Former Nanny Tells of Michael's Drug Use

An alarming portrait of Michael Jackson in his final months has now been sketched by the nanny who cared for his three children. Grace Rwaramba, 42, tellsThe Times of London that she routinely pumped out the pop star's stomach after he'd ingested a dangerous combination of drugs.

"I had to pump his stomach many times. He always mixed so much of it," Rwaramba said, referring to drugs. "There was one period that it was so bad that I didn't let the children see him," she is quoted as saying. "He always ate too little and mixed too much."

Questioning statements in Rwaramba's Times of London interview and insisting some quotes were taken out of context, Mallika Chopra, the daughter of spiritual teacher, medical doctor and Michael Jackson confidant Deepak Chopra, writes on her Web site Sunday: "For the record, Grace never pumped Michael's stomach. She has no idea how she would even do such a thing." She also says of Rwaramba, "Grace is more than my best friend – I refer to her as my sister."

Having now arrived in Los Angeles from London, Rwaramba, who is originally from Rwanda, is expected to be interviewed by LAPD detectives investigating Jackson's death on Thursday.

Proposed Intervention

Having at one time proposed a drug invention for Michael, and contacting his mother Katherine and sister Janet for their help with it, the nanny found herself fired by Michael. "He didn't want to listen," she says, "that was one of the times he let me go."

In Jackson's employ for more than a decade, Rwaramba started as an office assistant to the pop star before becoming a nanny to his three children: Prince, now 12; Paris, 11; and Blanket, 7. She was last fired by Michael in December, and claims that when she visited the children in April, she herself had to buy balloons for Paris's birthday, because Michael was so broke.

"Michael had no idea about money," Rwaramba says, citing a $1 million offer he received to appear in Japan. "By the time everyone took their share," she says, "he ended up with $200,000."

Search for Cash

According to Rwaramba, on Friday, the day after Michael died, his mother Katherine called her from Michael's Holmby Hill house and asked where he kept his cash. "She said, 'Grace, the children are crying. They are asking about you. They can't believe that their father died. Grace, you remember Michael used to hide cash at the house. I am here. Where can it be?' "

Rwaramba advised looking "at the garbage bags and under the carpets." Then, said the former nanny, "She said, 'Grace, where are you? Come. I will pick you up from the airport.' She sounded so strong. So strong!"

Source: People
Date: UPDATE Posted Sunday June 28, 2009 11:00 AM EDT

Originally posted Saturday June 27, 2009 11:00 PM EDT