, it must be true”, the Department of Children’s Services report of August 19, 1993 stated, although – according to Ray Chandler’s book – she previously said she felt that Evan Chandler had brainwashed their son.
August 19, 1993 – Contrary to later reports which suggested Jackson had intentionally left on his tour in order to escape any possible arrest warrant in the US, Jackson in fact requests on this date to pull out or postpone the second leg of his Dangerous World Tour, likely understanding the seriousness of the allegations against him.
August 21, 22 & 30, 1993 – In the absence of Michael Jackson, who was on tour out of the USA at the time, search warrants are carried out on his premises – Neverland, Century City condo – and a hotel room at the Mirage Hotel, Las Vegas where he used to stay with the Chandlers. On August 27, 1993 the Los Angeles Times wrote: “Videotapes seized from homes belonging to Michael Jackson do not incriminate the entertainer, and the lack of physical evidence of alleged sexual molestation has left investigators “scrambling” to get statements from other potential victims, a high-ranking police source said Thursday. “There’s no medical evidence, no taped evidence,” the source said. “The search warrant didn’t result in anything that would support a criminal filing.”(Jim Newton and Sonia Nazario – Police Say Seized Tapes Do Not Incriminate Jackson: Investigation: Officials continue to interview children in connection with molestation allegations; Los Angeles Times, August 27, 1993.)
August 23, 1993 – First reports appear about the allegations in the media.
August 24, 1993 – Evan Chandler, June Chandler, David Schwartz, Michael Freeman met with Barry Rothman for three hours in latter’s office. Rothman’s legal secretary, Geraldine Hughes claims in her book entitled Redemption that she overheard Evan Chandler say “I almost had a twenty million dollar deal”.
August 25, 1993 – Someone illegally leaks a copy of the abuse report to tabloid TV show Hard Copy.
August 25, 26 & 30, 1993 – Jackson has to cancel two shows in Bankok because of dehydration and a show in Singapore after collapsing backstage.
August 26-27, 1993 – Evan and Jordan Chandler spend all day and night in Rothman’s office hiding from the media. Rothman’s secretary, Geraldine Hughes claims in her book that she overheard Evan Chandler say to Rothman: “It’s my ass that’s on the line and in danger of going to prison.”
late August 1993 – Barry Rothman quits representing the Chandlers after Jackson files extortion charges against him and Evan Chandler. According to Geraldine Hughes’ book: “Dr. Chandler and Mr. Rothman continued to put their heads together as they very carefully planned their next moves. Dr. Chandler continued to call our office at least four to five times per day (on a light day) to speak with Mr. Rothman, and he continued to give Dr. Chandler advice concerning his every move.”
August 30, 1993 – Parts of the secretly taped phone conversations between Evan Chandler and David Schwartz (for details see our article entitled Taped phone conversations between Evan Chandler and David Schwartz on July 8, 1993) were released to the media by Pellicano. Two days later a secretly taped phone conversation between Barry Rothman and Pellicano was released by the latter as well.
August 30, 1993 – The Chandlers hire attorney attorney Gloria Allred.
September 2, 1993 – Allred gives a press conference where she states the accuser is willing to testify in a Court. In reaction to that a couple of days later the Chandlers fire Allred and replace her with a civil attorney, Larry Feldman, who was offered to them by Barry Rothman. According to Ray Chandler’s book this was because the Chandler family wanted to steer the case toward “a highly profitable settlement” rather than a Grand Jury indictment and a criminal trial.
September 8, 1993 – Evan Chandler, June Chandler, David Schwartz and their lawyers discuss the prospects of a “highly profitable settlement” in Larry Feldman’s office. Evan and David Schwartz have an argument about the settlement money that they have not even received yet. According to Ray Chandler’s book Schwartz demanded four million dollars while the Chandlers did not want him to be included in Jordan’s complaint. (Earlier Schwartz also asked Michael Jackson to give him a four million dollars loan, which the star refused.) During the argument Evan Chandler punched Schwartz. According to Mary A. Fischer’s article “Was Michael Jackson Framed?” (GQ, October 1994) during the argument Schwartz said “this was all about extortion, anyway, at which point Evan stood up, walked over and started hitting Dave”. Ray Chandler’s book admits that “in the heat of this verbal battle [Evan] sprang from his seat and slapped Dave in the face. Several of the lawyers stepped between the two men and separated them”.
