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Nancy Grace

Michael Jackson Dead at 50

Aired June 25, 2009 - 20:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

NANCY GRACE, HOST: Breaking news tonight. Music icon Michael Jackson dead at 50.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can tell you at this time that we were notified by LAPD that Mr. Jackson was transported from his residence by paramedics to the hospital. The hospital being the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. And upon admitting, he was unresponsive and was pronounced dead at approximately 2:26 this afternoon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. Thank you for being with us. Breaking news. Music icon Michael Jackson dead at 50.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here`s what we know so far. Here`s the timeline, 12:20 Pacific time, 3:20 in the East, a call, a 911 call came. Los Angeles fire department responded. Michael Jackson apparently suffered cardiac arrest.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They would probably very quickly ascertain what his heart rhythm is, knowing that primary reason for this would be cardiac arrest, a sudden death event.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To hear that he was going to the hospital today, frankly, was not a tremendous shock. I was shocked at all the people who believed that there would be this massive comeback tour because Michael Jackson has announced such tours in the not so recent past and they`ve been canceled.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For virtually his entire life, what caused young girls to just break into tears for no apparent reason if they got within 50 feet of the guy. And he had this palpable energy for those who got to even be in the same room with him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Joining me right now, straight out to Paul Vercammen. He is joining us from the medical center there at UCLA where Jackson has died. Paul, what happened?

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Nancy, here`s basically what happened. It was about two-and-a-half hours ago that he was officially pronounced dead here at UCLA Medical Center. Michael Jackson had been taken from his house, which is about, oh, I`d say two miles from here and a five-minute ride. He had suffered cardiac arrest at his rented mansion here in the area, and then was taken to the medical center. From what we understand he was in a pitched battle for his life. He lapsed into a coma. They were unable to save him, Nancy.

And then behind me, as the word started to spread throughout Los Angeles among Jackson`s ardent supporters, they gathered just behind me. I`d say there was about 300 people just about two minutes ago before we came on air. And then they all behind me, some of them started chanting, "Michael" and have since gone back over this way. So I don`t know if a family member or someone with the hospital is officially going to make a statement just out of our view, Nancy.

GRACE: You`re seeing live footage. As we go to air tonight, there at the UCLA Medical Center, streets have been closed off. Throngs of fans and media now outside the UCLA Medical Center. There they are, practically storming the doors. The fire alarms have been going off inside the hospital. Are fans trying to get into the hospital, Paul Vercammen?

VERCAMMEN: Nancy, I don`t think they`re literally trying to get into the hospital, but you know what a huge figure Michael Jackson is to these fans. And his fans are legendarily among the strongest supporters of any pop icon in the history of music. So I believe more than wanting to get inside the hospital, they were hoping possibly to get close to a family member or a hospital spokesman, just to hear what it is that happened to their beloved king of pop. I do not see anybody trying to push open doors of the hospital at this time, Nancy.

GRACE: Joining us live outside the UCLA Medical Center, Paul Vercammen. Michael Jackson pronounced dead there at the UCLA Medical Center.

We are taking your calls live. Out to Samantha in Maryland. Hi, Samantha.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thanks, Nancy, for taking my call.

GRACE: Yes, ma`am. Thank you for calling. What`s your question, dear?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. I just wanted to know, in the video earlier shown, where the ambulance is coming out of Michael`s apartment, how it took -- why they were so close to his house and why they couldn`t move so that he could get to the hospital faster, possibly saving his life?

GRACE: Good question. Paul Vercammen, you heard that. What was the distance from his home to the hospital? And is it true when the paramedics got to his home -- his home renting for $100,000 per month there in the Bel-Air area -- isn`t it true that he was already not breathing when the paramedics reached him at his home?

VERCAMMEN: Yes, that`s exactly the report, that he was in cardiac arrest and that he was not breathing.

Let`s go to what you talked about, Nancy. It`s about two miles to this rented mansion from here, and that would normally be about five minutes` drive. Don`t forget, at 12:30 Los Angeles time, that`s not a big rush hour issue, so it wasn`t a matter of they didn`t get him to the hospital very quick, from what we understand so far, Nancy. All of that apparently went rather smoothly. But as you said, he was already in cardiac arrest.

