John Travolta's teen son Jett died in 2009. Paramedic revealed what really happened that night
A blackmailing medic and his brazen lawyer threatened to tell the world John Travolta 'intentionally killed his son' unless they got $25 million in hush money.
According to Daily Mail, paramedic Tarino Lightbourne planned to make public a routine waiver Travolta signed initially refusing local medical treatment after his autistic son, Jett, 16, suffered a massive seizure in the family's Bahamas resort villa.
Travolta testified in court that he originally signed the consent document because he wanted Jett to be treated in Florida. However, Jett was sent to a local hospital for treatment before he was pronounced dead later that day.
Lightbourn and former Bahamian Sen. Pleasant Bridgewater are on trial on charges they attempted to extort money from Travolta after his son's January 2, 2009, death from a seizure.
Lightbourn said Jett Travolta's veins had collapsed and his body was stiff as he lay on the bathroom floor. Someone in the room suggested that those present would receive a lot of money if they stayed quiet, he said, adding he thought this was part of a cover-up.
The actor stood before the court during his testimony, which is standard practice in the British system. He testified that his son had a history of seizures and, for the first time, publicly said that his son suffered from autism.
The case of attempted extortion took place when Lightbourn’s attorney, Bridgewater, called an attorney for Travolta in the United States and said her client wanted to sell the document. Travolta then complained to the Royal Bahamian Police through his attorney.
The paramedic expected Travolta would pay millions to prevent publication of the documents because he would not want his name tarnished in media.
Bridgewater told Travolta's lawyer that her client believed the documents could suggest that Travolta was negligent by wanting to take his unresponsive son to his private jet for a flight to a Florida hospital, instead of going directly to a local hospital, she said.
Travolta attorney Michael McDermott testified that he assisted police in a sting by secretly recording a meeting with the defendants in a Nassau hotel room. Bahamian police had placed wireless microphones on McDermott and hidden two cameras in his room, he said.
A year after the whole tragedy occurred, a court in Nassau was about to begin the retrial when prosecutors announced that Travolta had contacted them saying he no longer wished to give evidence in the case.
The Pulp Fiction actor decided to withdraw as a star witness in the forthcoming trial. 'The Travolta family has said that this matter has caused them unbelievable stress and pain and they now wish to put this whole thing behind them,' prosecutors told the court.
Travolta thanked Bahamian authorities for their work on the case and said his cooperation had come at "great emotional cost to my family." The defendants had mixed reactions to the dismissal. In the end, Bridgewater and her client were relieved.