(CNN) -- A paramedic accused of plotting to extort $25 million from actor John Travolta after his 16-year-old son died in the Bahamas told a jury Wednesday the boy had been dead for some time before the ambulance service was called.

Tarino Lightbourn said in his statement to the Nassau, Bahamas, jury that a doctor told medics to keep administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation on Jett Travolta despite knowing the teen was dead, and that the ambulance company was told to transport him to the hospital -- something not usually done if a person was already dead.

Lightbourn and former Bahamian Sen. Pleasant Bridgewater are on trial on charges they attempted to extort money from Travolta after his son's January 2 death from a seizure.

In Bahamian courts, defendants are allowed to make a statement without being placed under oath and will not face cross-examination.

Earlier in the trial, Travolta testified that his son was found unresponsive by a nanny at the home on the island of Grand Bahama, where the family was spending the New Year's holiday.

Lightbourn said Jett Travolta's veins had collapsed and his body was stiff as he lay on the bathroom floor. Someone in the room suggested that those present would receive a lot of money if they stayed quiet, he said, adding he thought this was part of a cover-up. Lightbourn did not say to whom he was referring.

Travolta testified he initially told the ambulance driver to rush them to an airport where his private jet was parked and where Travolta, who is a pilot, planned to fly his son to a West Palm Beach, Florida, hospital instead of driving him to one in nearby Freeport.

The paramedic, however, asked Travolta to sign a statement releasing the ambulance company from liability.

"I received a liability of release document. I signed it. I did not read it. Time was of the essence," Travolta testified earlier in the trial. While he and his wife were riding in the ambulance with their son, they decided to divert to the hospital. At the hospital, the actor was told his son "wasn't alive," he said.

In her statement, Bridgewater said she advised Lightbourn not to sell the document because she was trying to protect the Travoltas and the Bahamas. She said she was concerned Travolta would tell his friends not to travel to the Bahamas because of the lack of privacy.

Lightbourn said Wednesday that he asked attorney Bridgewater to assist him in negotiations with Travolta's attorneys.

Travolta earlier testified he learned of a demand for $25 million, or "stories connected to that document would be sold to the press ... The stories would imply the death of my son was intentional and I was culpable somehow."

Travolta attorney Michael McDermott testified that he assisted police in a sting by secretly recording meeting with the defendants in a Nassau hotel room. Bahamian police had placed wireless microphones on McDermott and hidden two cameras in his room, McDermott said.

Lightbourn said his eyes popped when Travolta's attorney offered him $15 million for the document Travolta signed. Travolta's attorney testified the negotiations between Lightbourn and himself were all part of the Bahamian police sting.

On Wednesday, Travolta attorney Michael Ossi told CNN he could not comment on specifics in the case. "The statements made today are not evidence, but what has already been placed into evidence speaks for itself," he said.

Defense attorneys have attempted to convince the jury that Travolta's attorney came to the Bahamas to "set up" their clients. Murrio Ducille, who represents Bridgewater, said to Travolta's attorney, "you came to the island with evil in your heart."

The trial is expected to wrap up early next week when the jury will begin its deliberations. Travolta and his wife, actress Kelly Preston, are not expected back in court.

(CNN) -- The best way to get tongues wagging is to say nothing at all, and it's a skill Rihanna has down to a science.

The Barbadian songstress arrived a bit late to the Twitter party when she -- or her people -- created a "rihanna" tag yesterday and sent out a single, sparse tweet: "The Wait Is Ova. Nov. 23 09."

Whether that's the name of a new single, the beginning of a viral marketing campaign -- or both -- is unknown, but a representative for Rihanna told Entertainment Weekly that though the date "looks accurate" for her album release, "The Wait Is Ova" is not the album title.

The only other object fans can mine for clues about the singer's upcoming release is the logo, a metallic nail fashioned into a crudely shaped "R" that has swarmed the Internet.

The new record would be her fourth since her debut at 17. In the four years since, she's evolved from an unknown, breezy pop singer to a sonically and fashionably more distinct persona. One can only expect that her latest effort would continue to show that growth.

Yet there are extra layers of anticipation surrounding the unnamed work: Not only is this Rihanna's follow-up to "Good Girl Gone Bad," the album that made her an international superstar, it's also the first time she is piping up as a solo artist since the infamous fight with her ex-boyfriend, Chris Brown, in February.

Those who've worked with the star on the record have said to expect something with more ferocity. "Expect an edgier, almost angrier Rihanna on this one," Ne-Yo told E! Online. "Rihanna says some things on this album that you've never heard her say before."

But, said Mariel Concepcion, associate editor for Billboard.com, that statement shouldn't be taken too literally.

"She has changed a bit, but I think she's simply grown. Fans are expecting her to reveal some details, but I think she's going to subliminally let it be known that 'Yes, [Chris] hurt me, but I'm moving forward with life.' This issue was such a serious issue, it calls for more than putting out an angry song about it."

Tracey Johnson, who said she's been a fan of the singer since the beginning, has high expectations for the upcoming release, but not because she expects to hear about Rihanna's personal life.

"[Some fans] feel like it would be good for her to represent abused women in some sort of way and say something, but in my perspective, she doesn't owe us anything," Johnson said. "She's always been pretty private about the relationship, and she's never opened a lot in her music anyway."

If Rihanna maintains her silence, Johnson said, it will be "kind of a hit back at the critics who said she disappeared after not becoming the spokesperson for domestic abuse. She's saying this is what you should be paying attention to: I'm a fashion icon, and I make great music."

Johnson, co-founder and editor of celebrity Web site NeonLimelight.com, has paid close attention to Rihanna's reported studio time over the past few months, but said he didn't expect to see the album appear so soon -- and with a tweet, no less.

