What's REALLY Going ON Volume 1, June 2014 Issue #6 | Page 77

HUMANITARIAN PROJECTS
Retro Action, May 22, 1992: Michael Jackson Pays for the Funeral
of 9-Year-Old Victim of Gang Violence

In 1992, nine-year-old Ramon Sanchez was killed in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles when
an errant bullet from a drive-by shooting struck the boy while he was drinking a glass of milk.
As local papers noted the tragedy, including the financial strain it would place on the boy's struggling
parents, help came in from the least expected source — the King of Pop.
According to District Attorney Mary Sutton, Jackson offered to pay for the full costs of the mortuary,
funeral, and headstone just hours after reading that the Sanchez family would not have enough to
pay for their son's funeral.
"This is the first time I've ever had anyone contact me totally unsolicited," said Sutton. "This man has
a special quality about him and I hope his actions inspire others to do the same."

77