Travolta Recounts Effort to Save 'Autistic' Jett

Continuing testimony could be key in $25M extortion case
By Harry Kimball,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 23, 2009 12:59 PM CDT
Travolta Recounts Effort to Save 'Autistic' Jett
John Travolta and wife Kelly Preston leave the court building in Nassau, Bahamas.   (AP Photo)

John Travolta appeared in a Bahamian court today and recounted his efforts to save dying son Jett earlier this year, E! reports. He also publicly acknowledged Jett's troubles for the first time: "He was autistic. He suffered from a seizure disorder." After a nanny woke them to say Jett was unconscious, “I ran downstairs with my wife to help my son," Travolta said. He immediately joined in the CPR. “Jeff, the other nanny, was doing some compressions. I was doing the breathing.”

The trial centers on an attempt by two Bahamians to blackmail Travolta with a document suggesting the actor did not take the proper steps to save his son. The defendants allegedly sought $25 million to bury a “refusal-to-transport document” signed by Travolta indicating he did want Jett taken to the hospital. But a police inspector testified Travolta signed the release with the intention of speeding Jett to the airport, and then to the US, where he could get treatment just as quickly as on the island.
(More John Travolta stories.)

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