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Back problems send Jackson to hospital
Singer returned to Neverland by evening
By DAWN HOBBS
NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Michael Jackson was taken to the emergency room at Santa Ynez Cottage Hospital on Sunday afternoon for treatment of back problems that have plagued him throughout his marathon child molestation trial, his spokeswoman told the News-Press.
The hospital visit came on the eve of the first full day of jury deliberations, set to begin at 8:30 a.m. today at the Santa Maria courthouse.
"He's waiting for the jury to deliberate, and he's under stress -- which is understandable," spokeswoman Raymone Bain said. "I find when he becomes stressed, his back gives out. He did not want any attention called to this."
Mr. Jackson's bodyguards took him to the hospital in Solvang about 3 p.m. Sunday. He returned to Neverland Valley Ranch on Sunday evening, she said.
"His back had really been bothering him all week, but he didn't want to say anything," Ms. Bain said. "He decided to deal with the pain and was hoping it would go away."
When it didn't, she said, "He thought because it was Sunday that the hospital would be nice and quiet, that he could go there and get something and come back. But the whole press corps was outside his gates and followed him over there."
Mr. Jackson's emergency trip brought news vans and media crews rushing from outside Neverland and the Santa Maria courthouse to the hospital parking lot.
Mr. Jackson is not expected in the courtroom during deliberations, but Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville instructed him Friday that he'll have one hour to get there when the verdict is returned.
The weight of the high-stakes trial appears to have taken a physical toll on the entertainer, who has become noticeably thinner since his arraignment early last year. Mr. Jackson has made one trip to Marian Medical Center and three other trips to the Santa Ynez hospital since jury selection began in January.
Jury selection was delayed in mid-February after he was admitted to Marian where he stayed for two days recovering from the flu.
On March 10, Mr. Jackson made an early morning visit to the Santa Ynez Valley Cottage emergency room after injuring his back in a fall at Neverland. He came to court in his pajamas after an angry Judge Melville threatened to issue an arrest warrant because he was late. Since then, Mr. Jackson has worn a back brace to court and has a cushion in his courtroom chair.
Mr. Jackson was late to court on March 20 after again stopping at the hospital on the way. He was suffering from "excruciating back pain," Ms. Bain said then.
On Thursday night, Mr. Jackson was taken to Santa Ynez Valley Cottage where he was reportedly treated for dehydration.
Jurors are to reconvene behind closed doors this morning to begin their first full day of deliberations. The eight women and four men met for two hours Friday to begin to sort through the evidence. The jurors, all North County residents, compiled voluminous courtroom notes as they listened to 140 witnesses and watched hours of videotape during the 14-week trial.
Mr. Jackson, who is free on $3 million bail, has pleaded not guilty to child molestation, administering alcohol to a minor to commit a felony, and conspiracy. The charges bring more than 18 years in state prison if convicted on all counts.
Mr. Jackson remained at Neverland Valley Ranch for most of the weekend with his children and family, "resting and waiting," according to a close family friend.
In the meantime, law enforcement agencies have stepped up their presence around the Santa Maria courthouse to deal with busloads of fans expected to arrive today. The sheriff's SWAT team is on hand.
There are now more than 2,080 credentialed media from 28 countries who are expected to be at the courthouse awaiting the verdict. They come from as far away as South America, Asia and Europe, including contingents from Brazil, Colombia, Austria, China, Poland, Iceland and Sweden.
Prosecutors allege Mr. Jackson and his associates conspired to keep the boy, then 13, and his family against their will in spring 2003 until they agreed to participate in a video designed to combat the public relations crisis created by a British documentary. In "Living with Michael Jackson," the entertainer is shown holding hands with the boy who would become his accuser as he states he innocently shares his bed with children.
The boy testified it was after his family was interviewed for the rebuttal that Mr. Jackson allegedly molested him during early March 2003, near the end of the family's month-long stay at Neverland.
The jurors range in age from 20 to 79 and their occupations run the gamut from professionals to service workers and students to retirees. Strangers at first, the casually dressed jurors began to file into the courtroom chatting with each other within the second week of the trial.
Dawn Hobbs is also a news analyst for NBC News.
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