Michael Jackson has long captured the world's attention, first as the dynamic lead singer of the Jackson Five, then during his highly successful breakout solo career. But somewhere along the line Jackson transformed himself into something hardly recognizable and was investigated -- not once, but twice -- for crimes we could hardly imagine.

Even now, after his unexpected acquittal on multiple charges of child molestation, there is a sense that the real truth behind the allegations is not known. The character of Michael Jackson -- from his humble beginnings to his rich career and the birth of Neverland Ranch -- is destined for great debate among fans, journalists, historians, and psychiatrists for years to come. In the meantime, there is Diane Dimond, the journalist of record on the Jackson case.

In November 2003, when the Santa Barbara county sheriff's department conducted another raid on Neverland Ranch, Diane Dimond and her Court TV camera crews were the only ones there to capture the moment and report the news to the world. Now, for the first time, Dimond recounts the multifaceted details of the Jackson case, utilizing her extensive notes and sources. What she tells us is a shocking story.

Be Careful Who You Love will take you behind the scenes and into the courtroom of one of the most controversial cases of the decade, while giving readers a dramatic glimpse of one award winning reporter's vigilance and unending quest to uncover the truth. This book is the explosive definitive account of the Michael Jackson saga.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

It had to have been the most extraordinarily humiliating day of Michael Jackson's life. On December 20, 1993, a team of investigators arrived at the entertainer's sprawling ranch in Los Olivos, California. In their possession was a search warrant giving them the legal right to visually examine and photograph Jackson's body, including his buttocks, penis, and scrotum.

Four months earlier, a twelve-year-old boy named Jordan Chandler from Santa Monica, California, had told a psychiatrist that the pop star had molested him over a period of months while he and his family were traveling with Jackson and while they were guests at his Neverland Ranch. The boy had provided a detailed description, including a hand-drawn image, of what he claimed to be Michael Jackson's sex organs.

Now, authorities were in Jackson's driveway, determined to learn whether the boy's depiction was accurate. Clutching a bag full of gear, a police photographer was among the investigative team. His assignment was to make a detailed photographic record of the King of Pop's genitals.

As agreed upon, the investigative team had arrived at Neverland at 4:45 P.M. Among them were Santa Barbara district attorney Tom Sneddon, Santa Barbara police detective Russ Birchim, Santa Barbara sheriff's office photographer Gary Spiegel, LAPD detective Frederico Sicard, and Dr. Richard Strick, a dermatologist.

The group had rented a limousine to ensure that if they were spotted driving into the sprawling compound they would not be recognized by the media, which had been hovering ever since Jackson had returned to the States ten days earlier aboard a private jet. He had entered the country under the radar through Billings, Montana, after a reported stay in drug rehab* and after canceling the remainder of his worldwide Dangerous Tour.

A prearranged password was provided to security members manning the gates before the team was granted entry to the property. Once inside, the officials were directed to a parking area adjacent to one of the estate's main buildings, where Jackson's criminal defense lawyers, Johnnie Cochran and Howard Weitzman, stood waiting.

The two attorneys had just flown in via helicopter from Los Angeles. As they stood speaking with officials on the driveway, three helicopters hovered far overhead. From their markings, it was clear they were from the news media.

Pulling the district attorney aside, Cochran quietly explained that his client was "apprehensive" and "reluctant" about the pending body search. The lawyer asked for patience and then left the group in the driveway while he went back inside the expansive Tudor-style mansion to try to convince Jackson to allow the lawmen to carry out what they came to do.

The officials finally got so cold waiting outside in the frigid December air that they returned to the warmth of their car to wait.

One hour passed before the second Jackson attorney, Howard Weitzman, finally rapped on the vehicle's window to inform the team of a further delay. The lawyer appeared helpless to change the situation but suggested that the district attorney set a deadline he could take back to his client.

Tom Sneddon, who is not known as a man who likes to be kept waiting, said simply, "Ten minutes."

Clearly, Jackson took the deadline seriously because in exactly ten minutes his attorney was back to report that his client was finally ready. The team was escorted to a building away from the main house to what appeared to be the ranch's security office, where they were introduced to Jackson's two personal physicians -- Dr. David Forecast, an MD from London, England, and Dr. Arnold Klein, a Beverly Hills dermatologist who has often been cited as the doctor who provides Michael Jackson with the skin-bleaching cream he uses daily. Klein was also the employer of a nurse named Debbie Rowe, who would later marry Jackson and give birth to two of his children. Jackson had insisted that both doctors be present for the execution of the search warrant.