GRACE: Out to the lines. Lori in California. Hi, Lori.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi. Do they have any idea why he died? Was it a drug overdose or was it a heart attack?

GRACE: Those questions are swirling. I want to go very quickly to Dr. Marty Makary of Johns Hopkins Hospital. Dr. Makary, thank you for being with us.

DR. MARTY MAKARY, PHYSICIAN, JOHNS HOPKINS: Thanks, Nancy.

GRACE: We`re hearing cardiac arrest. What is the difference between cardiac arrest and heart attack?

MAKARY: It`s essentially the exact same thing, Nancy. One`s more of a medical term. Now, remember, 47 percent of patients, according to the CDC, will die from their heart attack or from cardiac arrest before the transport to the hospital or before they arrive to the hospital. So unfortunately, this is not too uncommon.

GRACE: Why? Why do nearly half of cardiac arrests die before they can get to the hospital?

MAKARY: Well, you can imagine, when a blood vessel to the heart that feeds it, that gives it life, is suddenly blocked off by a blood clot, or what we doctors call a heart attack, that heart will instantly beat out of control in these uncontrollable sort of vesiculations. The blood flow will stop. The patient will often notice about five minutes or more...

GRACE: Right.

MAKARY: ... of sudden chest pain, and that will be it.

GRACE: Straight back to Paul Vercammen. He is joining us there at the Ronald Reagan Medical Center at UCLA. Paul, who in the Jackson family is there at the hospital now? I understand practically the entire family is converging.

VERCAMMEN: Well, Nancy, that`s been a little difficult to see, as well, because they are out of our view. And we noticed the tell-tale Escalades. That`s part of the Michael Jackson entourage. We believe Joe Jackson is here, as well as several of his siblings. As you know, he has eight siblings.

I also wanted to update you on something, Nancy. You were right. Some of the fans did try to get into the hospital just a sort time ago and out of our view. They were chanting, "Michael, Michael," and "We love you, Michael." Of course, they were not allowed in and some media members were. What they, I guess, were hoping for was to catch a glimpse of Michael Jackson`s body, if it were to be taken out, but they are not going to be...

GRACE: OK. You know what?

VERCAMMEN: ... allowed inside that medical center.

GRACE: Dr. Bethany Marshall, that is sick, that people are trying to see Michael Jackson`s dead body, and they are, in fact, trying to get into the UCLA Medical Center to see his dead body, setting off fire alarms, havoc all around the hospital, streets that had to be closed down.

Michael Jackson, music icon, is dead at 50. We are live there at the UCLA Medical Center. Bethany, these are the same fans who flew to Bahrain to follow him, who flew to Germany to follow him. What is their thinking?

BETHANY MARSHALL, PSYCHOANALYST: Well, sometimes these fans, fanatics, sycophants, whatever you want to call them, they live their life vicariously through Michael Jackson. They identify with him some way. In some way, maybe they were underdogs who wished that they could have been cast into the limelight themselves. They assert themselves into their notoriety. They band together as a community. There`s a huge on-line community where they communicate with each other. But it is disrespectful to the other people in the hospital.

GRACE: Right. Back to Paul Vercammen. He is joining us there outside the hospital where Michael Jackson is dead. Paul, where are the children tonight? Were they there in the rented Bel-Air home with him at the time of his death?

VERCAMMEN: Nancy, that`s one of those things when you`re on the inside looking out, it`s hard to determine. We did not see the children here. We believe that they might have been at that mansion, but we do not have confirmation of that. As you may know, Michael Jackson had custody of all three of those children.

GRACE: And I`m wondering if this means automatically that they go to the biological mother. We know the bio mom of two of them, at least, is former dental hygienist Debbie Rowe, who has given up her parental rights.

Back to Paul Vercammen there at the hospital. Paul, of course, the official reason is cardiac arrest, cause of death. We know that the paramedics tried to bring him back to life, to resuscitate him in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. When he got to the hospital, he was in a very deep coma. Is there any suggestion that drugs or alcohol were involved in his death?

