Fatal dose 'not down to Jackson'

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21 October 2011 Last updated at 02:34 GMT Dr Steven Shafer: ''The possibility of a direct self-injection seems extremely unlikely''

Michael Jackson was so heavily sedated shortly before he died that he could not have self-administered an additional, lethal dose of the sedative propofol, a medical expert has said.

Dr Steven Shafer was testifying at the involuntary manslaughter trial of the singer's physician, Dr Conrad Murray.

Dr Shafer dismissed the idea the star could have drugged himself - an early argument put forward by the defence - as "crazy".

Dr Murray denies the charges.

Dr Shafer also suggested Dr Murray gave Jackson larger doses of the powerful sedative than he told the police.

The expert, who helped write the guidance printed on every bottle of propofol, walked the jury through a number of possible scenarios in the hours leading up to Jackson's death during his testimony on Thursday.

The Columbia University professor said it was most likely that the star was on an IV propofol drip when he stopped breathing, but that Dr Conrad Murray was out of the room.

The propofol kept flowing as the star's lungs emptied and even after he was dead, Dr Shafer told the jury.

He also suggested Dr Murray gave Jackson 100ml of propofol, a larger amount than the 25ml Dr Murray claims he administered.

"This fits all of the data in this case and I am not aware of a single piece of data that is inconsistent with this explanation," Dr Shafer told the court.

'Pharmacological never-never land' Dr Shafer said the amount of lorazepam in Jackson's system was 'trivial'

Dr Shafer testified on Wednesday that the drug should never be used to treat insomnia and Dr Conrad Murray's negligence was directly responsible for Jackson's death.

"We are in pharmacological never-never land here, something that was done to Michael Jackson and no one else in history to my knowledge," he told the jury.

He said of Dr Murray's delay in calling 911: "I almost don't know what to say. That is so completely and utterly inexcusable."

The expert in anaesthesiology added Dr Murray should have refused the star's requests for propofol.

"Saying 'yes' is not what doctors do," said Dr Shafer. "A competent doctor would know you do not do this."

Dr Shafer also testified that Dr Murray should have taken minute-by-minute notes of Jackson's condition while he was under the influence of propofol.

The anaesthesiology expert added that doctors should never multi-task while monitoring a sedated patient.

"A patient who is about to die does not look all that different from a patient who is OK," he said.

Dr Shafer is the prosecution's final witness, on Friday the defence is due to lay out their case.

If convicted, Dr Murray could spend up to four years in prison and lose his licence to practice medicine.

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Murray drops Jackson drug claim

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12 October 2011 Last updated at 19:53 GMT Dr Murray say he was trying to wean Michael Jackson off using propofol for his insomnia Lawyers for Dr Conrad Murray have stepped back from claims that Michael Jackson swallowed a fatal dose of propofol when he was out of sight.

The claim had been a key argument in Dr Murray's defence at the trial over the superstar's death. They may still argue he injected the dose himself.

The change came a day after the doctor who performed Jackson's autopsy said he could not have self-administered it.

Dr Murray has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter.

If convicted Dr Murray could face up to four years in prison and the loss of his medical licence.

Both the prosecution and Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor appeared surprised by Wednesday's disclosure, reports said.

'Trivial' effect

J Michael Flanagan, one of Dr Murray's lawyers, said he had commissioned a study about the effects of swallowed propofol.

Mr Flanagan said the effects from swallowing propofol, a powerful anaesthetic that Dr Murray injected to relieve Jackson's insomnia, would be "trivial".

"We are not going to assert at any time during this trial that Michael Jackson orally administered propofol," Mr Flanagan said.

Dr Christopher Rogers: "It's reasonable to believe that the doctor had an imperfect control over the dose"

The disclosure was made in court but not in front of jurors, the Associated Press reported.

Lead defence lawyer Ed Chernoff said during opening statements on 27 September that his team would try to show that Jackson gave himself the fatal dose of propofol.

On Tuesday, Dr Christopher Rogers said it was more likely Jackson's Dr Murray mistakenly gave Jackson too much of the drug in an effort to help him sleep.

"The circumstances, from my point of view, do not support self-administration of propofol," the chief of forensic medicine at the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office said.

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Michael Jackson Gets Posthumous Album — And Cirque du Soleil Show

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Michael Jackson's family attend the world premiere of "The Immortal World Tour" in Montreal on Sunday.