September, 1993 – Evan Chandler files a lawsuit against June Chandler and David Schwartz for invasion of privacy, violation of Penal Code section 632, intentional infliction of emotional distress and conspiracy. In the lawsuit Chandler complains about David Schwartz recording their telephone conversations and giving them to a third party (Anthony Pellicano) and that some of the recordings found their way to the news media. In a cross-complaint David Schwartz sues Evan Chandler likewise for invasion of privacy, violation of Penal Code 632, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
September 14, 1993 – Larry Feldman, on behalf of the Chandlers, files a $30 million civil lawsuit against Michael Jackson accusing him of sexual battery, battery, seduction, willful misconduct, intentional infliction of emotional distress, fraud and negligence.
September 21, 1993 – The National Enquirer runs a story about Michael Jackson having been seen kissing and cuddling a boy in a disturbing way in a limousine on the way to Disneyland. The paper cites an unnamed “observer” for source. This same story, with some of the exact same expressions, can be found in Ray Chandler’s 2004 book. Ray Chandler there reveals that the supposed witness of this scene was June Chandler. From June’s 2005 testimony we know that the boy was Brett Barnes (who always stated that Jackson never did anything inappropriate to him). In Court June did not describe this scene as a disturbing scene at all – both the Enquirer and Ray Chandler’s book seemed to have juiced up the story [details in our article entitled Evan Chandler’s “Suspicions”]. This suggests that the Chandlers were in contact with some of the tabloid media and fed them with stories while the investigation was ongoing.
October 6, 1993 – Jordan is taken to a psychiatrist, Dr. Richard Gardner who conducts an interview with him. The interview was leaked to the public in February, 2003. This is the most detailed account we have of Jordan’s allegations.
For details see our article about The Chandler Allegations.
October 21, 1993 – Jackson, who is still on tour at this point, cancels a show in Chile, then he cancels several more dates of his Dangerous World Tour due to serious health problems.
October 28, 1993 – Jackson’s attorney Bert Fields writes a letter to LAPD complaining about their tactics of trying to manipulate children into saying incriminating things about Jackson. Police interviewed 40-60 children (according to some sources up to 100) who had ever spent time with Jackson or at his Neverland Ranch. No one corroborated the accuser’s story. All of the children said nothing inappropriate or suspicious had ever been done to them by Jackson.
For details see our article about The Prosecution’s Hunt For Other Victims.
November 4, 1993 – Having interviewed dozens of children, of whom none corroborated Jordan Chandler’s allegations, they get to Jason Francia, the 13-year-old son of a former maid of Jackson Blanca Francia, who is aggressively pressured by investigators into making allegations against the star. Although initially Jason Francia does not remember any such thing, after a high pressure interrogation and leading questions by the police, he finally comes up with a story about Jackson allegedly improperly touching him during tickling. Jason Francia would be interviewed again in March 1994.
For details about Jason Francia’s allegations see our article about him entitled Jason Francia.
November 8, 1993 – A fourth search warrant carried out – this time at the Hayvenhurst (Encino, California) home of the Jackson Family. Nothing incriminating is found.
November 11, 1993 – Jackson’s last performance on his ongoing world tour in Mexico. The remaining dates of the tour are cancelled because Jackson developed a dependency on painkillers. He seeks treatment in Europe (probably London) with the help of Elizabeth Taylor and Elton John.
