>>>
we're back at 8:09 with surprising claims being made by
michael jackson
's sister
la toya
. she dedicates a large portion of her new book "
starting over
" to her brother and his death, including
michael
's fear that he would be targeted in an assassination plot.
la toya
, it's nice to see you again. good morning.
>>
good morning. matt, how you this morning.
>>
i'm doing well. thank you. you know now that this book is coming out a lot of people will be talking about what's in it.
>>
sure.
>>
you wrote,
michael
who confided in me years earlier that he feared assassination by those who wanted to steal his valuable publishing catalog and estate. you quote
michael
as saying, i'm even afraid to walk around in my own yard because i'm afraid they're going to kill me. i could never perform again because i know they're going to kill me. do you know who he's referring to?
>>
yes, he told me exactly who he was referring to. he was terrified. he was terrified of the fact that he had this catalog and he knew they wanted it. that catalog.
>>
catalog of music.
>>
his publishing which he owned over -- i think it was 750,000 songs just alone. so he owned everybody's publishing --
>>
who did he think wanted to kill him to gain control of that catalog?
>>
women, everybody that surrounded that, that was involved in that. and he would speak about it. and he was very afraid. he said it was just a matter of time. he knew it was going to happen. when he first told me i was,
michael
, come on that can't be true. i didn't truly understand it in the beginning. but the more he explained it, the more i understood. not only did he tell me. he told my mother as well.
>>
one of the things that struck me. he said he was afraid to even perform yet we know at the time of his death he was rehearsing for a
major tour
over seas.
>>
that's right.
>>
what was the problem? he apparently had lost that fear.
>>
no, what it was, he was in a catch-22 where he knew that he had to perform and he had the perform ten dates because he was given so much. okay. i'll do this and only this. only the ten dates and that's it.
>>
so all the attention being paid to dr. conrad
murray
for the death of
michael
, you say he is the
fall guy
for a much larger plot. you write, quote, i decided to investigate
michael
's death and go public with what i found with the hope of getting justice for
michael
by identifying those who really killed him. and yet in the book,
la toya
, i couldn't find anywhere where you actually named someone or give proof of anyone actually killing
michael
.
>>
but when you read the book and you
read between the lines
and you understand, you will know what exactly
michael
led you to that, to what was going to happen.
>>
lead me to it.
>>
when you read the book you understand it completely. once you read it, you will understand it. and i have to say that i was not there when he was actually murdered. however --
>>
but you do believe that it was not dr. conrad
murray
responsible for his death that someone actually murdered your brother?
>>
i believe that dr.
murray
was definitely the
fall guy
. i think that they need to invest gate this a bit more. go deeper into it.
>>
this idea of yours, and this belief of yours, has put you at odds with other family members.
>>
not at odds.
>>
you write in the book how the family always came together, for example, at the trial of
michael
.
>>
of course.
>>
-- earlier in
2003
. but they're in the on page you in this.
>>
in the beginning they were, oh, no, he's passed, let him lie to rest. you can't not let that be because his children thanks
need to know
what happened, they want to know what happened to their father. they were there. they understand.
>>
have you gone to the police now with information that you have uncovered in your own investigation? are they now looking in a different area?
>>
in the beginning i was with the detectives right there with them and i wanted the
surveillance camera
, i want to no everything and everyone who came in and out of that house. all of a sudden that's eradicate eradicat eradicated. they erase it but just the first three or four minutes there.
>>
on the subject of the trial of the situation the brother found himself in on two separate occasions with accusations of molestation. you held a news conference, i think it was in
tel aviv
in
1993
, and you said pretty important things. quote, i can no longer be a silent collaborator of these crimes against small innocent children.
>>
absolutely.
>>
you now say that you were forced to say that by your former husband
jack gordon
. how could he force you to say something so damning about your brother?
>>
matt, when you're in a relationship when you're being abused and very controlling, he controlled everything i did, everything that went on in my life. he was working with a group of people that were working with my brother at the time, which, in fact, i didn't know. i wasn't privy to that. i wasn't privy to watch television. i knew nothing that was going on. when i went on television and said my brother was wonderful, he would never do anything like that. he hated that. the next day, you get on. went to
tel aviv
. he said i was going on vacation. i thought there was an award show. we drove up, all those cameras and people there. i didn't know.
>>
you had a complete
change of heart
in terms of your brother's situation with molestation.
>>
never had a
change of heart
. i always knew he never did that. and that's one thing that
michael
and i discussed and talk about because i had to speak to him about that. he said,
la toya
, you don't have to mention that. i know you. i know your heart i know he was making you do this.
michael
knew more than i thought. he would call me and tell me to get away from him. gordon is going to murder you. what i would want to say he would tell me if i didn't do what we he wanted me to do or say he was going to kill
michael
.
>>
you have also made comments about your father joe molesting you and other forms of
child abuse
. now you say no other man alive or dead did anything like joseph did for his family and i thank him for that.
>>
i do.
>>
is this a contradiction?
>>
no, it is not. my father did a wonderful job of raising all of us. i have to tell you that when you're young, you see things differently than when you get older. when you get older and you have children and your nieces and nephews, you understand why your father disciplined you the way he did. parents beat their children back then. they don't do that today. if you do it today, you're going to jail.
>>
but you stand by the comments you made about molestation and
child abuse
?
>>
my father is a very wonderful man, matt. i have to tell you something. my father is getting older. i love him with all my heart.
michael
loved my father at the
end of the day
. people are showing footage of
michael
speaking at my father the way he thought many years ago. at the end of
michael
's life he called my father several times, wanted him there. he even told his children, call grandpa, he will help me get out of this situation.
>>
you're standing by your original statements about your dad?
>>
my father is a wonderful person and always will be. he has a great heart and, yes, i do love him and care for him a great deal.
>>
la toya jackson
, appreciate it.
