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Michael Jackson Feared for His Life Before the End, Son Testifies

Prince Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson’s eldest son gave dramatic testimony yesterday in his family’s wrongful-death lawsuit against the singer’s last concert promoter, AEG Live. As CNN reports, Prince Jackson said his father’s phone calls to AEG Live honchos ahead of his planned comeback shows would often end in tears. “After he got off the phone, he would cry,” the 16-year-old testified. “He would say, ‘They’re going to kill me, they’re going to kill me.'”

Prince also reportedly described what he saw during Jackson’s last night on Earth. He testified that AEG Live CEO Randy Phillips had a spirited talk with Dr. Conrad Murray that evening. “He was grabbing his elbow,” Prince is quoted as saying. “It looked aggressive to me.” According to the testimony, Prince’s last conversation with his father was about Phillips’ visit, with Prince calling to tell him of Phillips’ arrival and his father saying he should see if Phillips wanted anything to eat or drink.

Prince, who was 12 when the Thriller singer died four years ago, reportedly recalled seeing Michael that day “hanging halfway off the bed, his eyes were rolled back.” Prince testified that Murray, who is currently serving a prison sentence for involuntary manslaughter in Jackson’s death, said to the children at the hospital, “Sorry kids, your dad’s dead.”

Prince and Jackson’s other children, Paris and Blanket, along with their grandmother Katherine Jackson, are suing AEG Live claiming it’s liable because it hired, retained, or supervised Murray. In its ninth week, the trial is likely to run into August, according to CNN.

In other Jackson-related developments, a family lawyer recently sued Sony Music for royalties for albums including Thriller. Paris Jackson, who is 15, was recently hospitalized after an apparent suicide attempt. Elsewhere, the King of Pop was posthumously hit with a new child-molestation claim.

Separately from all the family’s troubles, Prince recently scored a gig as a correspondent on Entertainment Tonight.