Michael Jackson: father of Jordan Chandler shoots himself dead

The father of Jordan Chandler, a boy who accused Michael Jackson of child molestation, has committed suicide.

Evan Chandler, 65, was found dead in his apartment in New Jersey after shooting himself in the head. Police said there was no suicide note.

In 1993, Mr Chandler, a former dentist, accused Jackson on behalf of his then-13-year-old son.

Mr Chandler and his son brought a civil lawsuit against Jackson who reportedly settled the case out of court for $20 million (£12 million,) although he always denied wrongdoing.

Both parties signed a confidentiality agreement not tot talk about the case but in 1996 Mr Chandler filed a $60 million (£37.5 million) suit against Jackson and his then wife Lisa Marie Presley.

It was claimed that they breached the agreement by talking about the case on television. The lawsuit was dismissed three years later.

Jordan Chandler is now 29 and has never spoken publicly about the allegations.

In 2005 Jackson was cleared by a jury after another boy, Gavin Arvizo, alleged he had been molested at the singer's Neverland ranch.

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.