PICTURE EXCLUSIVE: Sheriff's raid on Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch
It was what Michael Jackson described as his ‘darkest day’ at Neverland Ranch.
These startling never-before-seen images show the moment armed police swooped on the sprawling mansion in search of evidence in their child-abuse investigation.
Seventy deputies from Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Department raided the estate in November 2003 after Gavin Arvizo, 13, claimed Jackson had sexually molested him.
The dramatic footage was captured by the department and shows police barging into Jackson’s bedroom and even drilling into his safe.
Larry Nimmer, who had earlier begun filming separately for the star’s defence team, said: ‘It was at the start of the second child-abuse scandal.
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'I was brought in by Jacko’s lawyers to show Neverland as it was. I was there for three weeks in relative calm. But then all hell erupted when the police raided the house.’
Nimmer, who has turned his footage into a 45-minute documentary, Michael Jackson: The Untold Story Of Neverland, said: ‘Jackson was in Las Vegas on the morning of the raid but he felt his private sanctuary had been violated.’
While Neverland is now an empty shell, the footage shows it at the height of its glory – littered with life-sized mannequins of fantasy figures, toys, books and pictures
Among the videos left piled high in Jackson’s cramped bedroom were documentaries on Bruce Lee and Adolf Hitler, a series of a teen talent show, American Juniors, and two self-help parenting videos.
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