November 15, 1993 – Jackson’s attorney Bert Fields holds a press conference confirming that Jackson is undergoing treatment for a painkiller dependency. He said Jackson was “barely able to function on an intellectual level”. He would not disclose his whereabouts. Fields added that Jackson “has no intention of avoiding coming to the US”. The media cast doubt on the dependency claim and make suggestions that Jackson is running and hiding from the law, even though he is not charged with anything, nor is an arrest warrant issued against him at this point (nor at any time later in this case, for that matter).
November 16, 1993 – The Chandler’s lawyer, Larry Feldman files a so called Motion for Trial Preference which is a special request to have the civil trial heard within 120 days after the motion is granted. This request is usually given to children under the age of 14. In other words the accuser’s side was working hard on getting the civil trial ahead of the criminal proceedings.
November 22, 1993 – Dr. Beachamp Colclough, the doctor who treats Jackson for his painkiller dependency, releases a statement confirming the treatment and refutes media rumours about Jackson “hiding out” and also rumours about cosmetic surgery and that he was suicidal: “no other medical, surgical or psychological condition exists”, he said.
November 22, 1993 – Five former bodyguards of the Jackson family (Leroy Thomas, Morris Williams, Donald Starks, Fred Hammond, Aaron White), sometimes dubbed in the media as “The Hayvenhurst 5″, file a civil lawsuit against Michael Jackson claiming they were fired because they “knew too much” about Michael Jackson’s relationship with young boys. The bodyguards, who asked for $10 million in their lawsuit, did not work for Michael Jackson, but for his family in Hayvenhurst. The bodyguards appeared on the tabloid TV show Hard Copy with their story. Later documents revealed negotiations for $100,000 between the show and the bodyguards. The bodyguards never reported to authorities that they saw any inappropriate behavior by Jackson towards children. In fact, in depositions given to the police they admitted they never saw anything inappropriate. The bodyguards’ lawsuit was thrown out of court in July, 1995.
For more details about ex-employees making allegations against Jackson see these articles:
Ralph Chacon, Kassim Abdool and Adrian McManus
These people then were used by the Prosecution as witnesses against Jackson during his 2005 trial.
Note: There was one another former employee of Jackson who was used by the prosecution as a “prior bad acts” witness in 2005: maid Blanca Francia. Her allegations include allegations about Wade Robson, therefore we will discuss her in detail when discussing Robson’s posthumus allegations against Jackson, but we decided to wait with the detailed discussion of that case until it is in the court system, as it is presently.
Allegations made by a Filipino couple, Mariano “Mark” and Ofelia “Faye” Quindoy, who worked for Jackson between 1989 and 1990, are discussed in the article entitled The Media’s Role In The Allegations Against Michael Jackson.
November 23, 1993 – A friction in Jackson’s team of attorneys shows when Bert Fields tells reporters that a criminal indictment against Jackson seemed imminent. The information turned out to be false. Jackson’s other attorney Howard Weitzman told reporters that Fields just “misspoke himself”. Fields zeal to announce that an indictment seemed imminent had to do with the fact that Jackson’s team was fighting against the Chandlers efforts to bring the civil proceedings ahead of the criminal proceedings.
On the same day Judge David M. Rothman denied a request by Jackson’s attorneys in which they attempted to postpone the civil lawsuit to allow the criminal proceedings to be held ahead of the civil proceedings. Civil trial court date was set at March 21, 1994.
About the significance of this see our article about The Settlement between the Chandlers and Jackson.
November 26, 1993 – Police raids the offices of Jackson’s dermatologist, Dr. Arnold Klein and plastic surgeon, Dr. Steve Hoefflin confiscating medical records of the star.
December 3, 1993 – A letter, signed by Jackson is sent to Bert Fields ousting him as chief attorney for the civil case.
December 10, 1993 – Michael Jackson returns to the United States.
December 13, 1993 – Bert Fields officially resigns and leaves the case completely. After Fields’ resignation Jackson is represented by Howard Weitzman and Johnnie Cochran – the latter newly joined the star’s defense team. Private investigator Anthony Pellicano also leaves and publically states upon his resignation that he is convinced of Jackson’s innocence and his leaving the case is no indication of otherwise.
