Just A Man (Chapter 14)

[Rickyrocks]

Hi

This section is for your questions and thoughts about CHAPTER 14 of the JAM online feature.

Each chapter will be divided into its own chapter so as to make it easier to post & talk about each chapter seperately.

Thank You
Rickyrocks

[Genevieve]

Dear Tina,

PRE-SCRIPTUM: I feel I have to mention that English is not my first language...Otherwise I'd be able to say it more clearly and in less words


Dear Tina,

for as much as I know you, and I only know you from JAM and your always appreciated apparitions on this site, you seem to be a very sober person (I mean you don't take substances that altere your perceptions). Your perception of the reality is therefore probably more acurate and realistic than those of whom consume drugs, alcohol, whatever else. I am thinking that this could explain the unexpected reactions you got when trying to sort things out. What you said in the interview was intended to get closer to reality.
Reality hurts and that's what it did to Kell, Paula and whoever else. When someone is saying things straightly, the way they really are, it's painful. Especially when you are not used to reality because you take all sorts of things to keep yourself away from it.

I am not expressing myself exactly the way I would like to, but it's something I have been thinking many times while reading that book: your appreciation of the reality due to you beeing grounded and sober versus other people's weirdly biaised perception of the world and easy conflict resolution for conflicts are to escape from also. I thought I would try to put it into words...

You and your mother, Patricia, were absolutely right doing what you did and writing this book. You stood as lucid guards in these hectic moments. I don't know so far how things have worked for you on that field, the legal one. But the absolutely direspectful, mysterious and blury way dearest Michael's will was handled needed some care only grounded persons are able to deliver .

I hope justice will be done one day, that thruth will be revealed and that the liars, attacked by tons of residual introspective guilt.


Love,
Genevieve

[caz]

Wow...you said it beautifully...thank you.

[lisas]

That was a very disturbing chapter to read. I originally read JAM when it was first published in 2000 and I have just re-read some of the chapters on the site. There are a lot of things in this on-line version of JAM that were not mentioned in the original book. I was shocked when I originally read the book about some of the things that went on after Michael's death but reading this extra detail is even more shocking. Was the original book watered down in certain areas because of legal issues?

I think that Genevieve made some really good points in her post.

It is sick that the family had no say in what happened to Michael's remains and the final decision of where to lay him to rest was taken out of their hands. The impression that I get from reading the chapter is that the family fighting assisted Colin Diamond in getting away with manipulating everyone to the extent that he did. It seems that it was very easy for CD and others to play family members off against each other and this made it easy for him to deceive everyone while the family was distracted fighting with each other. Kell's mistrust of Patricia could have influenced him to trust CD to the extent that he was willing to take CD's word for it that Michael wanted to be cremated without checking with other family members or asking to see the will. I can't help but think that if the family along with Paula had been united from day one and worked together, everyone would of seen through CD a lot sooner and the end result may well have been very different. I hope I haven't offended anyone with these comments; it was not my intention to.

[Tina Hutchence]

You haven't offended anyone Lisa -in fact you are absolutely right about the family dynamics making it easy for CD to run amuk!! Genevieve has some good points too. As someone who does not rely on substances, I tend to forget that others may be and how it will change their perception of a situation.

Everything was very well orchestrated in that terrible week - as Kell later said, 'Diamond was controlling all the strings. He sized things up immediately and made sure that we were all seperated, staying in different hotels, under assumed names, etc. The information we were getting was what he wanted us to hear.

As far as the online version of the book; it is more open as our publisher was so freaked by the litigious entities involved. Even when something had been witnessed by both Mother and myself and Ross........it wasn't enough. They still wanted backup. We never even received a letter of complaint -not one. The people involved know it is the truth and in most cases we have paperwork or tape to prove it.

T.

