“She would tell him that the truth would prevail, that God would help him. She just kept him strong,” defence lawyer Thomas A Mesereau Jr recalled. “She never missed a single day of testimony, and it was a five-month trial.” At the quiet center in an often fractious family of outsized personalities, Katherine Jackson, 79, held a deep and affectionate bond with the pop star all his life — even through its most isolated chapters.

A steadfast and religious woman, she not only doted on Michael but also fiercely protected him, according to people who have had close dealings with the family.

When the LA courthouse opened Monday, she stepped into the media squall to take control of her son’s estate and custody of his three children, amid the growing cacophony of claims over the singer’s vast assets and debts.

A Superior Court judge appointed her special administrator of her son’s estate, with limited powers to secure his personal property. The judge also granted her temporary custody of the children, Prince Michael Jr., 12; Paris Michael Katherine, 11; and Prince Michael II, 7. “They have a long-established relationship with paternal grandmother and are in her care,” an attorney, Diane Goodman, wrote about the children in court papers.

The court will address permanent arrangements for the children at a hearing July 6. Debbie Rowe, the mother of Jackson’s two older children, is considering whether to seek custody or continued visitation rights.

Jackson’s net worth $236m in 2007

NEW YORK: Michael Jackson claimed to have a net worth of $236 million as of March 31, 2007, according to financial documents obtained by The Associated Press that shed light on the late pop star’s murky finances and prodigious borrowing. Jackson had $567.6 million in assets, including his Neverland Ranch, his share of the Sony/ATV Music Publishing catalog that includes the rights to songs by the Beatles, according to a statement of financial condition prepared by Washington-based accounting firm Thompson, Cobb, Bazilio & Associates. The five-page report says Jackson had debts of $331 million, leaving him with a net worth of $236.6 million.

LAPD interviewing Jackson’s doctors

LOS ANGELES: Detectives of the Los Angeles Police Department are interviewing an unknown number of doctors who treated or prescribed medication to Michael Jackson as they continue their probe into the pop star’s death, a law enforcement source told The Times. The source, who did not want to be named, stressed that detectives don’t know whether prescriptions played a role in the pop star’s death but said they hope to get a better understanding of his medical condition and the types of medications he took.