VERCAMMEN: No, no word on that yet, Nancy. And as you know, Michael Jackson has had some public battles with prescription drugs and that has been well publicized. But there has not been word on that. And that`s why a lot of people out here are so anxious. We have not seen one person from the hospital or the coroner`s office come outside and release an official statement. As we all know, though, because of U.S. medical privacy laws, great detail may not be forthcoming at this time. But that`s why so many folks and so many media members who are across the street, they were hoping and thinking that the hospital would step outside and allow a spokesperson to shed some light on what happened this afternoon.

GRACE: To Tom O`Neil, joining us, the senior editor of "In Touch Weekly." You have followed his career so very closely, Tom O`Neil. What can you tell me? Wasn`t he on the cusp of another comeback?

TOM O`NEIL, "IN TOUCH WEEKLY": Well, it certainly looked that way a few months ago when he gave a press conference in London, actually looking fairly robust and announcing this 50-concert series that would, by the way, net him as much as $10 million per concert. That was supposed to start...

GRACE: Ten million dollars million per concert?

O`NEIL: Yes.

GRACE: And that was set to start when?

O`NEIL: In mid-July. But now they have -- lately, they were postponed to next March, of course, fueling speculation that there was a problem behind the scenes.

GRACE: And is it true, Tom O`Neil, that he was in training, in physical training?

O`NEIL: Yes, he was in physical training to...

GRACE: With?

O`NEIL: He had personal trainers there and dancers. He was auditioning dancers. He was supposedly in full gear, ready for this comeback.

GRACE: Out to Art Harris with Artharris.com. You very closely covered the child molestation charges against him. He was acquitted. Art Harris, at this juncture, is there any suggestion drugs or alcohol were involved in his death?

ART HARRIS, ARTHARRIS.COM: Not at this point, Nancy. As you know, you were outside that courtroom, I was inside, and he did not look well generally within a few feet of him. One day, you know, he didn`t show up. A judge ordered him back to the house -- back to the court when he said he was sick, came back in his pajamas.

But back then, he looked like he was under the influence of some sort of prescription drug. And who wouldn`t need some sort of, you know, medication to get through a trial like that? It`s tremendous pressure. But there was no suggestion this time that he was under the influence of any drugs. I don`t know about an autopsy. Can there be one, or can there be one avoided?

GRACE: Back to Paul Vercammen outside the hospital. Paul, take me right back to the way it unfolded just hours ago when the paramedics were called to Jackson`s Bel-Air home.

VERCAMMEN: Well, it`s all West Coast time. I hope I don`t confuse our East Coast viewers. But basically, at around 12:30 or so, they responded to the home, a little before that, and there was Michael Jackson in cardiac arrest. In other words, he was not breathing, as well. So they then took him on a very short drive, just about five minutes, two miles, from that rented mansion to UCLA Medical Center. We then understand he was in this very heated pitched battle for his life and had lapsed into a coma. Then it was at about 2:36, we believe, West Coast time that he was officially pronounced dead.

There is a coroner`s case number on this, in fact. It`s number 2009 for the year 4415. The official proclamation that Michael Jackson had perished about two hours after coroners responded to that rented mansion.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL JACKSON: This is really a -- this is the final -- the final curtain call. I love you. I really do. You have to know that I love you so much, really, from the bottom of my heart.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: The final curtain call. Just hours ago, paramedics rushed to Michael Jackson`s, age 50, rented Bel-Air home. He was unresponsive when they arrived. They tried to resuscitate him en route to the UCLA Medical Center. He arrived in a deep coma and apparently never came out of that coma.

Joining me right now, there at the Jackson home, Kara Finnstrom. Kara, thank you for being with us. Kara, to your knowledge, what happened?

KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is the home you`re talking about right behind me here, Nancy. You see the big iron gates. It`s exactly as you described it. That`s what we`ve been told. Paramedics arriving here around 12:20 West Coast time found him unresponsive, apparently in full cardiac arrest, took him on about a six-minute ride from her to the hospital, trying to revive him. From what we understand, he never regained consciousness.

