R.I.P.
Can't say I was a big fan during his later years but anyone my age anywhere in the world (other than maybe the depths of the amazon or somewhere) will remember "Thriller" when it came out as one of the hugest musical events ever... I remember in Guyana the movie "Beat Street" played at Starlite Drive-In, introducing us to hip-hop and breakdancing, and then a little after that it was "Thriller", and every last one of us at school was breaking and moonwalking and boogie-ing to that.
I never believed the child molestation stuff. I dunno, I wasn't there, but it always seemed like opportunists trying to get some cash out of him. He came across to be a disturbed individual, a casualty of fame and the whole fame culture in many ways, and someone who wanted to escape into an idyllic version of childhood that he could never enjoy as a child, but not as a paedo. Just my opinion.
Hope he is at peace now.