Katherine Jackson being held against will, judge told

 

A judge on Wednesday temporarily shifted custody of Michael Jackson's children from his mother to relative T.J. Jackson amid allegations that Katherine Jackson was being held against her will.

The shift came after attorneys said Katherine Jackson might have been abducted, the latest in a series of bizarre incidents over the last few days. Katherine Jackson lawyer Sandra Ribera told the judge: "I have reason to believe she is being held or has been held against her will." T.J. Jackson, a cousin of Michael Jackson's children, said he got a "strange" call last night from Katherine Jackson in which she was slurring her words.

Katherine Jackson was reported missing over the weekend, and although Los Angeles County sheriff's authorities and members of the Jackson family have said she was out of state with other family members, Paris Jackson — the late Michael Jackson's 14-year-old daughter — continues to publicly claim she is being kept from her grandmother.

"8 days and counting. something is really off, this isn’t like her at all ..." she tweeted Monday. "i wanna talk directly to my grandmother!!<|3"

On Tuesday morning, she tweeted again: "9 days and counting… so help me god i will make whoever did this pay."

Deputies responded to a family disturbance at Katherine Jackson's Calabasas home Monday afternoon, but said the incident did not involve Michael Jackson's three children. Authorities who went to the home determined that a physical altercation had occurred between members of the Jackson family but no arrests were made.

Sheriff's Department spokesman Steve Whitmore did not say which adult family members were involved, only that they determined the children were not part of the family fracas.

Meanwhile, deputies continue to investigate allegations from April that Michael Jackson's mother was being exploited by family members.

Whitmore said a business associate of the family made the accusations. Deputies interviewed Katherine Jackson, who denied the allegations.

The claim was that Katherine Jackson was being "emotionally and financially mistreated by family members," Whitmore said. "She emphatically denied the allegations, and deputies determined she was in good health."

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--Harriet Ryan