A short while ago, detectives actually went behind those gates inside. We`re being told that this is just, you know, regular procedure in the death of someone as high-profile as Michael Jackson. They are conducting an investigation inside.

Now, what has grown here over the last couple of hours is a police presence. There were a group of about 12 motorcycles that -- with police officers on them that actually kind of circled the area here. They have sealed it off so that for the most part, his fans, people who want to know what`s happening, can`t get up the hill.

But there is one family that came up a little bit earlier. They are out here from Georgia. And if we can pan down, this is one of the young fans out here, and it really shows you how much Michael Jackson`s music has spanned generations. Ryan is 7 years old and he laid a rose, a single rose just outside of the gates.

And you told me you know a little bit about Michael Jackson. What do you know about him?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know about his dances and stuff.

FINNSTROM: You know the moon walk, I think you were telling me, right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Uh-huh.

FINNSTROM: And this is mom. You were all out here visiting, but you yourself are a fan, as well, of his music, you were telling me. What are your thoughts as you hear the news that he has passed away?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think that pretty much everybody`s in shock, including all the reporters and everything, because there didn`t seem to be much -- any warning or anything. And I think we`re going to look back in a couple days and realize, Wow, this is -- you know, this is pretty big.

FINNSTROM: All right. Thanks so much. Nancy, lots of folks out here with cameras taking pictures, just trying to document this moment.

GRACE: To Kara Finnstrom, joining us there at Jackson`s LA home. Where are his children tonight?

FINNSTROM: You know, no word of that at this point. He does have three children, obviously. And we did see a little bit earlier one -- one vehicle come up -- we could not confirm who was inside -- tried to get inside the gates. Police let them through. It was a Mercedes SUV. That vehicle left. But no word yet, at least at this location, on his family.

GRACE: Can you tell me, are his security guards in the home? He`s always surrounded by many, many security detail. Are they in the home? And have they been allowed to touch anything in the room where Jackson died?

FINNSTROM: I`m sorry, I couldn`t get the last part of that, Nancy. But we have seen some of the security -- security guards around the home, as well as the LAPD presence, which very shortly after his death arrived here on the scene. They have sealed off the area. Again, this is -- this is going to be the scene of an investigation, and that`s just routine in these matters. They haven`t told us anything else yet. We understand that when they come back out after they`ve done kind of their cursory examination of -- you know, of the premises there, we may learn a little bit more.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRACE: Michael Jackson, music icon, dead at age 50. Straight to Paul Vercammen there at the UCLA Medical Center where Jackson pronounced dead. Paul Vercammen, I understand people are now blasting his music, sobbing hysterically, asking for the Jackson family. What more can you tell me?

VERCAMMEN: Well, I can tell you this. All these people, of course, are staunch Michael Jackson supporters, and so they`re all reflecting on what Michael Jackson meant to them. And it`s a multi-generational thing. You have some people who go way back and say they remember watching the Jackson 5 cartoon show, and others say they remember when the video "Beat It" came out, and then it was "Billie Jean" and all those songs from the songs that you`ve been playing on your show tonight.

What these fans want to point out is just how huge an influence he is on pop culture. They all say that the Ushers of the world and the Kanye Wests would never, never have the dance moves they have today if it weren`t for Michael Jackson being the pioneer that he is and giving them a blueprint, if you will, to work from. Others, of course, are just very sad out here, just absolutely in shock and can`t believe that their beloved king of pop has perished, Nancy.

GRACE: Michael Jackson, everyone, dead at age 50. With me at the UCLA hospital, Paul Vercammen. Paul, have any of the Jackson family shown up there yet? Earlier reports were that not only Janet but La Toya Jackson there.

VERCAMMEN: Well, we saw somebody who looked like it could have been La Toya. Again, very difficult to see. We don`t have a right to go walking around the hospital and eyeball people. We believe several of his siblings, as well as his father, Joe, were here, Nancy, but we don`t have confirmation of that because we have no angle on that from where we are perched right now.

