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Michael Jackson’s second ex-wife (’96-’99) and mother of his two eldest children (Prince, 8, and Paris, 7) took the stage, er, witness stand today in his child molestation case.
She identified herself as Deborah Rowe Jackson, but said she preferred “Ms. Rowe.” Prosecutor Ron Zonen asked how she knew Jackson. She said, “We’ve been friends and we were married.” When asked if they had ever lived together, she said, “We never shared a home.” Rowe met the entertainer when she worked as a nurse in the office of his dermatologist.
Rowe said that Jackson phoned her in February 2003 and asked her to take part in a TV show that was being made to rebut the Bashir documentary, which he told her was full of lies, she testified. She also said when she and Jackson divorced she gave up custody of the children but was allowed limited visits of eight hours every 45 days. She said she missed many chances to see the children because they were traveling with Jackson.
FoxNews’s Roger Friedman says some bombs may fall, especially about her children’s paternity. Friedman indicates that if asked, Rowe will “have to concede that Jackson is not the father of Prince, 8, and Paris, 7 … The truth … is that she acted as a surrogate twice and was artificially inseminated — and not with Jackson’s sperm. This open secret was revealed in a London tabloid last year, and Rowe has verified it to friends.”
Earlier today, Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville denied a a request by Jackson’s attorneys for a mistrial, rejecting a claim that a disallowed line of questioning by prosecutors had tainted the proceedings.
