Michael Jackson-AEG: Fans line up to watch wrongful-death trial

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Michael Jackson fans from left, Karlene Taylor, Yvonne Francis, Latrenda White and Jamie Lee, speak out against AEG Live. A jury found Wednesday that AEG Live was not liable in the death of the pop superstar. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Jury foreman Gregg Barden, center, listens to a reporter’s question about their verdict in the civil trial over the wrongful-death lawsuit filed by Katherine Jackson and three grandchildren against AEG Live in the death of singer Michael Jackson. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Yvette M. Palazuelos gathers the verdict documents moments before they were publicly disclosed. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Attorneys for Katherine Jackson, Deborah Chang, left and Kevin Boyle listen as jurors are polled following the verdict in the civil trial that lasted for five months. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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AEG attorney Marvin Putnam smiles during verdict polling at the conclusion of the Katherine Jackson v. AEG Live civil trial in Los Angeles County Superior Court. The jury found AEG not liable in Michael Jackson’s death. AEG attorney Jessica Stebbins Bina is at left. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Brian Panish, left, attorney for the Michael Jackson family, speaks with Kathryn Cahan and Marvin Putnam, attorneys with AEG Live LLC ,in Los Angeles County Superior Court in the Michael Jackson wrongful-death trial Thursday in downtown Los Angeles. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Bailiffs are sworn in to protect the jury as Brian Panish, attorney for the Michael Jackson family, waits during the trial in the Michael Jackson wrongful-death lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Thursday. The singer’s family has sued the entertainment firm AEG Live LLC, saying the company negligently hired and supervised Conrad Murray, the doctor who administered the dose of propofol that killed the singer. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Brian Panish, an attorney for the Michael Jackson family, delivers his closing argument to jurors in a packed courtroom in downtown Los Angeles on Sept. 24. The promoters of Michael Jackson’s last tour were “so excited” about making huge profits that they hired an unfit doctor to care for the star, his family’s lawyer said. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Marvin Putnam, lead attorney for AEG Live LLC and co-counsel Jessica Stebbins-Bina, listen to closing arguments by Michael Jackson family’s attorney, Brian Panish, in a packed courtroom Sept. 24. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Brian Panish, attorney for the Michael Jackson family, delivers his closing argument to jurors in the Michael Jackson wrongful-death lawsuit against concert promoter AEG Live LLC on Sept. 24. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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AEG attorney Marvin Putnam gives closing arguments in the Michael Jackson wrongful-death case on Sept. 25. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Yvette M. Palazuelos listens to a rebuttal argument in the Michael Jackson wrongful-death case on Sept. 26. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Debbie Rowe, Michael Jackson’s former wife and mother of two of his children, leaves Los Angeles County Superior Court after testifying at the trial in the wrongful-death lawsuit filed by Jackson’s mother, Katherine Jackson, against AEG Live. (Nick Ut / Associated Press)

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Television crews report live outside Los Angeles County Superior Court in downtown Los Angeles on the first day of the trial in the wrongful-death lawsuit. (Joe Klamar / AFP/Getty Images)

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In this file photo dated Sept. 27, 2011, Michael Jackson’s mother Katherine Jackson arrives outside Los Angeles County Superior Court to hear opening statement in the involuntary manslaughter trial of pop superstar Michael Jackson’s personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray. Murray was convicted and sentenced to prison. (Robyn Beck / AFP/Getty Images)

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Singer Janet Jackson, left, Paris Katherine Jackson, Prince Michael Jackson II and LaToya Jackson are seen on stage during the memorial service for Michael Jackson at Staples Center in Los Angeles on July 7, 2009. (Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)

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Entertainer Michael Jackson announces on March 5, 2009, that he will play a series of comeback concerts at the London O2 Arena in July. Jackson died before the concerts could be held. (Joel Ryan / Associated Press)

By Corina Knoll and Jeff Gottlieb

April 29, 2013 10:55 AM PT

Silvia Gusmami and Laura Messina jetted in from Italy just for a chance to watch the Michael Jackson wrongful-death case, joining other fans at a downtown Los Angeles courtroom Monday who jockeyed for two lottery seats being made available to the public for the opening day of the trial.

The two women said they spent last week watching attorneys pick jurors in the case, which is expected to last as long as four months.

The case, in which Jackson’s mother and children have accused entertainment giant AEG of hiring and controlling the doctor who gave the pop singer a lethal dose of the anesthetic propofol, is expected to dive into the sensational elements of the entertainer’s life.

FULL COVERAGE: AEG wrongful death trial

Gusmami and Messina said they are among the Jackson faithful who intend to follow the case.

Messina, 35, with straight, chest-length black hair, and a nose similar to the last version that Michael Jackson modeled, admitted her friends say she looks like the entertainer.

The two women are veteran Jacksonians, having come from Europe to watch the trial of Dr. Conrad Murray, the doctor who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the singer’s 2009 death on the eve of what was to be a run of comeback concerts in London.

“We want justice for him,” said Messina, a translator. “It was a conspiracy. There is a part of his fans that knows the truth. More in Europe than here.”

Julia Thomas also was among the Jackson faithful.

The 40-year-old took the day off from her job as a high school office administrator and drove 70 miles from her home near Rialto to vie for a seat.

“It’s nothing when you love Michael as much as I love him,” she said. “Somebody has to come out and speak up for him.”

Thomas sat on a bench beside Karlene Taylor, a woman she met during Murray’s arraignment. Thomas had been overcome with emotion that day when Jackson family members arrived in a blue Cadillac Escalade -- the pop legend’s own vehicle.

“I was breaking down crying and she came and comforted me,” Thomas said of Taylor. “We’re like BFF now.”

The two say the civil case has divided the Michael Jackson fan community. Some believe the Jackson family’s greed propelled Jackson’s mother and three children to file the wrongful-death suit.

Others, like Taylor and Thomas, are steadfast in their belief that the Jackson family has every right to say AEG is at fault when it comes to Jackson’s death.

“This here is a case where he was an artist who was abused and bullied by his promoters and it stressed him out where he needed a sedative to be put to sleep,” Thomas said. “That’s why AEG is liable.”

The two women did not win seats inside the courtroom, but were glad to hear that Taaj Malik, who runs www.teammichaeljackson.com, got inside. “We want good fans going in who will report the correct information to us,” Thomas said.

One fan who did get inside said the opportunity was “bittersweet.” Samantha De Gosson, a 38-year-old photographer from Pasadena looked overwhelmed as she waited in the hallway.

“I’m happy I can go in, but not looking forward about what’s going to be said,” she said. “This is a trial where Michael Jackson will be thrown under the bus by both parties. It’s not really about justice. It’s about who’s going to make money.”

Though Gusmami and Messina didn’t win court seats Monday, they do have another week in the United States.

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