GRACE: Paul, will there be an autopsy?

VERCAMMEN: Do not know. Again, we are on pins and needles and waiting for any word, just one word from the hospital and the coroner. Thus far, absolutely nothing.

GRACE: Well, according to our sources out of the coroner`s investigative division, there will be an autopsy. This is a coroner`s case.

Everyone, Michael Jackson dead at age 50. We are taking your calls live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRACE: Music icon Michael Jackson, dead at 50. Just hours ago, paramedics raced to his rented Bel Aire home. He was unresponsive, even despite their best efforts. They were unable to resuscitate him en route to the UCLA Medical Center. He arrived there in a deep coma from which he never emerged.

He is now being remembered as one of the greatest musical entertainers in the industry. Whatever happened with his child molestation charges, Michael Jackson, formally accused of multiple counts of child molestation, now between him and God.

Straight out to special guest joining us, lieutenant with the coroner`s investigative investigation there in L.A., Fred Corral.

Lieutenant, thank you for being with us. Where was he pronounced dead?

FRED CORRAL, LIEUTENANT WITH CORONER`S INVESTIGATION DIVISION (via phone): He was pronounced dead this afternoon at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Westwood, California.

GRACE: Has this become a coroner`s case? We are told it was cardiac arrest. If that has already been determined, why is this now in the hands of a coroner?

CORRAL: The reason it is a coroner`s case is because there was no doctor in attendance to sign the death certificate. Anyone -- anytime a person dies of natural causes, there has to be a doctor. If there`s not a doctor in attendance, then it would become a coroner`s case.

GRACE: Lieutenant.

CORRAL: In this particular case.

GRACE: Lt. Fred Corral is with us from the coroner`s investigative division there in L.A.

Lieutenant, is it definite that there will be an autopsy?

CORRAL: Yes, there will be.

GRACE: Why?

CORRAL: Probably tomorrow morning.

GRACE: But why? If we already know the cause of death, why will -- why is an autopsy necessary?

CORRAL: We don`t know the cause of death. All we know that he.

GRACE: I understand.

CORRAL: The hospital pronounced him -- the hospital pronounced him dead. They did not give a cause of death. That`s what we`re going to do because they did not have a doctor in attendance.

GRACE: I understand, Lieutenant. With me, Lt. Fred Corral joining us.

And, Lieutenant, did he ever emerge from the coma he was in when he arrived at the hospital?

CORRAL: That we do not know. We have not arrived there to review the medical records. We are going to. I have assigned a coroner investigated to this. And once he is brought here and the medical records are reviewed, a report will be completed and we`ll find out more information and then the autopsy will follow after that.

GRACE: Lieutenant, did investigators from the coroner`s office go to his rented home in Bel Aire to the scene?

CORRAL: At this point, no, not yet.

GRACE: Have police arrived at the scene?

CORRAL: Yes.

GRACE: Why?

CORRAL: That`s part of the death investigation. It`s protocol.

GRACE: So it`s normal every time someone dies of an apparent cardiac arrest to send the police to the scene?

CORRAL: Yes. Paramedics will respond once the 911 call goes out. You have police and paramedics respond.

GRACE: Joining me right now in addition to Lt. Fred Corral from the investigative division there at the coroner`s unit, Brian Oxman is with us, the long-time Jackson family attorney.

Brian, thank you for being with us.

BRIAN OXMAN, JACKSON FAMILY ATTORNEY, OUTSIDE MICHAEL JACKSON`S HOSPITAL (via phone): Oh, Nancy, it is wonderful to talk to you, but I am heart-broken.

GRACE: You know, Brian, both of us on two different sides of the fence have covered Michael Jackson`s stories. You intensely involved as the family attorney for many, many years.

Where are his children tonight, Brian?

OXMAN: His children are with a nanny. They are being cared for. Mrs. Jackson will take care of the kids. She loves them dearly. They are so bright, they are so intelligent, they are so talented. They are just -- they`re wonderful children. They are a reflection of Michael Jackson.

