Neverland ranch manager admits lying about Jackson's bedmates
By Lisa Sweetingham, Court TV
SANTA MARIA, Calif. (Court TV) — The manager of Michael Jackson's Neverland ranch admitted Tuesday that he lied to sheriff's investigators when asked if he knew about children sleeping in Jackson's bedroom. "Did you have any knowledge of children sleeping in Mr. Jackson's room?" prosecutor Gordon Auchincloss asked ranch manager Joseph Marcus.
"Yes," Marcus testified. Investigators first interviewed Marcus for about 90 minutes during a raid of the 2,700-acre property on Nov. 18, 2003. "In the interview at the time of the search warrant, you said you had no knowledge that Mr. Jackson was sleeping with children in his bed?" Auchincloss continued. "That's correct," Marcus said. "That wasn't true, was it?" Marcus confirmed that he had lied. The ranch manager, a tall imposing man with a shaved head and a reticent tone, was not asked why he denied knowledge of Jackson's sleeping habits. However, during the last five minutes of court Tuesday, he claimed that, at the time, District Attorney Tom Sneddon denied his request to have his attorney present. Prosecutors have suggested that Marcus and other Neverland witnesses lied about Jackson's penchant for sharing his bed with children because they were trying to protect their famous employer, and their livelihoods. Marcus spent a second day on the stand Tuesday attempting to explain why he gave a written directive to security guards Feb. 19, 2003, not to let Jackson's accuser and his two siblings leave Neverland. Marcus said it had been his decision to post the order on a gate log that stated: "The kids are not to leave, per Joe. Kids meaning [the boy, his brother], etc." "The children had been known to pull up to the gates in vehicles," Marcus testified about his concern the boys would drive off the property without adult supervision. Prosecutors charge that the order came from Jackson, and that it points to a larger conspiracy in which the King of Pop and his aides knowingly imprisoned the family at Neverland to protect Jackson's career. A damaging TV documentary, "Living with Michael Jackson," had aired weeks earlier, painting the singer as a bizarre eccentric who enjoyed sharing his bed with children and showing him holding hands with the 13-year-old accuser. Prosecutors allege that Jackson molested the boy in February or March 2003 after giving him wine to weaken his defenses. Jackson maintains his innocence and claims he is the victim of a greedy family to whom he once opened his home because the boy was battling cancer. Boys only, or mainly Prosecutors have suggested that Neverland — with its wild animals, amusement park rides, water-balloon launching areas and video arcade — was a haven for little boys, but that little girls were an afterthought. Jackson's defense attorney Robert Sanger tried to counter the accusation by questioning Marcus about how often he saw girls at Neverland. Marcus, who has known Jackson for 18 years, had trouble remembering the names of the girls, mostly sisters of the boys who were regular visitors. As for adult females, he could only recall one by name, Elizabeth Taylor, who was a regular friend and guest. When pressed by the prosecutor, Marcus also recalled seeing Liza Minnelli at the ranch, but could not produce names of any other women. After court, Jackson's spokeswoman Raymone Bain said the case would last closer to six weeks, not 8 to 10 weeks as she had announced Monday. She also said that Macaulay Culkin will take the stand to refute claims by previous prosecution witnesses that Jackson molested him. Culkin may testify as early as Wednesday. Full coverage of Michael Jackson case
