John Travolta Drops Charges in Bahamian Extortion Case

Two Bahamian men charged with trying to extort millions from the star and wife Kelly Preston were cleared of the charges Monday

By Brandi Fowler Sep 06, 2010 8:30 PMTags
John Travolta, Kelly PrestonJim Spellman/Getty Images

The long court battle involving John Travolta's family and two alleged Bahamian extortionists has finally come to an end. 

A judge in the Bahamas dismissed the extortion charges against Tarino Lightbourn and former Sen. Pleasant Bridgewater Monday after Travolta decided he no longer wanted to move forward with the case.

Ambulance driver Lightbourn and the former politician Bridgewater were accused of trying to extort $25 million from Travolta and Kelly Preston in the wake of their son Jett's tragic January 2009 death. 

Lightbourn, who treated Jett that day, reportedly claimed to have embarrassing information surrounding the circumstances of Jett's passing. 

So what prompted Travolta to opt out? 

Following months of court battles, the idea of rehashing the events around Jett's death and facing the two alleged extortionists in court proved to be too painful for the Travolta family.

"The long pending status of this matter continued to take a heavy emotional toll on my family causing us to conclude that it was finally time to put this matter behind us," read a statement from the actor. "Therefore, after much reflection I concluded that it was in my family's best interest for me not to voluntarily return to The Bahamas to testify a second time at trial."

The do-over proceedings were supposed to begin Sept. 6, following a mistrial in the original case stemming from possible juror misconduct. 

However, at Travolta's request, prosecutor Neil Braithwaite submitted a motion to drop the case just as it was about to begin.

Jett died at the age of 16, after suffering a seizure at the family's vacation home on Grand Bahama Island.

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Take a look back at the life of Jett Travolta in our gallery.