Nancy, I know we have been at odds, but, Nancy, I adore you and I am just heart-broken. I appreciate your kindness of -- of talking to me on this kind occasion.

GRACE: Brian, I think that many, many people are stunned. Many of us were stunned at the time he was pronounced not guilty in those molestation charges, but that now is no longer of this earth. It`s been him and God.

My question now focuses on those children and what will become of them, Brian Oxman.

OXMAN: They will have such wonderful care. They are in the finest cares. They have a nanny who cares for them. Mrs. Jackson has always been there for them. There`s lots of kids, grandkids. They play with one another.

They have always been highly educated, highly taken care of. He taught them African-American history, was one of Michael`s favorite subjects to tell his kids. He taught them about art. He taught them about music. They are -- they`re wonderful kids. And we all adore them.

GRACE: Brian, were they there in the Bel Aire home when Michael Jackson suffered the cardiac arrest?

OXMAN: No one has told me that. I came to the UCLA medical center. Randy called me. I said I would meet him here. I walked in, he was there. Nancy, we hugged, we cried. He wasn`t able to speak. He didn`t say anything. We just cried with one another.

Jermaine came in. I hugged him. He was speechless. He wasn`t able to speak. We just looked at one another in terrible disbelief. And here we are. I was outside the medical center and the fans were playing Michael Jackson music. It`s echoing eerily off the walls. It is one of the most surreal, heart-breaking things I`ve ever experienced.

GRACE: Brian -- with me, Brian Oxman, the long-time Jackson family attorney. Brian, you keep telling me that this could have been prevented. Why are you saying that?

OXMAN: Nancy, I had said privately to Randy and to other members of this family, I said to La Toya, that if one day Michael woke up and he was not here with us, meaning that he had passed away or expired, I was going to speak up very loud and very clear about the enablers who had been providing him with medications.

I am going to hold my tongue to watch what has happened here, what the results of the medical investigation are. You have mentioned that the coroner is here. We`re going to find out what happened and if it is what I suspect it is, which is the use of medications has caused his death, I am going to speak up very loud and very clear.

GRACE: Brian Oxman, do you believe people were enabling him to get drugs from various pharmacies and various doctors?

OXMAN: I have warned of it. I have seen lawsuits involving it. I have complained bitterly privately. We do not air our laundry in public. And I can only tell you, Nancy, I have said that if this is the result, that one day Michael Jackson had an experience like Anna Nicole Smith, I was going to speak up very loud and very clear.

GRACE: With me right now, Flo Anthony, Jackson family friend and radio talk show host, publisher of "Black Noir" magazine.

Miss Anthony, thank you for being with us. Were Jackson`s children living with him at the time of his cardiac arrest?

FLO ANTHONY, JACKSON FAMILY FRIEND, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST, PUBLISHER, BLACK NOIR (via phone): Yes, they are living with him or were living with him. I don`t know if they were at home today, but I would imagine they were because they were home-schooled.

GRACE: What is the family saying tonight?

ANTHONY: I haven`t spoken to anyone in the family. Everyone`s voice mails are full on their cell phones. And there`s -- I haven`t been able to get an answer over at Haven (INAUDIBLE).

GRACE: Why was he living there in L.A., Miss Anthony?

ANTHONY: He wanted to finally come home. I mean, everyone ran him out of the country, but he did want to come home. And that was the best place to practice and prepare for a tour also. So that`s why he was living in Los Angeles. I mean.

GRACE: Out to.

ANTHONY: After Gary, Indiana, after all, California was his home.

GRACE: Jasmine in South Carolina, hi, Jasmine.

JASMINE, CALLER FROM SOUTH CAROLINA: Hi, Nancy. Thank you for having me.

GRACE: Thank you for calling in. What is your question, dear?

JASMINE: I just wanted to know how are the family doing. This is just so unreal. Just worried about the family members. Are they doing OK?

GRACE: To Brian Oxman -- Brian, you have been in touch with his family. How are there?

OXMAN: They`re heart-broken, Nancy. They`re speechless. They have been gathered in a room at the hospital. They have been silent. They are not able to even talk. It is -- it is absolutely heart-breaking.