December 15, 1993 – Blanca Francia, who worked for Jackson as a maid between 1986 and 1991 appears on the tabloid TV show Hard Copy claiming she witnessed improprieties toward young boys by Jackson during her employment. Before the Chandler allegations she never mentioned these alleged improprieties to anyone, nor did she report them to authorities. At Jackson’s 2005 trial Francia admitted that she had been paid $20,000 by Hard Copy for the interview, which was her then yearly salary. On the same day as her interview with Hard Copy aired, Blanca Francia was deposed for the Chandler civil case. A day before, on December 14, Francia also spoke to the Los Angeles Times. The article mentions her upcoming Hard Copy interview so it was recorded before December 14. During her testimony at Jackson’s 2005 trial she admitted that she also contemplated selling her story to the National Enquirer. This did not come to be, apparently because the police put her under wraps after her Hard Copy interview.
December 20, 1993 – Michael Jackson is strip searched. His genitalia and body is photographed and videotaped by authorities to compare them with the description the accuser gave of Jackson’s private parts. Based on the body search no arrest warrant was issued.
For details see our article entitled Did Jordan Chandler’s description of Michael Jackson’s penis match the photographs taken of the star’s genitalia by the police?
December 22, 1993 – Jackson releases a video statement, talking about the strip search and maintaining his innocence.
December 28, 1993 – Marcel Avram, owner of the Munich based Mama Concerts company files a lawsuit against Jackson seeking $20 million after the cancellation of Jackson’s tour.
December 28, 1993 – Jordan Chandler gives a declaration about his allegations. This declaration, together with Dr. Richard Gardner’s interview with Jordan on October 6, was leaked to the public in February, 2003 by an unknown source, apparently to further antagonize the public against Jackson in the wake of Martin Bashir’s Living with Michael Jackson documentary. We discuss Jordan’s detailed allegations in our article entitled The Chandler Allegations.
December 30, 1993 – The Chandlers’ attorney Larry Feldman files a motion to compel Jackson to answer a list of questions for the civil suit. The over a hundred questions asks for information about each person under the age of 18 that Jackson has entertained since January 1, 1983.
December 30, 1993 – Judge David M. Rothman denies Jackson’s motion for a gag order. According to Ray Chandler’s book the Chandlers were worried about the prospect of a gag order and that they would not be able to talk to the media and influence public opinion if a gag order was issued.
January 4-5, 1994 – Larry Feldman files a motion in which he gives Jackson a multiple choice request: Jackson may provide copies of the police photographs made of his body during the strip search on December 20, submit to a second search or the court may bar the photographs from the civil trial as evidence.
January 10, 1994 – Larry Feldman asks the Court for access to Jackson’s financial records. “He is a millionaire hundreds of times over whose assets are tied up in intangibles. Plaintiff will need the three months remaining before the trial date to be able to track down these assets and come up with an approximation of their worth”, he wrote in his motion. As a part of his motion Feldman also filed Jordan’s December 28 declaration. According to Jackson’s lawyer, Howard Weitzman this was a PR move by Feldman because it contained nothing new compared to the allegations that had already been detailed in August, so it only served as a counter punch in reaction to Jackson’s December 22 video statement in which the star maintained his innocence.
January 11, 1994 – Jordan Chandler turns 14 years old.
January 11, 1994 – Blanca Francia’s second deposition.
January 14, 1994 – Judge David M. Rothman postpones Jackson’s deposition scheduled for January 18 and two hearings on Feldman’s motions. The hearings were rescheduled for January 25 and Jackson was ordered to give his deposition between January 25 and February 1.
