Michael Jackson accuser dies from gunshot wound

Whistleblower Evan Chandler, whose claim that Michael Jackson sexually molested his son Jordan triggered the late pop star's fall from grace in the 1990s, has committed suicide. He died from a single bullet wound to the head on November 5, although details of his death were only made public yesterday.

The body of Chandler, 65, was found in a bed at his luxury waterfront apartment in Jersey City, New Jersey. According to reports, there was no suicide note. However, police sources said the victim was still holding the gun when his body was discovered.

In 1993 Chandler, a former Beverly Hills dentist, accused Jackson of molesting his then 13-year-old son Jordan. The father and son brought a civil lawsuit against Jackson who reportedly settled the case out of court for $20m although he always denied wrongdoing.

Both parties subsequently signed a confidentiality agreement not to talk about the case, but in 1996 Chandler filed a $60m suit against Jackson and his then-wife Lisa Marie Presley. Chandler claimed that the couple had breached the agreement by talking about the case on television. The lawsuit was dismissed three years later.

Jordan Chandler is now 29 and lives under an assumed name in Long Island, New York. He has never spoken publicly about the allegations.

In 2005 Jackson was accused of molesting another minor, Gavin Arvizo, who alleged he had been molested at the singer's Neverland ranch when he was aged 13. The jury cleared Jackson on all seven charges of child molestation.

Michael Jackson died in June this year of a drug overdose at the age of 50. His personal doctor, Dr Conrad Murray, is the focus of a police investigation. ·