Nov. 03--Tom Sneddon, the longtime Santa Barbara County district attorney who was best known for his unsuccessful prosecution of pop star Michael Jackson on child molestation charges, died at a Santa Barbara hospital Saturday. He was 73.
The cause was cancer, said Joyce Dudley, who worked under Sneddon for 16 years. Dudley was elected in 2010.
"His expectations were always clear," said Dudley. "Be the most prepared person in the courtroom, use all of your intellect, work hard, step right up to the line, but never over it."
Sneddon, who joined the DA's office in 1969, was first elected to the top post in 1983. He retired in 2006.
In 2005, he acted as lead prosecutor in Jackson's internationally followed trial in Santa Maria. The star, who was acquitted, was charged both with child molestation and conspiring to keep the alleged victim and his family against their will at his sprawling Neverland ranch in Los Olivos.
Jackson was found not guilty on all charges. He died in 2009.
Sneddon had also investigated Jackson earlier but no charges were filed. The prosecutor was mentioned in a Jackson song with the repeated lyric, "Dom Sheldon is a cold man," a clear reference to Sneddon.
A full Times obituary will appear shortly at latimes.com/obituaries.
steve.chawkins@latimes.com