January 24, 1994 – The prosecutor’s office announces that they decline to file charges against Evan Chandler for extortion as Jackson’s attorneys retracted the complaint, preparing for the settlement that would be signed the next day. As a part of the settlement agreement Jackson had to agree to withdraw the extortion charges. The investigation of the extortion allegation by Jackson was never given the same attention and effort by the authorities as the child molestation allegations against Jackson. They never subpoenaed any witnesses, no search warrants were issued, and not much at all was done with the extortion charges. [For details about the Chandlers’ monetary demands please read our article entitled The Chandlers’ Monetary Demands.]
January 25, 1994 – An out of court settlement is reached in the civil case between Jackson and the Chandlers. The settlement was illegally leaked to Court TV’s Diane Dimond in 2003 and from that document we know the amount paid into a trust for Jordan Chandler was $15,331,250. The criminal investigation, however, was ongoing. Both sides stated, and it is also stated in the settlement itself, that the settlement is in no way an admission of guilt by Michael Jackson. Los Angeles District Attorney Gil Garcetti maintained that the settlement did not affect the criminal investigation. The settlement also did not prevent Jordan Chandler from testifying in any criminal case.
For details see our article about The Settlement.
January, 1994 – Within days of the settlement Jordan’s uncle, Ray Chandler began shopping a book about the allegations. Publishers turned him down fearing legal complications since the settlement states that none of the parties are allowed to talk to the media about the allegations. Book publisher Judith Regan: “I asked him how he proposed to do this given the fact that the Chandlers had actually signed a confidentiality agreement and taken $20mln. And he said that Jordan’s father had given him all the information he needed for the book and he believed he was outside the bounds of the Confidentiality agreement because he would be the author. At the time I had the impression that the Chandlers were brazen opportunists and I found the entire proposal by the uncle to be distasteful. They enter a Confidentiality agreement and before the ink is even dry they are shopping a deal that violates this agreement?” (Judith Regan in SIRIUS XM Radio, July 15, 2009)
Eventually Ray Chandler published his book in 2004 at the height of the media frenzy caused by the Arvizo allegations (details about that case in the The 2005 Allegations section of our website). Ray Chandler was very much willing to talk about his family’s allegations in the media at the time, but he was not willing to repeat his claims under oath at Jackson’s 2005 trial, even when Jackson’s defense tried to get him on the stand.
For details about Ray Chandler’s actions in the media and also his refusal to testify at Jackson’s 2005 trial see the article entitled Ray Chandler’s Subpoena in 2004.
January 31, 1994 – About one week after the settlement was announced Los Angeles District Attorney, Gil Garcetti announces that he would sponsor legislation to force sexual assault victims to testify in criminal cases even if they sue their alleged abusers for money. The California law that allowed the Chandlers to push the civil trial ahead of the criminal trial was changed eventually. Santa Barbara District Attorney, Thomas Sneddon said in a 2003 interview that this was a direct result of what happened in the Chandler case.
March 17, 1994 – Michael Jackson’s mother Katherine Jackson is subpoenaed to testify before the Grand Jury in Los Angeles. Michael Jackson’s attorney, Howard Weitzman: “In all the years of my experience, I’ve never before seen the mother of the target of an investigation called before the grand jury. It’s just done in real poor taste. It borders on harassment.” Prosecutors sought information from Katherine about whether Michael Jackson changed the appearance of his genitalia, as it did not match a description provided to them by Jordan Chandler. [For details about the description see our article entitled Did Jordan Chandler’s description of Michael Jackson’s penis match the photographs taken of the star’s genitalia by the police?]
March 24, 1994 – Jason Francia’s second police interview.
February-April, 1994 – Santa Barbara and Los Angeles Grand Jury hearings in the Jackson investigation. Both Grand Juries disband without indicting Jackson. Despite this investigators refuse to close the case and still try to convince Jordan Chandler to testify.
April 11, 1994 – Michael Jackson requests the return of the photographs taken during his body search. The request is denied.
May 1994 – Evan Chandler closes down his Beverly Hills dental office.
July 6, 1994 – Jordan Chandler informs investigators that he is not willing to testify.
