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Father of Michael Jackson Molestation Accuser Commits Suicide
The man whose son derailed Michael Jackson's career with blockbuster accusations of molestation is dead of an apparent suicide.
Evan Chandler, 65, was found in his luxury New Jersey apartment Nov. 5 with a single, self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head and the weapon still in his hand, police confirm.
The former Beverly Hills dentist and aspiring screenwriter did not leave behind a suicide note. However, detectives found prescription medication indicating he was suffering from a serious medical condition. Police did not disclose the nature of Chandler's illness.
Chandler was the driving force behind a 1994 child-molestation case, telling Santa Barbara authorities that his then 13-year-old son, Jordan, had been sexually abused by the singer during sleepovers at Neverland Ranch.
The allegations sparked an investigation that led Jackson, in an effort to clear his name, to voluntarily allow his genitalia to be photographed as evidence. Before the case could ever go to trial however, the Moonwalker's attorneys eventually convinced him to settle with the Chandlers for a reported $22 million.
The scandal ultimately crippled Jackson's reputation and made him a virtual pariah in the United States. A decade later, a similar molestation accusation went to trial and ended in the entertainer's acquittal in 2005.
Jordan Chandler, now 29, has never spoken about the case publicly, bound by a nondisclosure agreement as part of his settlement.
As for the elder Chandler, he eventually had numerous cosmetic surgeries that radically altered his appearance ostensibly to avoid the constant opprobrium from Jackson fans.
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