I cannot imagine that we would be here after all the warnings, after all of the signs, and to be here, I am certain, Nancy, that you and I are going to be talking about this for a little while to come because I know that there will be repercussions.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRACE: Michael Jackson, dead at 50. Just hours ago, paramedics tried to resuscitate him. When he arrived at UCLA Medical Center, he was in a deep coma from which he did not emerge.

We are taking your calls live. With me right now, Alan Light, famed musical journalist, former editor in chief of "Spin and Vibe." He has written about Michael Jackson since practically the inception of his career.

Alan, thank you for being with us. You have been writing about him for a very, very long time. What is your opinion about the cause of death?

ALAN LIGHT, MUSIC JOURNALIST, FORMER EDITOR IN CHIEF OF SPIN & VIBE: Well, I can`t speculate on what -- on a cause until we know more than we know now, but I think that, you know, in the moment, this is, of course, shocking and you know, you have to try to react to it, but I think -- I don`t think anybody expected that the Michael Jackson story was going to end happily.

I think that it was a tragic life in many ways. And I think that at a certain point, you started to expect a tragic ending. What exactly that was going to be, what exactly happened here, we`ll find that out in the coming days. But the fact that something like this is where this story ends, it`s hard to really feel shocked by that.

GRACE: Out to Jean Casarez, legal correspondent, with "In Session." Jean, his legal troubles mounting. Will they follow him to the grave? And what about bio-mom? Is she concerned that she may now have the duty of raising these children? Or will the Jackson family step in and take them?

JEAN CASAREZ, LEGAL CORRESPONDENT, "IN SESSION": Let`s go second question first. We heard through Brian Oxman that his children are with their grandmother, Michael Jackson`s mother, and that is where I believe the family will probably want.

Remember, she gave up her parental rights. And as far as the first question, he has been followed by legal suits. Of course the most serious, the criminal lawsuit. But at death, many of those debts are actually extinguished, as you know.

GRACE: Out to the lawyers. Let`s unleash them. Doug Burns, defense attorney in New York, Randy Kessler, defense attorney, Atlanta.

Out to you, Doug Burns, is this a juncture where the biological mother can now come in and take the children back?

DOUG BURNS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, as Jean Casarez said, she did formally relinquish custody.

GRACE: Yes.

BURNS: But I think you`re right, she very well may decide to do that. And I think that in the pecking order of those who would be legally entitled to the children, I agree with you, the biological mother would certainly stand at the front of the line, sure.

GRACE: To Randy Kessler, this is your area of expertise. What about it?

RANDY KESSLER, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Natural parents always have -- they`re first in line. We don`t want to separate kids from a natural parent if at all possible.

GRACE: Put Kessler up. But, Kessler, what about if the Jackson family continues to write her a little check the way Michael Jackson has been doing all this time? Will she be happy with that or will she demand the children in order to up the ante?

KESSLER: Let`s look at it a different way. If they work out an agreement, the court is going to go along with it because these are the people that care about the children the most, the immediate family, the mother.

GRACE: Got it. Enough said. Randy, next question. Every time 911 is called when somebody has a heart attack, the LAPD doesn`t show up to process the home, all right? What is that saying to you?

KESSLER: Well, it`s saying to me it`s Michael Jackson. Every time someone has a heart attack, it`s not Michael Jackson. They`re going to do everything they can and they`re going to make sure that everything is above boards, looked at, cleaned. Even if there`s a 1 percent chance of foul play, in this case, everybody wants to know and they`re going to be looked at with a microscope. And we`re going to make sure that it`s done right.

GRACE: Joining me right now there at the UCLA hospital, Ted Rowlands.

Ted, what is happening now? Are we expecting a press conference there at the hospital from the family?

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT, AT HOSPITAL WHERE MICHAEL JACKSON DIED: Yes. Nancy, we`re not sure who we`re going to hear from, whether it`s hospital officials or members of family or a family spokesperson, but we`ve been told to be on alert that within the hour we`re going to be able to -- they are going to address the media.