August 8, 1994 – David Schwartz sues Evan Chandler.
August 16, 1994 – David Schwartz sues Michael Jackson claiming he and his daughter were “traumatized” by the allegations. June Chandler and Schwartz divorce in 1994.
September 21, 1994 – Santa Barbara District Attorney Thomas Sneddon and Los Angeles District Attorney Gil Garcetti make an official statement regarding the status of the Michael Jackson investigation. They inform the public that Jordan Chandler is unwilling to testify therefore they are unable to file charges. Gil Garcetti admits that the 18-month investigation did not lead to anything incriminating against Jackson. He also states: “Michael Jackson is presumed to be innocent as any citizen in this room is if they are not convicted with a crime. We are not charging Michael Jackson with a crime”.
Tom Sneddon, however, claims that there are two more alleged victims, but they are just unwilling to testify. Later however it becomes clear that one of his two other alleged victims is Jason Francia who was pressured by the prosecution into making allegations against the singer. He eventually testified at Jackson’s 2005 trial and was not found credible (see details about him and his allegations and how they emereged in our article entitled Jason Francia). Based on what Sneddon revealed about the other alleged victim it seems to be Brett Barnes who has always stated firmly that Jackson never did anything inappropriate to him and never molested him. Indeed, Sneddon admits at this press conference that the other alleged victim “had made a “general denial” of wrongdoing by Mr. Jackson” (New York Times on September 22, 1994). Sneddon later at Jackson’s 2005 trial would also use this tactic of calling people “victims” who themselves denied being victims. Sneddon also states that despite the prosecution’s inability to charge Jackson with any crime the investigation would remain open.
July 4, 1995 – First media reports about Jordan Chandler being in the process of legally emancipating himself from both of his biological parents.
November 12, 1995 – Jordan Chandler’s emancipation from his parents becomes final. He goes on to live with Evan’s second wife (who by this time had divorced Evan) and his two younger siblings from that second marriage of Evan. [A little more about the Chandlers’ family relations in our article entitled Michael Jackson’s first accuser – meet the Chandler family!]
May 7, 1996 – Evan Chandler files a civil lawsuit against Michael Jackson, Jackson’s first wife Lisa Marie Presley, ABC Capitol Cities Broadcasting and others for allegedly breaching the Confidentiality Agreement of the 1994 settlement when Jackson maintained his innocence in an interview on the ABC television channel. Evan Chandler this time demands more than $60 million from Jackson and a record deal so that he could release a musical album about the alleged sexual molestation of his son. The lawsuit gets thrown out of Court in 2000.
For details see our article about Evan Chandler’s 1996 lawsuit against Michael Jackson.
October 15, 1996 – Verdict in a lawsuit that Michael Jackson filed against journalists Victor Gutierrez and Diane Dimond. In January of 1995 Gutierrez claimed that an alleged 27 minute video tape captured by one of Jackson’s security cameras showed the star sexually molesting one of his nephews, Jeremy. No such tape ever existed and the boy and his mother firmly denied the story. Dimond repeated Gutierrez’s allegations in a radio show and on TV, despite not having any evidence for its existance outside of Gutierrez’s words and despite a statement by Jackson’s lawyer that there was no such tape. The Court ordered Gutierrez to pay Jackson $2.7 million in damages. He never paid and instead fled the country and filed for bankruptcy. Dimond escaped unscathed because no malice could be proven on her part.
Victor Gutierrez was a lot more deeply involved in the allegations against Michael Jackson than this. He seems to have been a catalyst who had been in contact with many of the main players of the case, as well as journalists who used him as a “source”. For details about him and his disturbing agenda please read our article entitled Victor Gutierrez and his role in the allegations against Michael Jackson.
February 15, 2001 – The New York Daily News quotes Tom Sneddon saying the child abuse case against Michael Jackson had never been closed and that it can be re-opened at any time (Sneddon has made a few similar remarks to other publications in the ’90s). Sneddon is also quoted saying that the statue of limitations for Jordan Chandler to testify has not run out because Jackson was living out of the country for so much time.