[charlesex]

i will go even further than lisa. not only was cd intentionally using family discord to make his manipulation easier, i wonder...

it seems so strange to me that cd would have the body cremated. unless he wanted to destroy evidence.

i know the coroner's report had no evidence of foul play, and i am trying to believe that it was a suicide. but since cd insisted on cremation....

it just makes me wonder. i just don't know what to believe.

by the way, i missed the funeral in 1997, and would love to see it. i cannot download it, because my speakers are broken. if anybody can sell me a vhs or dvd copy, i would greatly appreciate it. please send me a pm, or email me. thanx. [e-mail]

[seline63]

charlesex, that is a very interesting point of view. I have often wondered about CD pushing the cremation through so fast...why? To me, it seems logical to think that because look how he is all wrapped up in Michael's finances etc. The motive for "foul play" could have been money(the oldest reason in the world) and the whole weird thing, about him not being at the funeral or no one was really sure where he was???The excuse about Tiger's health and getting a 2nd opinion regarding her seizure? Maybe he just didn't want to say he was in Austrailia at all at the time of Michael's death just in case there was an investigation of that sort. Does he have an alibi? Interesting....

[Tina Hutchence]

According to customs, Colin Diamond was out of the country, however, his brother Stephen was in Sydney.
T.

[seline63]

Hmmmm....well that's just like the next best thing to him being in Syndey himself isn't it? Birds of a feather flock together...and isn't his brother just as involved in all of Michaels' business as CD? ???I mean really, charlesex has a point, why would CD care if Michael was cremated or had a grave burial? Why was it so important for him to put that over the family???What is it to him anyway?He wasn't family, so it really does make you think he had some agenda for having Michael cremated???I'm so sorry that all that happened to you and your family, Tina.....

[sharon]

This entire senario is so bizarre to me. I can't believe there was not a full investigation. I feel so deeply that Colin was involved in foul play. I wonder if Michael was given some kind of drug or substance that is hard to trace that kept him "comfortable" where Colin was able to manipulate him and exploit him for his financial gain. I sometimes feel that maybe Colin new Michael was going down a lost path and instead of helping him to recover helped him to finish himself off and in doing so took care of all of Michael's finances and assets in order to put everything under his control so that he could reap the rewards of Michael's death. I know this sounds like a good episode of CSI but I can"t help but wonder what Colin was trying to hide. Why the fast cremation? Bastards, the music industry is full of bastards. I worked in it for a while and I saw a lot in just my little part of the world. I can only imagine how bad it gets once you've become successful.

Sharon

[Tina Hutchence]

Presumably Diamond pushed the cremation to make it easier for him to placate both Paula and the family.
Paula wanted to return to London 'with the body' like Jackie Kennedy returning to Washington on 11.23.63. Diamond knew that the family would never allow that, but in trying to placate her he lied to Kell and said that PY and Mother were fighting over the situation.....when in fact they had never even spoken. They never spoke the whole week. We didn't even know Paula's pseudonym. He told Kell that the best thing to do was to cremate Michael and divide the ashes..........and Kell actually went for it!!!

He did this as he does everything else - playing God to make himself look good to the most important client. At that time it was Paula because she was the only one who knew his whereabouts.

Kell must have been in a terrible way to disrespect the Mother of his child. It was not His decision to make. It was a family decision.

T.

[Aussie]

Regarding Kell and agreeing with CD. I think the shock and the grief at the time made Kell go along with whatever CD said. Grief and shock can make you do stupid things. I bet Kell regrets that decision he made.
So sad.

Aussie

[Tina Hutchence]

He certainly did regret going along with so many things and wrote to me expressing his sadness in not confering with us at the time.
Both he and Rhett later went to our attorney to make affidavits about conversations they had with Diamond and others during that time.

T.

[Tina Hutchence]

I am using a mouse with a very fast trigger - I meant to say that I felt for him as he was so remorseful up to his passing about this very thing along with several unflattering interviews he had given about mother and me -even though I assured him over and over that it was alright.
T.

[seline63]

Tina, it sure is sad how the death of someone so close can cause chaos and grief. And how everyone deals with grief is different, I'm sure Kell was mad at the world on losing Michael and you and your mom were the targets at the time. I'm so glad you all got to make peace before his passing, that has to give you some peace I hope...take care, Seline