Prosecutors have introduced a stack of travel and phone records into evidence. They'll be part of the prosecution's final argument that Jackson conspired to falsely imprison his accuser's family.
District Attorney Tom Sneddon said he planned to call three new witnesses Friday, but he did not identify them. He also announced that the prosecution would wrap up its case up Tuesday, though it had initially planned to finish this week.
In a stinging turn for prosecutors Thursday, Rowe testified that the singer was easily manipulated by "opportunistic vultures" in his inner circle who wanted to make millions from his troubles.
Rowe turned the tables on the prosecutors who called her when she testified that she believed men named as Jackson's unindicted co-conspirators were actually conspiring against her former husband.
Prosecutors called Rowe to support their contention that Jackson's alleged co-conspirators scripted a videotaped interview in which she defended Jackson, just as they had allegedly scripted an interview in which the family rebutted the documentary.
But when Rowe took the stand Wednesday and Thursday, she said there was no script and that she never looked at a list of questions in advance because she wanted her words to be spontaneous.
Asked by Deputy District Attorney Ron Zonen if she knew what she was supposed to say on camera about Jackson, she used such terms as "
a wonderful person," "
a great father," and "
generous and caring."
Asked how she felt about doing the video, she said, "
I was excited to do it. I would get to see the children and could renew a relationship with Mr. Jackson."
Asked why she was interested in that, she said, "They're my family."
Under cross-examination by defense attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr., she said she did not blame Jackson for keeping her from her children but felt that his advisers and lawyers were to blame.
Asked how she feels about Jackson now, she said, "
I've always considered him my friend."
"And you still do?" asked Mesereau.
"
Yeah," Rowe said, then added, "
If he'd talk to me."
Rowe, who is in a family court fight with Jackson over visitation with her son, Prince Michael, 8, and daughter, Paris, 7, only spoke well of Jackson and reserved expressions of ill will for others around him.
Rowe said the organizer of the video, Marc Schaffel, bragged to her about how much money he was making off Jackson. Asked what she thought of Schaffel and two other unindicted alleged co-conspirators, Dieter Wiesner and Ronald Konitzer, Rowe said, "I think they're opportunistic vultures."
Schaffel is suing Jackson on claims that he hasn't been paid more than $3 million in loans and fees. A Santa Monica judge on Thursday rejected Schaffel's request to place a lien on the singer's Neverland ranch until after the criminal trial, Schaffel's attorney, Howard King, said in Los Angeles.
Mesereau also asked Rowe to describe Jackson in her own words as she had described him in the video. She caught her breath and said: "
Generous to a fault, good father, great with kids, puts other people ahead of him. Brilliant businessman."
She became tearful when she described her feelings about Jackson.
"
There's different Michaels," she said. "
There's like my Michael and the Michael that everyone else sees."
Jackson dabbed at his eyes as she spoke.
"That would be Michael the entertainer?" Mesereau asked.
"
Michael the entertainer, yeah" Rowe said.
Rowe looked across the courtroom several times at Jackson and once tried to engage him in conversation.
Asked when she had gone on tour with Jackson, she looked to the defendant and asked, "
What was the tour after 'Bad?' Was it the 'HIStory' tour or 'Dangerous?' Oh, it was 'Dangerous.'"
Rowe also testified she had once told sheriff's investigators that she believed the mother of Jackson's accuser was "orchestrating lawsuits." She said she also told investigators, "
Michael is very easily manipulated if he's scared."
Before Rowe left the stand, the prosecutor asked if she believed Jackson was "amenable" to her seeing their children.
"I'm hoping in my heart that he is," Rowe answered, adding, "I haven't spoken to him. I don't know."
When defense attorneys objected to the question, Zonen said it was for the purpose of impeachment to raise questions about the credibility of a witness. It was one of several times prosecutors have tried to impeach their own witnesses after they gave unexpected testimony.
Rowe and Jackson were married in 1996 and divorced after three years. Jackson has a third child, Prince Michael II, whose mother has remained anonymous.
As Jackson left court at the end of the day he was asked if it was good to see Rowe again.
"Yes," he said.
Source: AP/eMJey