February 3 & 6, 2003 – Martin Bashir’s Living with Michael Jackson documentary airs in the UK (February 3) and then in the USA (February 6). On February 6 someone leaks Jordan Chandler’s 1993 declaration (see December 28, 1993) to the media to further antagonize the public against Jackson.
March 3, 2003 – Ray Chandler gives an interview to the National Enquirer praising the paper’s “accuracy” in their reporting of the 1993 case. There are reasons to believe that some of the tabloid’s stories at the time were fed by the Chandlers (see September 21, 1993, May 25, 1993).
June 16, 2004 – The Settlement agreement between the Chandlers and Michael Jackson is illegally leaked to journalist Diane Dimond. It is not known who leaked the confidential settlement to Dimond, however, Ray Chandler’s book, All That Glitters, calls Dimond Evan Chandler’s “closest ally”.
September 12, 2004 – At the height of the media frenzy about the Arvizo allegations and the upcoming trial, Ray Chandler self publishes the book he had been shopping since the 1994 settlement (Raymond Chandler – All That Glitters: The Crime and the Cover-Up).
September 19, 2004 – Jackson’s defense tries to subpoena Ray Chandler who was making his rounds in the media, promoting his book. In interviews Chandler claims to have documents which “prove” Jackson’s guilt. Jackson’s defense team challenges him to come and show his documents in Court, under oath in order to be cross-examined. Ray Chandler refuses to go to Court with his claims as he successfully fights off the subpoena citing the Shield Law that protects him as a journalist.
For details see the chapter Ray Chandler’s Subpoena in 2004.
September 28, 2004 – Prosecutors for the Arvizo trial visit the 24-year-old Jordan Chandler in New York to ask him to testify against Jackson in the upcoming trial. According to Jackson’s FBI files those were released after the singer’s death, Jordan refused and advised the prosecutors that “he would legally fight any attempt” to make him testify against Jackson. Later Jackson’s lawyer Thomas Mesereau revealed that he had witnesses for the trial who said Jordan privately admitted to them that Jackson did not molest him and had Jordan come to testify he would have presented those witnesses.
April 11, 2005 – June Chandler appears in court at Jackson’s trial as one of the prosecution’s witnesses. She admits she has not spoken to Jordan for 11 years. She testifies about her son and Michael Jackson spending time together in 1993 but she does not claim to have witnessed molestation. She is the only member of the Chandler family who ever testified in a Court and subjected herself to cross-examination.
June 13, 2005 – Michael Jackson is acquitted on all counts at his trial.
August 5, 2005 – Jordan Chandler obtains a temporary restraining order against his father, claiming that while they were living in the same household Evan “struck him on the head from behind with a twelve and one-half pound weight and then sprayed his eyes with mace or pepper spray and tried to choke him. The judge also found that the weight could cause serious bodily injury or death.”
For details about the Chandlers’ family relations see our article Michael Jackson’s first accuser – meet the Chandler family!
June 25, 2009 – Michael Jackson passes away.
June 26, 2009 – A false story is circulated on the Internet about Jordan Chandler recanting his allegations. Jordan has never publicly recanted his allegations. A little more detail in our article entitled Is it true that Jordan Chandler publicly confessed after Michael Jackson’s death that Jackson did not molest him?
November 5, 2009 – Only four months after Michael Jackson’s death, Evan Chandler committed suicide by shooting himself in the head in his New Jersey home. He did not leave a suicide note. Reportedly, he died as a lonely man, stricken with serious and painful diseases. In his Will Evan ordered that none of his family members be advised of his death until well after his funeral. He also stated that he did not wish to leave anything to any of his three children: “For reasons best known between us, I purposefully make no provision in this, my Last Will and Testament, for any of my children or their issue.”
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The Michael Jackson Allegations 