Detective Deborah Thompson of the Bahamas Police testified on Thursday that Pleasant Bridgewater, a lawyer who resigned from the Bahamas Senate following her arrest after being accused of blackmailing actor John Travolta in January, admitted to having destroyed a document crucial to the case involving the death of Travolta’s 16-year-old son, Jett. The document is said to be related to the treatment of the actor’s son, who suffered a seizure at their home in Grand Bahama Island.
According to Thompson, Bridgewater, who is currently on trial, destroyed the document “after she noticed the situation was about to explode”.
Travolta testified that ambulance driver Tarino Lightbourne tried to make a public statement suggesting that his son’s death was his fault. The threat was apparently backed by Bridgewater, who, along with Lightbourne, demanded $25 million from the movie star.
The document, allegedly with Travolta’s signature, would have held Lightbourne blameless if Travolta’s son was flown to the US for treatment as stipulated. Jett was instead sent to the local hospital and passed away on 2 January.
Thompson, one of the final prosecution witnesses at the trial, searched Bridgewater’s law office to find the document, but Bridgewater said that the document had been burned and flushed down the toilet at her home. Police went on to her residence for the search and took a candle for evidence.
Lightbourne and Bridgewater have pleaded not guilty to extortion charges.
Defence lawyers are looking at four more witnesses to stand at the trial that began on 21 Sept, including the doctor of the resort and the paramedic who accompanied Lightbourne to the Travolta home.
