Publications
Partners
Los Angeles - An exhausted Michael Jackson warned that tour promoters AEG Live were going to "kill" him as he rehearsed for a marathon concert tour shortly before his death, his son Prince testified on Wednesday.
The 16-year-old also recounted the harrowing scenes on the day Jackson died in 2009, recalling how his younger sister Paris was "screaming" as doctor Conrad Murray was trying to revive her father.
"He just wished he had more time for rehearsals," he told the wrongful death trial, in which the Jackson family accuses AEG Live of negligently hiring Murray to care for the star for his doomed This Is It shows.
Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in 2011 for having given Jackson an overdose of the anesthetic propofol, to help him cope with chronic insomnia as he rehearsed for the series of 50 planned London shows.
Previous testimony at the manslaughter trial, and at the current civil case, has heard details of how the self-styled King of Pop's state of health deteriorated rapidly in the months before his death.
Jackson was upset on the phone
On Wednesday - a day after the fourth anniversary of Jackson's death - his son Prince said the singer was upset on the phone "a lot of time," most of the time with AEG Live chief Randy Phillips.
"He would cry sometimes. He said: 'They're gonna kill me, they're gonna kill me.'" Asked who he was talking about, he said: "People in AEG, Randy Phillips."
The teenager was dressed in a dark suit and tie, with long hair brushed behind his ears. He appeared reasonably relaxed, smiling as some videos and photos of the family were shown in court.
The final night
The 16-year-old, the highest-profile witness to testify since the civil trial started in late April, recalled June 25, 2009, the day his father died at his rented Holmby Hills mansion outside Los Angeles.
"I was downstairs in the sitting room. I heard screaming upstairs. I saw Dr Conrad, (personal chef) Kai Chase looked nervous and said 'Dr. Murray wants you upstairs.'
"I ran upstairs and I saw Dr Murray doing CPR on my dad. Dr. Murray was screaming while doing CPR. Then my sister came upstairs. She was screaming all the time saying she wants her dad," he added.
The angels
Appearing to fight back tears, he recalled how the children followed the ambulance which took Jackson to hospital, in a separate car.
"My dad always told us that angels were looking after him.
At the hospital, "Dr. Murray said 'Sorry kids, dad is dead. We just cried," he told the jury.
The 16-year-old also recounted the harrowing scenes on the day Jackson died in 2009, recalling how his younger sister Paris was "screaming" as doctor Conrad Murray was trying to revive her father.
"He just wished he had more time for rehearsals," he told the wrongful death trial, in which the Jackson family accuses AEG Live of negligently hiring Murray to care for the star for his doomed This Is It shows.
Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in 2011 for having given Jackson an overdose of the anesthetic propofol, to help him cope with chronic insomnia as he rehearsed for the series of 50 planned London shows.
Previous testimony at the manslaughter trial, and at the current civil case, has heard details of how the self-styled King of Pop's state of health deteriorated rapidly in the months before his death.
Jackson was upset on the phone
On Wednesday - a day after the fourth anniversary of Jackson's death - his son Prince said the singer was upset on the phone "a lot of time," most of the time with AEG Live chief Randy Phillips.
"He would cry sometimes. He said: 'They're gonna kill me, they're gonna kill me.'" Asked who he was talking about, he said: "People in AEG, Randy Phillips."
The teenager was dressed in a dark suit and tie, with long hair brushed behind his ears. He appeared reasonably relaxed, smiling as some videos and photos of the family were shown in court.
The final night
The 16-year-old, the highest-profile witness to testify since the civil trial started in late April, recalled June 25, 2009, the day his father died at his rented Holmby Hills mansion outside Los Angeles.
"I was downstairs in the sitting room. I heard screaming upstairs. I saw Dr Conrad, (personal chef) Kai Chase looked nervous and said 'Dr. Murray wants you upstairs.'
"I ran upstairs and I saw Dr Murray doing CPR on my dad. Dr. Murray was screaming while doing CPR. Then my sister came upstairs. She was screaming all the time saying she wants her dad," he added.
The angels
Appearing to fight back tears, he recalled how the children followed the ambulance which took Jackson to hospital, in a separate car.
"My dad always told us that angels were looking after him.
At the hospital, "Dr. Murray said 'Sorry kids, dad is dead. We just cried," he told the jury.
