John Travolta Extortion Trial: Day One

Trial witnesses took the stand Tuesday morning in a Bahamian courtroom for the beginning of an extortion trial tied to the death of John Travolta's teenage son Jett.

Prosecutors alleged that the paramedic who treated Jett, 16, threatened to go public with confidential information unless the actor paid him $25 million, according to the Associated Press.

Travolta was expected to testify at the trial but was not present at Tuesday's hearing. "Contact was made with certain persons to communicate a threat to John Travolta," chief prosecutor in the Bahamas, Bernard Turner, reportedly said in his opening argument.