John Travolta 'threatened' by paramedic

John Travolta claims a paramedic threatened to blame him for his son's death unless he handed over $18 million.

The 55-year-old actor told a court in Nassau, in the Bahamas, yesterday (30.09.09) that paramedic Tarino Lightbourne said he would accuse John of killing 16-year-old Jett unless he was paid the huge sum. Travolta claims Lightbourne threatened to "imply that the death of my son was intentional and I was culpable in some way".

Lightbourne and his attorney Pleasant Bridgewater are jointly accused of attempting to extort and conspiring to extort by means of threats, charges they both deny. Travolta has previously told the court how he attempted to save his son's life after he suffered a seizure at the family's Caribbean home on January 2, 2009.

He told the jury: "I was awakened by my son's nanny pounding on the door saying Jett was unconscious. I ran downstairs to help my son with my wife. I saw him on the bathroom floor.

"His other nanny Jeff Kathrein and a woman employee were doing CPR. I took the place of the woman. Jeff was doing compressions and I was doing breathing. I asked if an ambulance had been called and I was told, 'Yes.' " Travolta said a defibrillator was used until paramedics arrived about 40 minutes later and Jett was then put on a gurney.

He said: "I spoke with the ambulance driver and asked him if he would take us to the airport." It had previously been claimed in court that Travolta refused medical aid for Jett and wanted him to flown back to the US for treatment. Eventually a paramedic at the scene asked a senior police officer to witness the signing of a "refusal of medical attention" form, which was signed by the 'Pulp Fiction' star.

When the judge asked Travolta if he read the document before signing, the actor said he did not. He added: "Because time was of the essence." Travolta confirmed he had wanted Jett flown to a Florida hospital but it was not made clear why the plans were changed and Jett was taken to the island's Rand Memorial hospital instead of the airport, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. The trial continues.