nypost-060505

TOUGH AUDIENCE ; JACKO’S FATE UP TO A JURY OF PARENTS
The New York Post
647091 All Editions
News
Published: 06/05/2005
Page: 019
Caption: BELIEVE HIM OR NOT: The Jacko jury must decide whether to trust his word against the boy’s family. (Getty)
TOUGH AUDIENCE ; JACKO’S FATE UP TO A JURY OF PARENTS
Byline: By DIANE DIMOND

SANTA MARIA, Calif. - The jury now has the case. It’s up to eight women and four men to determine whether Michael Jackson molested a 13-year-old boy, giving him alcohol for the purpose of seducing him or conspired to abduct, falsely imprison or extort the boy and his family.

This jury will decide whether Jackson goes to jail or remains free to continue his lifestyle of surrounding himself with other people’s young sons.

Who are these people who will decide the one-time King of Pop’s fate?

Their median age is almost 45 - about the same age as the defendant, who is 46.
Most of the jurors are married or have been. Most of them have children - multiple children. Seven of them have raised sons.

Seven are white, four are Hispanics (the alleged victim in this case is also Hispanic) and one is Asian. Some have only high school diplomas; others are highly educated, holding postgraduate degrees.
They all reside in the mostly middle-class, northern part of Santa Barbara County, four hours north of the glitterati of Los Angeles.

In short, this jury is part of a diverse, middle-class, agricultural-based community. Their homes wouldn’t sell for even close to the almost $1 million it costs per month to run Neverland, Jackson’s palatial 2,700-acre spread tucked into the Santa Inez Valley.

The oldest of the panel is Juror No. 5, a 79-year-old widow whose grandson is a registered sexual deviant. She told the court she felt her family’s experience with that situation would make her a better juror in this case.

Juror No. 8 is a white female with four children who, along with her husband, served in the Air Force. Her sister was raped and her two nieces were sexually molested by their father, who is now in prison.

Juror No. 7 wants to be a sports journalist, which could be complicated by the fact that his cerebral palsy has confined him to a wheelchair. No. 9, the Asian woman, is married to a local television reporter who was taken off the Michael Jackson assignment once his wife was chosen. The Hispanic woman occupying seat No. 12 was married to a police officer and still has many friends who work in law enforcement.

Their monumental task now is to deliver justice to another human being.

The closing statements, designed to sum up the 14 weeks of testimony for the jury, drew a starkly different picture of the boy and his family.

Defense attorney Tom Mesereau argued, “The question you have before you is very simple. Do you believe the [family] beyond a reasonable doubt, or not? They are liars, con artists and welfare cheats.”

Senior Assistant DA Ron Zonen reminded jurors they had heard testimony about seven different young boys who shared a bed with Michael Jackson, one for 365 days.

“Are we to believe he is asexual?” he asked.

So, now it all comes down to whether the jurors believe the boy and his family or Michael Jackson. All we can do is wait for their answer.

Diane Dimond is executive investigative editor at Court TV.

BOX COPY:

Juror No. 1
White male
Age 62
Civil engineer
Married, two grown sons and a daughter
Master’s degree, some law classes
Claimed no knowledge of the ‘93 case against Jackson; never served on a jury before
Bushy white hair and mustache

Juror No. 2
Hispanic male
Age 63
Retired
Married, two grown sons
Trim and dashing, wears Western-cut sports coats

Juror No. 3
White female
Age 50
Part-time horse trainer, riding instructor, child advocate
Married 28 years to a mechanical engineer with a master’s degree; no children
Bachelor’s degree training in science, genetics and journalism
Never served on a jury before

Juror No. 4
White female
Age 51
Retired former high-school math teacher; lived in the county for 20 years
Married to civil-service engineer for 21 years; 16 year-old son and 14-year-old daughter
Master’s degree
Trained in science and statistics

Juror No. 5
White female
Age 79
Retired
Widow; son and daughter in their 50s
Some college
Grandson a registered sexual deviant
Lived in the county a little over a year
Once bought perfume from a JC Penney clerk who once worked at Neverland Ranch

Juror No. 6
White female
Age 22
Physical-therapy aide in nursing home
Single, 4-year-old and 1-year-old daughters
Some college
Lived in the county all her life
Knows someone who met Jackson and said Jackson is “a little before my time”

Juror No. 7
White female
Age 42
Air Force veteran; special-education aide
Married for 22 years to computer instructor; three sons and a daughter, ages 20 to 4
Associate’s degree
Her sister was raped and her brother-in-law was accused of molesting her nieces

Juror No. 8
Asian female
Age 39
Works for Santa Barbara county government
Married to a local TV reporter, no children
Associate’s degree
Husband was moved off the Jackson case when she was put on the jury

Juror No. 9
Hispanic female
Age 45
Unemployed
Married with three sons
Some college
Husband was arrested for drunken driving and drugs

Juror No. 10
Hispanic male
Age 20
Cashier
Single, no children
High-school diploma
Has met Jackson and visited Neverland; a relative works for Jackson’s doctor

Juror No. 11
White male
Age 21
College student
Single, no children
High-school diploma
In a wheelchair due to cerebral palsy
Visited Neverland at age 6

Juror No. 12
Hispanic female
Age 44
Supervisor at Department of Social Services
Divorced, one son
Some college, including law courses
Ex-husband was a police officer
Never served on a jury before
She or someone close to her has been accused of a crime