Michael Jackson’s 92-Year-Old Mom Katherine Will NOT Have To Sit For Deposition & Be Grilled About Late Pop Star’s Final Days, Judge Rules
March 7 2023, Published 11:30 a.m. ET
Michael Jackson’s 92-year-old mother Katherine will not be forced to sit for a court deposition where she would be grilled about her son’s final days, RadarOnline.com has learned.
According to court documents obtained by RadarOnline.com, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge has shut down a motion by LaToya Jackson’s ex, Jeffree Phillips.
As we previously reported, last year, Michael’s estate dragged Jeffree to court accusing him of possession of over $1 million in stolen MJ memorabilia.
The estate claimed that Jeffree showed up at Michael’s home hours after he was rushed to the hospital in June 2009. The pop star was pronounced dead hours later. However, the estate claims Jeffree used the chaos of the situation to steal various items from the property.
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The estate said Jeffree had stolen everything from pajamas, and pill bottles to handwritten notes that Michael’s son Prince wrote him.
Other items included, 5 hard drives, 3 silver Mac laptops, two iPods, cassette tapes, a large black bag with a skull on it, framed photograph of Jackson, a Michael Jackson doll, and roughly 11 framed platinum/gold record awards.
The estate accused Jeffree of attempting to sell the items, which they said were the property of the estate. The court issues a temporary injunction against the items from being sold off until a trial is held.
For his part, Jeffree said he didn’t steal anything and claimed Katherine had instructed him to take the items from the home.
In a court declaration, Jeffree said he would have happily turned over the items if the estate had asked.
He wrote, “had the Estate simply asked for the property and not resorted to the premeditated set-up and bullying tactics, I would have called La Toya to inform her that the Estate was requesting the items, and the two of us would have then called her mother. If Ms. Jackson instructed me to give the property back to the Estate, I would have done so.”
Jeffree demanded the case be put on hold until he had the chance to depose Katherine. The estate objected to the request claiming Katherine should not be forced to relive the worst days of her life.
The motion read, “It is troubling (to say the least) that Phillips, who claims to have been very close to Mrs. Jackson and the Jackson family, is seeking to have his attorneys interrogate the elderly Mrs. Jackson over her objections about what we understand is the most painful weeks and months of her long life.”
“It is obvious that Phillips is using Mrs. Jackson as leverage in this matter,” they added.
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Michael’s nephew Taj told the court he had not talked to Katherine about Jeffree’s claims because it would upset her.
He said, “The reason I have not spoken to my Grandmother about the subject is simple. My Grandmother was and is still very affected by the death of my Uncle, her child. This was by far the saddest event that I saw her experience in her life. Understandably, she finds it very difficult to talk about my Uncle’s last few years and also about the very sad weeks and months following his sudden and unexpected death.”
The judge denied Jeffree's request and ordered Katherine not to have to sit for the deposition. The case will move forward without the requested delays.
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