Christinne Muschi / Reuters

Details of his death may currently be under the spotlight, but fans will soon have the chance to celebrate the highlights of Michael Jackson's life thanks to a new posthumous album scheduled for November.

Immortal, set to feature newly-discovered outtakes and revamped versions of the star's biggest hits, will become the fourth compilation to be released since the King of Pop's passing in June 2009.

Distributed by Epic Records in conjunction with Jackson's official estate, the album will also showcase a highly-anticipated alternative version of the Jackson 5 classic "ABC."

(PHOTOS: Artifacts from the Michael Jackson Estate)

Kevin Antunes, the music designer who has been reworking MJ's original recordings, said in a statement that the new album "was built with love and respect for Michael's music, his family, and his millions of fans around the world."

Immortal forms the soundtrack for a new Cirque du Soleil spectacular focusing on the singer's music and life. Jackson's three children were in Montreal on Sunday for the "Immortal World Tour" premiere, ahead of its 10-month schedule across North America.

Having left what is said to be a "wealth of musical material" behind, Jackson seems likely to continue adding to his estimated 750 million worldwide record sales for many years to come.

Immortal goes on sale on November 21 and will be available as a single 15-track album or a deluxe double-disc 22-track edition.

PHOTOS: A Post-Michael Guide to the Jackson Family

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"(The Rapture will) be finished out on Oct. 21, that's coming very shortly. That looks like it will be ... the final end of everything."

— HAROLD CAMPING, giving an update on when the Rapture, an event he says started on May 21, will finish (via Christian Post)

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'Frantic' call by Jackson doctor

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29 September 2011 Last updated at 09:02 GMT Faheem Mohammad: Jackson's children "were in panicked state"

Key aides of Michael Jackson have told the manslaughter trial of his doctor of events on the day the superstar died.

His personal assistant described a "frantic" call from Dr Conrad Murray.

Head of security Faheem Muhammad said he saw the medic try to revive the unconscious star, as two of Jackson's children looked on in tears.

Prosecutors say Dr Murray caused the death, in June 2009, with a lethal dose of the sedative, propofol. The defence says the star gave himself too much.

The pop star had been using the drug, which is usually administered intravenously, as a sleeping aid.

Michael Amir Williams, Jackson's personal assistant, told the court about a phone call he received from Dr Murray on the day of Jackson's death.

Mr Williams told the jury: "He said, 'Get here right away, Mr Jackson had a bad reaction. Get somebody up here immediately'."

'Very nervous'

He also gave details about how he dispatched security guards to the star's bedroom and said Dr Murray was "frantic" as Jackson's body was taken out to the ambulance.

Meanwhile, Mr Muhammad confirmed he saw an intravenous (IV) stand in Jackson's bedroom as the doctor tried to revive the star.

"Dr Murray was... on the opposite side of him [Jackson] near the far side of the bed on the other side," he said.

"He appeared to be administering CPR [cardio-pulmonary resuscitation], he appeared very nervous, he was on his side, he was sweating, he just, he appeared to be administering CPR."

Asked about how the star looked, Mr Muhammad said his eyes and mouth were slightly open, but agreed that he seemed already dead.

The security guard described the reactions of Jackson's teenage children, who were in the room at the time.

"Paris was on the ground balled-up crying. Prince was standing there and he just had a real shocked, you know, just slowly crying type of look on his face," he said.

CPR request

Earlier, the court heard that Jackson was energetic and performing well in the days before he died.

Promoter Paul Gongaware told the Los Angeles court that Jackson had been "fully engaged" in rehearsals for his forthcoming series of comeback concerts in London.

Fans of Michael Jackson hold signs outside the Los Angeles courthouse

Mr Gongaware told the court how Jackson asked him to employ Dr Murray as his doctor, adding that that the doctor initially asked for payment of $5m (£3.2m) for a year.

"I told him there's no way that's going to happen," he said, adding that Dr Murray was eventually offered the equivalent of $1.8m (£1.1m) per year.

Mr Gongaware also acknowledged that his firm, AEG, had been sued by Jackson's mother for negligent supervision of Dr Murray while he worked with the star.

AEG's lawyer Kathy Jorrie told the court that Dr Murray had asked for a CPR machine and an additional physician to help him care for Jackson in London.

"He wanted to make sure that there was somebody else available to be of assistance," Ms Jorrie told the court.

On Tuesday, the court heard evidence from Jackson choreographer Kenny Ortega, who told of an email he had written expressing "deep concern" over the singer's health about a week before he died, aged 50.

