Tom Sneddon | Calif. prosecutor, 73

Tom Sneddon, 73, the former district attorney who sought twice to try Michael Jackson on child-molestation charges and was disparaged in one of the pop star's songs, died Saturday in Santa Barbara, Calif., after a battle with cancer, said Patrick McKinley, a retired assistant district attorney for Santa Barbara County.

McKinley said he learned of the death from Mr. Sneddon's wife.

Mr. Sneddon investigated Jackson on child sexual abuse allegations in 1993 and again a decade later. The first case fell apart after a young boy's family accepted a multimillion-dollar settlement from Jackson and declined to testify against him.

The investigation closed with no charges. Jackson shot back in a thinly disguised swipe at the prosecutor in a song called "D.S." on the "HIStory" album. The song contains the lyrics, "Dom Sheldon is a cold man."

A second set of allegations against Jackson made by a young cancer survivor resulted in a televised trial in 2005 which ended with Jackson's acquittal.

Mr. Sneddon retired in 2006. - AP