Michael Jackson’s doctor was charged yesterday with involuntary manslaughter over the pop star’s shock death.
Dr Conrad Murray, a cardiologist who was with Jackson when he died at his rented Los Angeles mansion, denied acting “unlawfully and without malice” in bringing about his death.
The complaint says Murray acted “without the caution and circumspection required” when he administered a powerful sedative to the 50-year-old star in an effort to help him sleep.
If convicted, Murray faces as much as four years in prison.
Soon after the charge was filed, Jackson’s mother and father, his brother Jermaine Jackson and other family members arrived at the court house adjacent to Los Angeles International Airport, where hundreds of reporters and Jackson fans were gathered outside.
“Looking for justice,” was all Jackson’s father, Joe, had to say as he walked into the courthouse.
Jackson had hired Murray to be his personal physician as he prepared for a strenuous series of comeback concerts in London.
Officials say the singer died after Murray administered the powerful general anaesthetic propofol and two other sedatives to get the chronic insomniac to sleep.
Propofol is supposed to be administered only by an anaesthesia professional in a medical setting because it depresses breathing and heart rate while lowering blood pressure.
The American Society of Anaesthesiologists warned in 2004 that a doctor using propofol should have education and training to manage anaesthesia complications, be physically present throughout sedation and monitor patients “without interruption” for signs of trouble. Rescue equipment “must be immediately available,” it said.
After reviewing toxicology findings, the coroner ruled Jackson’s death a homicide caused by acute intoxication of propofol, with other sedatives a contributing factor.
Murray appears to have obtained the drug legally and its use is not in itself a crime.
To show the doctor was negligent in his care, detectives spoke to more than 10 medical experts to see if his behaviour fell outside reasonable medical practice.
According to court documents, Murray told police he administered propofol just before 11am on June 25, then stepped out of the room to go to the bathroom.
There is some dispute about what happened next.
According to court filings, Murray told police that upon his return from the bathroom, he saw Jackson was not breathing and tried to revive him. An ambulance was not called until 12.21pm and Murray spent much of the intervening time making non-emergency phone calls.
Murray’s lawyer has said investigators got confused about what Murray had told them, and that the doctor found his patient unresponsive around noon.
Police have interviewed a large number of witnesses, including those who were present during Jackson’s last days, those who worked with him in preparation for his series of comeback concerts – This Is It – and members of his personal entourage, including his security guard and personal assistant.
Murray, who has a practice in Houston, became Jackson’s physician in May. An executive of concert promoter AEG Live has said Jackson insisted Murray be hired to accompany him to London.
The concerts sold out in anticipation of Jackson’s return as the King of Pop after years of odd behaviour, trial and acquittal on molestation charges and self-imposed isolation that overshadowed a lifetime in music that took him to the level of superstar.