The problem is, there are so many fans out here that a lot of them tried to work their way into the hospital so they`re having trouble figuring out who is an accredited media member and who is just a fan. So after they get through that, I think they`ll begin this press conference, which we`re expecting.

Outside the hospital, more and more people are gathering here. People are playing Jackson music and it is a bizarre scene. It`s actually fairly quiet except for the music and the helicopter up top and a lot of picture- taking. And the -- sort of people just gathering here to be here.

GRACE: To Sheryl McCollum, crime analyst and director of the "Cold Case Squad," Pine Lake, PD. Sheryl, again, every time a 911 call is made over a heart attack, you don`t see the LAPD come in to process the room where the heart attack took place.

SHERYL MCCOLLUM, CRIME ANALYST, DIR. OF COLD CASE SQUAD AT PINE LAKE P.D.: Of course not.

GRACE: We all recall when Heath Ledger passed away, there was speculation that a security detail for other celebrities, quote, "cleaned up" the scene.

MCCOLLUM: Well, they`re going to go through this scene, Nancy. They`re going to try to determine, you know, is it accidental, is it natural or was there some type of foul play? They`re going to look for prescription drugs, they`re going to look for other evidence that something maybe was not quite right in the home.

GRACE: To Sally in Tennessee, hi, Sally.

SALLY, CALLER FROM TENNESSEE: Hi, thank you for taking my call.

GRACE: What`s your question, dear?

SALLY: Me and my daughters love your show.

GRACE: Thank you.

SALLY: My condolences go to the Michael Jackson family.

I have two questions -- who was present at the home? And why did it take so long for the paramedics to get there.

GRACE: To Tom O`Neil for "In Touch weekly," who was present, do we know? And how long did it take for paramedics to arrive.

TOM O`NEIL, SENIOR EDITOR IN TOUCH WEEKLY, COVERING STORY: All we know is that it was a staffer internally at the house who made the 911 call and it only took 10 minutes for the ambulance to get there. So that`s a myth.

GRACE: Art Harris, what do you know?

ART HARRIS, ARTHARRIS.COM, COVERED JACKSON TRIAL: Nancy, just what the reports say that -- you know, they were called, they arrived, and he didn`t make it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRACE: Michael Jackson, dead at age 50. All reports confirmed.

To Jean Casarez, do you predict a California Board of Medicine investigation?

CASAREZ: I think it`s a possibility. Brian Oxman said allegedly that there could be some enabling here. As you know, Nancy, that in the last two year, the California Medical Board has done an investigation on the Anna Nicole Smith death for pharmacy shoving, resulted in felony charges against Howard K. Stern and two doctors. They know how to do it.

GRACE: Back to Ted Rowlands there at the hospital. Ted, do we know where his body is now?

ROWLANDS: We are presuming that it is still inside the hospital. But we don`t know definitively, Nancy. There`s been no indication that it`s been moved yet from the coroner. So we believe it is inside.

GRACE: And back to you, Jean Casarez. The reality is, that any future losses, any future criminal action that may have been pending, it is over. As far as criminal cases go, such as molestation charges, they cannot be filed against the estate.

CASAREZ: That is right. That is exactly right. But now we are on to the autopsy. Tomorrow, Nancy, I find it interesting he was raised as a Jehovah Witness, and I don`t know if there`s an issue with that religion and an autopsy, but I think a cause of death is critically important in this case.

GRACE: Everyone, Michael Jackson, dead at 50.

Let`s stop and remember Marine Lance Corporal Daniel Morris, just 19, Crimora, Virginia, killed Iraq. Lost his life just hours after his mother received his delivery of roses and heartfelt letters. Awarded the Purple Heart, National Defense Service medal, Global War on Terrorism medals.

Loved playing the trumpet, video games, computers, favorite TV show, "Seinfeld." Leaves behind grieving mother, Carol, brother, Jonathan.

Daniel Morris, American hero.

Thank you to our guest. But our biggest thanks is to you for being with us. See you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern. And until then, good night, friend.

END