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Boy's mother boosts drama in Jackson trial

SANTA MARIA, Calif. - In a riveting episode of courtroom drama, the mother of Michael Jackson's accuser sobbed, snapped her fingers, affected a German accent, implored jurors not to judge her and exclaimed, "I've waited two years for this!"

Without her, the conspiracy count against Jackson would probably fail. Prosecutors claim the pop star conspired to isolate and control the boy's family - a count that lists 28 alleged overt acts, 20 of which are based on the woman's story.

Her credibility also reflects on her children's testimony, most importantly her son's claims of molestation, since the defense is likely to argue that she coached them to lie.

Her son alleges that Jackson, 46, molested him in early 2003.

Jackson denies all of it and his lawyer is challenging the mother's credibility.

In her first day on the stand, she extended her arms to jurors and implored, "Please don't judge me."

She almost scuttled her entire testimony by invoking Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination if asked about welfare fraud and perjury. The judge told jurors to draw no inferences from the refusal but said the defense may explore the issues through other witnesses.

On the second day, she outlined her allegations that the family was held captive by Jackson employees, saying they told her she was pursued by "killers" who would only be appeased if she and her family made a video to counter a documentary called Living With Michael Jackson , in which Jackson acknowledged he let children sleep in his bed in a nonsexual way.

By Friday, she was complaining to the jury about the aggressive cross-examination by Jackson's attorney. When the judge told her to stop making speeches and answer questions directly, she protested, "I've waited two years for this!"

Jackson's attorney will resume cross-examining her today.

Jurors saw two different faces of the mother - one a glamorously coifed figure shown in a video praising Jackson as a father figure, the other the plainly dressed woman on the witness stand denying virtually everything her videotaped self said.

She maintained that the videotaped testimonial was scripted by Jackson's cohorts.

"I was acting," she insisted, adding at one point, "I'm a poor actress."

"No," shot back Jackson lawyer Thomas Mesereau Jr. "I think you're a good one."

Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville reprimanded both lawyer and witness for their remarks.

At one point, the woman referred to two Jackson aides as "the Germans" and imitated them using a German accent.

At another time, she listened to herself on tape praising Jackson's kindness during her time at his Neverland ranch.

"Now I know different," she blurted during questioning. "I know that Neverland is all about booze, pornography and sex with boys."

The remark was stricken from the record, as were many others.

Although Mesereau sought to paint her as a con artist who lies for financial gain, she insisted she has no financial motives in the Jackson case.

"I want justice," she declared.

[Last modified April 18, 2005, 00:53:06]