Jordie’s Confession
On 2 August, Evan Chandler extracted a troublesome tooth from his son, Jordie, in his Beverly Hills clinic. During the procedure, he decided to intravenously administer the drug sodium Amytal. Mark Torbiner, a dental anaesthesiologist (who had been the one to introduce Evan to his attorney, Barry Rothman in 1991 when Rothman needed dental work), was present during the surgery. Evan has since confirmed that his son was given the drug, but only as a part of the dental procedure. While under the influence of sodium Amytal, says Evan, Jordie finally began to speak openly about sexual activity he claimed had occurred between him and Michael Jackson.
Sodium Amytal has erroneously been called a ‘truth serum’. Actually, most doctors agree that patients are extremely susceptible to suggestion while under the influence of the drug. ‘You can’t trust it,’ said Dr Lewis Strong, a Los Angeles psychiatrist (who does not know Evan or Jordie Chandler). ‘I never use it in my practice. I have found it to be unreliable. It’s certainly not a truth serum. Sometimes it is used for the treatment of amnesia, but it often provides false memories.’
Why did Evan Chandler use sodium Amytal on his son in order to perform dental work on him?
‘It’s absolutely a psychiatric drug,’ observed Dr Kenneth Gottlieb, a San Francisco psychiatrist who has administered sodium Amytal to amnesia patients. ‘I would never want to use a drug that tampers with a person’s unconscious unless there was no other drug available,’ he added, ‘and I would not use it without resuscitating equipment, in case of allergic reaction, and only with an MD anaesthesiologist present.’ (Mark Torbiner is a dental anaesthesiologist.)
Dr John Yagiela, the coordinator of the Anaesthesia and Pain Control department of UCLA’s school of dentistry, confirmed, ‘It’s unusual for it to be used for pulling a tooth. It makes no sense when better, safer alternatives are available. It would not be my choice.’
Perhaps Evan felt that he had no choice but to administer the drug to his son in order to get him to finally open up about the true nature of his relationship with Michael Jackson. ‘Did Michael ever touch your penis?’ Evan asked Jordie. Groggily, Jordie said in a soft voice that, yes, Michael had done it. Evan then grabbed his son and hugged him tightly, as if never wanting to let him go. ‘I’m sorry, Jordie,’ he said, according to a later recollection. ‘I’m so sorry.’
In his heart, Evan would later say, he always knew what was going on between his child and the pop star. He said that he only needed confirmation from Jordie before he could, in good conscience, go up against Michael in such an explosive and life-ruining campaign. It wasn’t much to go on, though if, in fact, it was even true that Michael had touched Jordie’s penis. However Evan believed there was more to it. He didn’t need all of the details, anyway, he said. In the end, he had what he wanted: Michael Jackson’s neck in a noose. But the question remained: how much of what Jordie had confessed while under the influence of a psychiatric drug was the truth?