Jackson sheets had none of accuser's DNA

Sheets seized from Michael Jackson’s bed contained no DNA trace of his young accuser, an investigator revealed today.

Sgt Jeff Klapackis told Santa Maria court, California, every bit of bedding was taken but not a single hair or any DNA could be linked to the 13-year-old.

Both he and his brother have claimed they frequently slept in Jackson’s bed.

Larry Feldman, the lawyer who first interviewed the boy's family, told jurors he was never asked to file a lawsuit against the singer.

He conceded that the boy, now 15, and his brother could not file civil suits against Jackson until they were 20-years-old and agreed that if the star was convicted of child abuse it would be easier to win a financial judgement against him .

Feldman rejected accusations that he encouraged the criminal action to avoid the costs of preparing a civil lawsuit.

Asked whether he was contemplating a lawsuit when he referred the family to county prosecutors, he said: “There was no lawsuit and there were no plans to file a lawsuit.”

Earlier, Klapackis said some 69 officers had combed the singer’s 2,800-acre home in November 2003.

He defended the extensive police search, claiming they were only given one day to conduct the entire investigation of the property.

The Santa Barbara investigator had already admitted the scale of the search was greater than typically involved in a murder investigation but denied they had gone overboard simply because Jackson was a celebrity.

Under cross-examination he said fingerprints were not taken from alcohol bottles or furniture because the boy and his family had left the ranch eight months earlier.

“It didn’t enter the investigation at the time,” he said.

Lt Klapackis ordered the investigation to be reopened in June 2003 after talking to Feldman and psychologist Stanley Katz.

It had been closed earlier in the year when Los Angeles social workers said the family told them Jackson had not harmed the boy. Prosecutors say the allegations came to light during the boys’ interviews with Dr Katz.

The trial continues.