Jackson's defense asserted that
Jackson was never criminally indicted
by any grand jury and that his
settlement admitted no wrongdoing
and contained no evidence of criminal
misconduct. The investigation was
inconclusive and no charges were
ever filed. Jackson described the
search in an emotional public
statement, and proclaimed his
innocence. On January 1, 1994,
Jackson settled with the Chandlers out
of court for $22 million. A Santa
Barbara County grand jury and a Los
Angeles County grand jury disbanded
on May 2, 1994, without indicting
Jackson, and the Chandlers stopped
co-operating with the criminal
investigation around July 6, 1994. The
out-of-court settlement's
documentation specifically stated
Jackson admitted no wrongdoing and
no liability; the Chandlers and their
family lawyer Larry Feldman signed
it without contest. Feldman also
explicitly stated "nobody bought
anybody's silence". A decade after the
fact, during the second round of child
abuse allegations, Jackson's lawyers
would file a memo stating that the
1994 settlement was done without his
consent. A later disclosure by
the FBI of investigation documents
compiled over nearly 20 years led
Jackson's attorney to suggest that no
evidence of molestation or sexual
impropriety from Jackson toward
minors existed. According to reports
the DCFS had investigated Jackson
beginning in 1993 with the Chandler
allegation and again in 2003. Reports
show the LAPD and DCFS did not
find credible evidence of abuse or
sexual misconduct.
In May 1994, Jackson married Lisa
Marie Presley, the daughter
of Elvis and Priscilla Presley. They
had first met in 1975, w