"I'm definitely expecting more for this album," she said. "Rihanna has a platform now that she didn't have before 'Good Girl Gone Bad.' She's gone a step forward with each album, and I think it's going to be a little more of what we heard on 'Good Girl Gone Bad,' but to the next level."

That's a prediction that Concepcion agrees with, considering that the people who have been pulled in on this album resemble the team who worked on "Good Girl": Justin Timberlake, Ne-Yo and Tricky Stewart, who was behind the single "Umbrella" that launched Rihanna to a new level of pop stardom.

Devin Lazerine, editor of Rap-Up.com, said Stewart isn't trying to top the success of "Umbrella," but rather create a sound that would live up to its success.

"Just from hearing 'Run This Town' we can see the direction she's heading in," Lazerine said. "It's going to be darker and more edgy. She was actually going to put that song on this album, and then Jay-Z heard it and they traded songs."

Still, Lazerine said, "dark" and "edgy" don't always equal "personal."

"She's all about the music and the sound -- I think we're going to get something that embodies her fashion sense," he said. "I don't think there's going to be much about the Chris Brown situation; I don't even think her fans expect that. They just want something that pushes the boundaries."

Rihanna's former other half, Chris Brown, has been busying in the studio as well. The singer, who was sentenced to five years' probation and more than 1,400 hours of community service in August, released the single "I Can Transform Ya" with Swizz Beatz and Lil Wayne a few weeks ago, but it's not the only one circulating the Internet.

"So Cold," a ballad with lyrics that sound suspiciously autobiographical, was leaked onto the Internet yesterday, as Brown's Twitter page confirms. Nonetheless, the artist does plan to keep it on the upcoming album "Graffiti," which has an undetermined release date

(CNN) -- They say that breaking up is hard to do, especially when millions of eyes are there to witness every caustic comment and verbal volley.

No one knows that better than Jon and Kate Gosselin, whose divorce is playing out on a world stage, complete with tabloid covers, he-said-she-said television appearances and court orders.

Such public spats can do a great deal of harm, said divorce attorney Randall M. Kessler, who's handled several celebrity cases.

"I just gave a presentation where I said, 'When can press hurt you? It's when clients start talking,'" Kessler said. "The hard thing for [famous people] to do is to not speak out, because they are so used to everything they say being quoted and helping them, but this is the opposite. Talking about a divorce is never good."

The Gosselins join a growing list of celebrities whose marital woes have been well-documented by the media and paparazzi. See a gallery of celebrity custody battles »

Kessler has represented quite a few clients involved in celebrity divorce cases, including Tameka Foster Raymond (who is in the midst of a divorce with superstar singer Usher) and rapper Mack 10 (ex-husband of TLC member Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins), as well as some high-profile paternity and child support lawsuits.

Celebrities often want to protect their reputations and the wrong sound bite can ruin that, Kessler said. Yet, at the same time, it can be difficult for the famous to take direction, he said.

"They are so used to being in charge of their own destiny and being able to decide what's best for them that it's very hard for them to listen to attorneys, accountants or anyone that is trying to advise them," Kessler said.

Viewers have questioned who, if anyone, Jon and Kate Gosselin are taking cues from in their very public marital battle.

In May, Kate defended her husband against rumors that he had been cheating on her and stepping out while she stayed home with their twins and sextuplets.

Weeks later they used their enormously popular TLC reality show, "Jon & Kate Plus 8", to admit what fans had begun to suspect: Their marriage was on the rocks.

Soon they announced that they were divorcing, but would continue filming -- albeit separately -- their series, which for four seasons had chronicled the highs and lows of their family life.

It all appeared to be relatively civil until Jon began stepping out with his new girlfriend, moved to a bachelor pad in New York and appeared to be living the high life with shopping sprees and designer duds.

Jon took to the airwaves to reveal that he "despised Kate." Kate lamented that she missed "the Jon I knew."

TLC announced in October that the reality show would continue as "Kate Plus 8" and Jon immediately called a halt to filming, claiming the series was doing damage to their children.

Within days, Kate accused Jon of making off with more than $200,000 from their joint bank account. A judge ordered him to return $180,000 to the account. Watch a discussion about the Gosselin's money madness »

Through it all, both have maintained they each have the best interests of their children at heart. Child psychologist Joanne Pedro-Carroll said the Gosselins are in a precarious position.

"It's very concerning, especially given how public this is and the children's young ages, which makes them especially vulnerable," Pedro-Carroll said. "One of the things we know with really young children is that they are prone to misconceptions about the reasons for the breakup."

While Jon and Kate haven't so far added a bitter custody dispute to their matrimonial melee, Pedro-Carroll said she worries about the long-term effect on the young Gosselins.

"Sadly, the things that are happening now, with all of this conflict and having it be so public, puts these children very much at risk for having problems," said Pedro-Carroll, author of the forthcoming book "Putting Children First: Proven Parenting Strategies for Helping Children Thrive After Divorce." "I worry about the children being pulled into loyalty conflicts, thinking about who the good person here is and who's the bad person, when children very much need two loving, responsible parents in their lives."

Kessler said he advises his celebrity clients to, when possible, keep the children out of the media and receive training in cooperative parenting.

Lisa Pecot-Hebert, an assistant professor at the College of Communication at DePaul University, said she believes many viewers can relate to the Gosselins' divorce drama. can also view the family's situation as a cautionary tale, she said.

"I think viewers can learn that sometimes when people let cameras into their personal lives for our entertainment, oftentimes it ruins what was theirs to begin with," Pecot-Hebert said.