The trial is expected to last about five weeks.

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Jackson doctor trial to begin

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27 September 2011 Last updated at 00:28 GMT By Peter Bowes BBC News, Los Angeles The high profile trial in Los Angeles has attracted supporters of both Dr Conrad Murray and Michael Jackson More than two years after Michael Jackson's sudden death, the singer's personal physician is to stand trial on Tuesday. Dr Conrad Murray, 58, has pleaded not guilty to a charge of involuntary manslaughter. If convicted, the maximum sentence is four years in prison.

It was a hot midsummer day in Los Angeles on 25 June, 2009. Hollywood was mourning the loss of the actress Farrah Fawcett, as fans and celebrities paid tribute to the TV star, who had died from cancer, aged 62.

But that day will be remembered for another, altogether unexpected death and for the extraordinary outpouring of grief it provoked.

Pop star Michael Jackson, a month shy of his 51st birthday, was rushed to hospital and pronounced dead, his brother Jermaine confirming the news to stunned fans in a hastily-arranged press conference.

Jackson had recently stepped back into the limelight. He was rehearsing at the Staples Centre arena in Los Angeles for This Is It, his hugely anticipated concert series, which was due to start at the O2 in London on 13 July.

The night before his death, he worked until after midnight. The next day, shortly after noon, he was discovered unconscious in his bedroom by his physician Dr Conrad Murray.

Dr Conrad Murray faces up to four years in prison if convicted

What happened in the time between those two events remains a mystery.

At a preliminary hearing, several witnesses gave detailed accounts of the frenzied activity at Jackson's home after the singer was found to be unresponsive.

The singer's death, according to the Los Angeles County Coroner, was a homicide caused by "acute Propofol intoxication." Propofol is a sedative that is normally used in hospitals to induce or maintain anaesthesia during surgical procedures.

But it will be up to a jury to decide whether the actions of Dr Murray, during the frantic efforts to revive the singer and in the hours before, caused his death.

"We're finally going to get a full airing of all the facts," says Steven Cron, a legal analyst.

"In order to be guilty of a crime one has to be grossly negligent, not just minimally negligent, and that's what they're trying to prove," says Mr Cron.

Dr Murray has strongly defended himself against the charge of involuntary manslaughter. He has insisted that nothing he did should have killed Jackson.

"I think the forensic evidence is going to be really important," says Mr Cron.

"There were only two people in the room and one of them is no longer with us. The other is accused."

Media interest

The jury will hear testimony from dozens of witnesses, including some of those who were first on the scene, such as Jackson's security guards and paramedics. Experts will also be called upon to answer questions about Propofol, which will be at the heart of the case.

It has been suggested by Dr Murray's lawyers that the publicity surrounding the case could rise to the levels seen during the murder trial of the former American footballer-turned movie actor OJ Simpson in 1995.

But the judge has refused a request to have the jury sequestered, or confined to a hotel, to shield them from outside influences, as they were during the Simpson trial.

Jermaine Jackson said he is prepared for a media "circus"

Instead, Judge Michael Pastor has advised them not to "read, listen to or watch any news report or any other commentary about this case from any source" and to "keep an open mind throughout".

"I think the Conrad Murray trial will be the trial of the year [but] it will not be the trial of the century," says Linda Deutsch, a special correspondent with the Associated Press, and a veteran reporter at high profile cases in California.

While the defendant, Dr Murray, is not a celebrity, the trial will receive global attention because the alleged victim is Jackson, the superstar who is still worshipped by fans around the world.

The proceedings, like the Simpson trial, will be televised.

Media outlets from around the world have already set up makeshift studios near the court building. Jackson fans are expected to line the street. There will be a lottery every morning to allocate seats in the public gallery.

"The fact that it is Michael Jackson puts an entirely different profile on this case… Michael Jackson was a fascinating man and he still fascinates even in death," says Ms Deutsch.

The singer's parents and famous siblings are all expected to make an appearance at LA's Criminal Court building, taking it in turns to fill the eight seats the family has been allocated in the courtroom.

Jackson's three children will not attend the trial.

"We're ready," says his brother Jermaine Jackson, "We're always ready for whatever. We've been raised and taught to take it as it comes."

"I'll be strong. Very, very strong - because I know when the system works for you and I know when it works against you," he adds.

"I know the truth and I'm prepared for a circus."

Judge Pastor has estimated that the trial, up to the point that the jury starts its deliberations, will last for five weeks.

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