Prosecutors portrayed Michael Jackson as a hard-drinking, porn-collecting paedophile to ”dirty up” the pop star because they could not prove their case that he molested a child, Jackson’s lawyer said in closing arguments. Defence attorney Thomas Mesereau Jnr was to conclude his closing argument on Friday.

In a victory for Michael Jackson’s defence, jurors in his child-molestation case were allowed to see a video tour of the singer’s Neverland ranch that a prosecutor condemned as propaganda. Jurors saw idyllic scenes of amusement-park rides, cheerful workers, zoo animals, blooming flowers and statues of boys and girls at play.

CNN’s Larry King arrived on Thursday to testify for the defence at Michael Jackson’s molestation trial. King was outside the courthouse more than a half-hour before the trial was to resume. The defence has said the talk-show host will testify that an attorney who has represented the family of Jackson’s accuser had expressed doubts about their credibility.

A forensic accountant has testified that Michael Jackson owed -million more than he had in assets about the time a damaging documentary was aired, bolstering prosecutors’ claims that financial distress led the superstar to panic. The accountant testified on Tuesday that he traced Jackson’s finances from 1999 to 2004.

A comedian who gave  000 to the family of Michael Jackson’s accuser testified that she believed the boy’s mother suffered from ”hostage syndrome”. Louise Palanker told jurors in the singer’s child-molestation trial that she believed the woman had felt like a hostage since the age of 16, when she married a man who allegedly abused her.

A former housekeeper for Michael Jackson testified at the entertainer’s molestation trial that she called his Neverland ranch ”Pinocchio’s Pleasure Island” because children were allowed to run wild without adult supervision. Kiki Fournier said on Thursday that on several occasions she saw children who appeared to be intoxicated.