Evan Chandler

Evan Chandler
Born Evan Robert Charmatz
(1944-01-25)January 25, 1944
Bronx, New York City, US
Died November 5, 2009(2009-11-05) (aged 65)
Jersey City, New Jersey, US
Cause of death Suicide
Nationality American
Occupation Dentist, Screenwriter
Known for Accusing Michael Jackson of having molested his son
Spouse(s) Natalie (separated)[1][2]

Evan Chandler (born Evan Robert Charmatz; January 25, 1944 – November 5, 2009) was an American screenwriter and dentist. In 1993, he accused pop singer Michael Jackson of child sexual abuse against his son Jordan. The case was settled out of court. In June 2009, Jackson died of a benzodiazepine overdose. Four months later, Chandler committed suicide.

Early life and career

Evan Robert Charmatz was born in 1944 in Bronx, New York.[3]

In her autobiographical book Shockaholic, actress and screenwriter Carrie Fisher wrote that Chandler could be persuaded via financial incentives to send an anesthesiologist to a patient's house to administer drugs including morphine.[4]

Chandler was also a screenwriter, co-writing the 1993 comedy film Robin Hood: Men in Tights. The idea for the film came from his son Jordan while Chandler was tending to J. David Shapiro.[5]

Accusations against Michael Jackson and settlement

According to Fisher, in 1993 Chandler told her he was bringing charges against Jackson, and was "shocked with moral indignation". She wrote:

This was the time I knew I had to find another dentist. No drug can hide the feeling of one's skin crawling...I never thought that Michael's whole thing with kids was sexual. Never. As in Neverland. Granted, it was miles from appropriate, but just because it wasn't normal doesn't mean that it had to be perverse. Those aren't the only two choices for what can happen between an adult and an un-related child hanging out together...and yes, he had an amusement park, a zoo, a movie theatre, popcorn, candy and an elephant, but to draw a line under all that and add it up to the assumption that he fiendishly rubbed his hands together as he assembled this giant super spiderweb to lure and trap kids into it is just bad math.[6]

In 1993, Chandler accused pop star Michael Jackson of molesting Chandler's son Jordan after his son told him of the allegations while under the influence of sodium amytal during a routine dental procedure.[7] At the time, Chandler was in the midst of a custody battle for the boy with his ex-wife, June Chandler-Schwartz. The 1993 molestation case ended after Jackson reached a settlement with Chandler for a reported U.S. $22 million,[8][9] although this amount was never confirmed by Jackson and no formal charges were brought after two independent grand juries decided not to indict him.[10][11]

Court documents released in 2002 revealed the settlement was $15 million[12] and that Jackson's insurance carrier paid it without his consent, admitting only to "global claims of negligence" and stated, "The Parties recognize that the Settlement Payment are in settlement of claims by [Jordan Chandler], [Evan Chandler] and [June Chandler] for alleged compensatory damages for alleged personal injuries arising out of claims of negligence and not for claims of intentional or wrongful acts of sexual molestation". The document also stated Jordan was not prevented from testifying against Jackson if the case was tried in criminal court, but specified that the Chandlers could not speak to the media, contrary to reports insisting the settlement halted a criminal proceeding.

Post-trial and death

Chandler's residence Liberty View Towers (towers to the left), where he lived until his death in 2009 in Jersey City, NJ.

During the 1993 investigation, Jackson's hired private investigator Anthony Pellicano released a recorded telephone conversation between Chandler and Dave Schwartz, the new husband of his ex-wife, June, and stepfather to Jordan. Jackson's defense cited this tape as proof that Chandler's allegations were nothing but an attempt to extort money from the star and regain custody of Jordan, especially considering Chandler was more than $60,000 behind child support payments and had already approached Jackson several times asking for money. Chandler was recorded saying, "If I go through with this, I win big time. There’s no way that I lose. I’ve checked that out inside out...I will get everything I want, and they will be totally — they will be destroyed forever. They will be destroyed. June is gonna lose Jordy. She will have no right to ever see him again." This phone call took place on July 8; Evan would claim Jordan had confessed the abuse to him on July 16.

Following the settlement, Chandler had multiple plastic surgeries to mask his identity as he claimed abuse and harassment from angry Jackson fans.[13]

According to a USA Today article written by journalist DeWayne Wickham, in 1996, Chandler attempted to sue Jackson a second time, citing the star's HiStory album as a breach of their confidentiality agreement.

It is also believed he is the ghostwriter of All that Glitters, a book about the allegations written by his brother Raymond that was released in 2004 following a new set of molestation accusations against Jackson.

It was revealed by June Chandler-Schwartz during Jackson's 2005 trial that her son, who, according to his uncle, fled the country to avoid testifying against Jackson, had filed for legal emancipation from his parents and had no contact with his mother since 1994.[14][15] In 2006, court documents filed in the state of New Jersey revealed that Evan Chandler was sued by Jordan after he nearly killed him with a barbell and mace in August 2005.[16] Jordan obtained a permanent restraining order against his father as a result.

Evan Chandler committed suicide on November 5, 2009, in Jersey City, New Jersey by shooting himself in the head. He left no suicide note.[17]

References

  1. ↑ https://vindicatemj.wordpress.com/2010/05/07/evan-chandler-was-a-psychiatric-case/
  2. ↑ https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/michael-jackson-sex-case-dad-431983
  3. ↑ Fischer, Mary A. (October 1994). "Was Michael Jackson Framed?". GQ.
  4. ↑ Goldman, Andrew (January 6, 2012). "Nothing Shocks Carrie Fisher". The New York Times. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
  5. ↑ Galbraith, Jane (June 13, 1993). "Toothy Tales of Hollywood . . . Script Dentist!". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
  6. ↑ Shockaholic. Carrie Fisher, Simon & Schuster, 2011
  7. ↑ Citation needed?
  8. ↑ "1993: Michael Jackson accused of child abuse". BBC. February 8, 2003. Retrieved November 11, 2006.
  9. ↑ Pareles, Jon (June 18, 1995). "POP VIEW; Michael Jackson Is Angry, Understand?". The New York Times. Retrieved March 24, 2008.
  10. ↑ "Jackson Grand Jury Disbanded – 1994" (PDF). Showbiz Today. CNN. May 2, 1994. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 14, 2011.
  11. ↑ "Jackson Case". The Independent. London. 1994-05-02. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
  12. ↑ "Michael Jackson's $15 Million Payoff". The Smoking Gun. June 16, 2004. Retrieved August 24, 2013.
  13. ↑ Perone, Tim (2009-11-18). "Father of Jacko molestation accuser kills self in NJ". New York Post. New York. Retrieved 2012-10-27.
  14. ↑ "CBS June Chandler". CBS June Chandler. CBS News. Archived from the original on July 19, 2010. Retrieved November 6, 2011.
  15. ↑ "June Chandler Testimony". June Chandler Testimony.
  16. ↑ Hutchinson, Bill (2009-11-18). "Evan Chandler, dad of boy who accused Michael Jackson of molestation, commits suicide in New Jersey". NYDailyNews.com. New York. Retrieved 2010-06-25.
  17. ↑ Allen, Nick (November 17, 2005). "Michael Jackson: father of Jordan Chandler shoots himself dead". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.