Jackson's chief of security, Bill Bray, and a personal Jackson photographer named Louis Swayne were also in the office when the team arrived.

After some time, the sheriff's photographer and the two detectives, Birchim and Sicard, were led upstairs to a compact room just to the right of the second-floor landing. The officers immediately noticed Michael Jackson, who was seated on a small couch and wearing only a beige bathrobe. At his side was Dr. Forecast, the attending physician who had reportedly squired Jackson through his drug rehab program just weeks prior.

Jackson appeared uneasy as the group filed in. The close quarters suddenly felt even more cramped with Detectives Birchim and Sicard, Doctors Strick, Klein, and Forecast, and Jackson's photographer, Louis Swayne, all but hovering over the pop star.

To ease the strain, Detective Birchim reached out his hand to make an introduction. "I am Detective Russ Birchim of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office. I realize this procedure is unpleasant for you, and we appreciate your cooperation," he told the entertainer.

Detective Sicard politely introduced himself as well.

"Thank you," Jackson replied in a soft voice.

The atmosphere in the small room remained tense as Jackson's attorney Howard Weitzman accepted the official copy of the search warrant from Birchim.

"I'd like to see the search warrant affidavit also," Weitzman said, referring to the victim statement that often accompanies a request for a warrant.

Up until this point, Jackson's attorneys were completely in the dark as to what exactly the boy had told authorities. They had no idea what it was that police were looking for on Michael Jackson's body.

"I don't think so," Detective Birchim shot back.

Weitzman laughed and said, "It never hurts to try." He then left the room and closed the door behind him.

Police photographer Gary Spiegel was readying his equipment outside the door when suddenly he heard Michael Jackson explode in a rage.

"Who are you?" Jackson shouted, pointing a finger at Detective Birchim.

"Detective Birchim from the Santa Barbara Sheriff's Department," the officer replied, puzzled at Jackson's question. It had not been two minutes since their formal introduction.

"Is he going to be here, too?" Jackson asked as he turned to face Dr. Forecast, who sat next to him on the couch.

"Yes," Jackson's physician replied.

"I don't want you here. Get out!" Jackson shouted at Detective Birchim, directing the officer toward the door. "Get out! I said to leave; you get out!"

The now-enraged Jackson pointed to Detective Sicard next. "Is he going to be here, too? Who is he?"

"I'm Detective Sicard from LAPD," Sicard spoke up.

"Get out of here. You get out of here, too," Jackson ranted. The star struggled to rise from the couch as Dr. Forecast worked to restrain him.

As the tirade continued, Jackson reached over and slapped his physician in an attempt to break free.

Noting that the sparsely attired singer was both "hysterical" and "completely uncontrollable," Birchim stepped in and attempted to calm him down. He asked Jackson if his attorneys had explained the search warrant procedure, including the requirement that law enforcement officials observe the warrant service. Seemingly oblivious, Jackson continued to scream and struggle as Dr. Forecast fought to control him.

It was unclear why Jackson was trying so violently to leave the couch, and for a moment, Birchim was unsure if his intention was to attack him or to flee the room.

"Mr. Jackson, I am going to ask your attorneys to confer with you to explain -- " Birchim began.

"You assholes!" Jackson screamed as the detective stepped out into the hallway to consult with Howard Weitzman.

Telling the criminal attorney that his client was "out of control," Birchim explained that police would be unable to perform the search given Jackson's present state of hysteria. He then followed Weitzman back into the room and watched as the lawyer tried to assist the still-struggling Dr. Forecast to calm Jackson down.

"Can you go downstairs and summon Johnnie Cochran to the room?" Weitzman asked Birchim. "Tell him he is needed immediately."

The detective found Cochran downstairs speaking with the district attorney. Explaining that the lawyer was needed immediately, Birchim trailed the lawyer as he raced up the stairs. Once in the room with Jackson, Cochran took over, attempting to soothe the star and get the examination back on track. Birchim returned downstairs to speak with the district attorney.

Minutes later, Johnnie Cochran rejoined the officials downstairs. Jackson, he explained, was refusing to have the procedure commence with the two officers in the room. He asked the district attorney if it would be possible to have the genital examination and photos done without the detectives present. Cochran said it was the only way to accomplish the examination.

It was agreed that Drs. Strick and Klein, as well as photographers Spiegel and Swayne, would initiate the procedure on their own. The two detectives, Sneddon agreed, would leave the room.

At 6:04 P.M., according to Birchim's sworn declaration, the examination finally began behind closed doors as the rest of the group waited in the hall. Even Dr. Forecast had been asked to leave. But just four minutes into the session, Birchim reported that there was another outburst.