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Prosecution rests after two months in Jackson trial

Prosecutors rested their case in the Michael Jackson trial after more than two months of dramatic testimony in which they sought to prove that the pop star molested a teenage cancer patient and conspired to hold the boy's family captive at his fairy-tale estate.

The defense immediately filed a motion seeking acquittal on grounds the prosecution did not prove its case. Judge Rodney Melville said the motion was to be heard first thing yesterday.

District Attorney Tom Sneddon closed his case on Wednesday pending the judge's decisions on whether to admit various items that had been shown to the jury but had not yet been formally entered into evidence. The judge said the prosecution could reopen its case later depending on his decisions.

Prosecutors presented their case amid drama in and out of the courtroom.

A colorful cast of more than 80 witnesses paraded to the stand over nearly 10 weeks, chief among them Jackson's young accuser, the boy's theatrical mother and others who alleged Jackson molested boys as far back as the 1980s. Some of the prosecution's own witnesses wound up benefiting the defense, including Jackson's ex-wife Deborah Rowe, who cast him as a victim of money-hungry charlatans.

The prosecution closed its case with witness Rudy Provencio, who talked about hearing a phone discussion in which the singer's associates talked with Jackson about response to a damaging documentary about him.

But the witness, who used to work for a Jackson associate, did not tie Jackson to the heart of the alleged conspiracy, quoting the singer only as saying such things as that he didn't want to hold a press conference.
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