Michael Jackson's eldest son, Prince, saw his father collapse, but thought he was just clowning around as usual.
Tonight - Son 'saw Michael Jackson dying'
The first details about what happened at Jackson's rented Los Angeles mansion were revealed by Jackson family biographer Stacy Brown on Sunday night.
It was also revealed that Jackson's aides took 50 minutes to call an ambulance, adding yet another strand of mystery to the circumstances around Jackson's death and raising questions about what his personal physician, Dr Conrad Murray, was doing in the house.
The 911 claims will prompt yet more questions from Jackson's family, who are trying to piece together who did what inside the singer's home after he apparently suffered a cardiac arrest.
Although his body has been released to the family, his brain has been retained for medical examiners to carry out more tests as police wait for the results of toxicological analysis.
Brown said Prince had thought his father was messing around when he collapsed on the living-room floor but had then stood "in a trance" as Murray tried to revive him.
"The horror of it all is that Prince thought his dad was just being his dad and clowning, but it was real, and he watched as they worked on him," Brown told the New York Post.
"Prince was stunned - in a trance - just watching. There was no movement, just looking around and not really processing what was happening."
Brown said he had been told that when Jackson went into cardiac arrest, he had been in the living room of the $100 000 (R793 848) a month house with the boy, whose full name is Prince Michael Joseph Jackson Jr.
Also there, according to Brown, were Murray, his friend and one-time manager, Frank DiLeo, and a security guard named Tippy.
That morning, Jackson had been preparing to go to London for his series of 50 concerts there. At about 11.30am, he had collapsed on the living-room floor.
"The guard and the doctor picked him up and put him on the bed from the living room and that's when they started CPR," Brown said. "The doctor said he was 'very pale and cold to the touch'."
Tippy had then phoned Jackson's father to tell him something was wrong.
"Joseph screamed at them to call for help," Brown said.
Tippy had then called 911. The Los Angeles Fire Department said the call had been received at 12.21pm.
Jackson was rushed to UCLA Medical Centre, where doctors shocked his heart and inserted a breathing tube to try to revive him, but were unsuccessful. He was declared dead at 2.26pm.
DiLeo described the heartbreaking moment he broke the news to Jackson's children. Walking into the UCLA Medical Centre waiting room, he was greeted by the sight of Prince, Paris, 11, and seven-year-old Prince Michael II.
As he shook his head, DiLeo said: "I'm sorry, children, your father has passed away."
A split second of silence followed before Paris screamed: "No, no, Daddy. No, no!"
DiLeo said the "outpouring of emotion is something I shall live with for the rest of my life".
"It was the single most painful moment of my life. I cannot tell you how difficult it was," he said.
"Michael's mother, Katherine, was with them. They were waiting there together for news. I think she feared the worst, but the children had no idea their whole world had ended.
"Whatever anyone thought of Michael, he was loved by those children, truly loved. They were, and are, in pieces," said DiLeo.
The three children are now in the custody of Katherine Jackson, in the home Jackson bought for his mother.
Questions have been raised about Murray, who became Jackson's personal physician three years ago and was to have accompanied him on tour for a lucrative salary. Public records show he had financial troubles.
But a lawyer for Murray said on Monday that Jackson had still had a faint pulse and his body had been warm when the doctor found him in bed and not breathing.
The doctor had immediately administered CPR.
Edward Chernoff also said Murray had never prescribed painkillers Demerol or OxyContin and denied reports suggesting that Murray had given Jackson drugs that contributed to his death.
Chernoff said any drugs the doctor had given Jackson were prescribed in response to a specific complaint from the entertainer.
Because Jackson was so frail, Murray had "administered CPR with his hand behind his back to provide the necessary support", Chernoff said.
Murray was interviewed by police for three hours on Saturday. His spokesperson called Murray "a witness to this tragedy", not a suspect in the death, and police said the doctor had been co-operative.
Chernoff said Murray would wait to speak publicly until after the police and forensics investigation were complete. "One of his best friends just died, essentially in his arms - yeah, he's looking forward to telling his story," he said.
A private pathologist hired by the Jackson family completed a second, private autopsy on Saturday, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Los Angeles County coroner's officials said their autopsy had found no indication of trauma or foul play. But because of additional tests, an official cause of death could take weeks to determine.
There is still no word from the Jackson family on funeral plans. Many of Jackson's relatives have gathered at the family's Encino compound with Jackson's children.
Three days after the death of the king of pop, celebrities descended on Los Angeles for a celebration of Jackson's life at the annual BET awards show.
In a statement read at the show, Jackson's parents said they solely had the personal and legal "authority for our son and his children". - Daily Mail and AP
