Jackson’s Mother, Defiant and at Times Forgetful, Wraps Up Her Testimony

LOS ANGELES â€" Michael Jackson’s mother continued her testimony on Monday in the wrongful death lawsuit she brought against the promoter of Jackson’s planned comeback concerts, appearing emotional and at times confused and exhausted, but saying that she was determined to find out the truth about how her son died four years ago.

“I wanted to find out what really happened to my son,” said Katherine Jackson, 83.

In her suit, Mrs. Jackson says that the promoter, AEG Live, is liable for Jackson’s death because it failed to properly monitor Dr. Conrad Murray, his personal physician for the shows. She is seeking damages equivalent to what her son could have earned had he lived, a sum that one witness estimated at more than $1.5 billion.

AEG counters that Jackson hired the doctor and kept secret his use of propofol, the powerful anesthetic that killed him. Dr. Murray is serving a four-year sentence for involuntary manslaughter.

Witnesses in the trial so far, called by Mrs. Jackson’s lawyers, have included Jackson’s creative partners, his 16-year-old son Prince, and AEG executives, whose flurry of e-mails about Jackson’s condition in the days before his death have been repeatedly parsed in court.

Mrs. Jackson said it had been difficult for her to hear what she called falsehoods about her son. She said it was also hurtful to see e-mails from AEG executives mocking Jackson, including one in which he was called “the freak.”

But she struggled to add much information to the case. When Marvin S. Putnam, AEG’s lawyer, asked detailed questions about whether she knew about her son’s drug use, Mrs. Jackson said numerous times that she could not remember events or meetings, and some of her answers seemed to contradict statements she had made in earlier depositions.

Mrs. Jackson also frequently complained about the questioning by the defense, saying “I already answered that question” several times and, when asked about gifts she received from Jackson, countered, “What does this have to do with the death of my son?”

At one point on Friday, when she began her testimony, she stopped answering questions and instead stared straight ahead. The judge ended Friday’s session early, and Mrs. Jackson’s lawyer, Brian J. Panish, told reporters afterward that “she was getting confused and tired.”

Mrs. Jackson, the soft-voiced matriarch of the Jackson family, has been a near-constant presence during the 12-week civil trial, sitting in the front row of the small courtroom most days and waving to the gaggle of Jackson superfans who wait outside the court in T-shirts with slogans like, “We support you #team Katherine Jackson.”

On Monday, she testified that she was financially dependent on her son while he was alive.

“My son took care of me,” she said. “He paid for everything: food, shelter, clothing.”

Jackson was more than $400 million in debt when he died, but his estate has reportedly earned more than $600 million through various music and licensing deals, and Jackson’s mother and three children are the main beneficiaries. (The children are also plaintiffs in the AEG suit.)

Mrs. Jackson’s testimony ended on Monday afternoon, and AEG was expected to begin calling its witnesses this week to make its case.

On her way out of the courtroom, Mrs. Jackson was greeted by about a dozen fans, who cheered that they loved her.

“Thank you for being so strong today,” one said.

Jens Erik Gould contributed reporting from Los Angeles.