LOS ANGELES — Dr. Conrad Murray, the
physician who was demonized by Michael
Jackson's family and fans, was ordered Tuesday
to stand trial for involuntary manslaughter after
court testimony showed he administered a
powerful anesthetic and other sedatives then left
the pop star alone.
The ruling set the stage for what could be the final
chapter in the Jackson saga — a high-profile trial
that will examine all aspects of the star's death
and try to finally place responsibility for his
demise at the age of 50.
Witnesses at the six-day preliminary hearing
filled a number of gaps in the story of Jackson's
final hours, with accounts of his actions and the
sad plight of two of his children watching briefly
as their father lay dying.
Other witnesses recounted Murray's claim that he
delayed calling 911 for perhaps more than an
hour while he tried to revive the singer. A
security guard indicated that Murray seemed to
be rushing to hide evidence before paramedics
arrived.
Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor said the
hearing included sufficient evidence to support a
possible finding of guilt at trial. Murray's defense
attorney Ed Chernoff and prosecutors declined
comment on the ruling.
Jackson's famous family members were in court
and welcomed the development.
"I'm happy so far," LaToya Jackson said while
walking to her car. Randy Jackson thanked
prosecutors while flashing a peace sign outside
the courtroom.
Murray, 57, has pleaded not guilty, and his
attorneys have said he did not give Jackson
anything that should have killed him. Murray
could face up to four years in prison if convicted.
Compounding Murray's losses in court, the judge
also granted a request by the California Medical
Board to suspend his license to practice medicine
in California. Murray currently has offices in
Nevada and Texas, but the judge ordered him to
notify authorities in those states of his
suspension.
Chernoff pleaded with the judge not to take the
action saying, "If you do that, he's dead in the
water. He has no practice anymore. his patients
have no doctor."
Pastor said he was acting in the interest of public
safety and refused to stay the ruling for an
appeal. He also declined to increase Murray's
$75,000 bail, rejecting prosecution arguments
that there was risk he would flee.
Witnesses at the preliminary hearing said Murray
admitted giving Jackson the powerful anesthetic
propofol and other sedatives then leaving him
alone in his bedroom only to return and find him
not breathing.
Murray's lawyers raised the possibility that
Jackson, desperate for sleep, had self-
administered the final dose of propofol, causing
his own death.
Prosecutors concluded their case with testimony
from two doctors who said Murray acted outside
the standard of medical care when he
administered the propofol and failed to provide
proper care.
Both witnesses said that even if Jackson had self-
administered the final dose of the drug, his death
would be a homicide because of Murray's
actions.
During closing arguments, defense attorney
Joseph Low IV argued the case should be
dismissed because prosecutors didn't adequately
prove how Murray caused Jackson's death.
He also suggested Jackson's health may have
been a contributing cause, saying, "Sometimes
when it's your time to go, there's nothing you
can do."
Deputy District Attorney David Walgren
angrily disagreed.
"In contrast to Mr. Low's comment, let me just
say, it was not Michael Jackson's time to go,"
"Because of Dr. Murray's actions, Michael's
children are left without a father."
One of the final witnesses was Dr. Christopher
Rogers, chief of forensic medicine for the Los
Angeles County coroner.
During cross-examination, defense attorney J.
Michael Flanagan suggested Jackson could have
swallowed propofol, which is meant to be
administered intravenously.
While Rogers said that seemed unlikely, he said it
would not have made a difference in his finding
of homicide because of inadequate care by
Murray.
Rogers also testified that propofol should not
have been present in the bedroom because it was
meant only for hospital settings. Jackson had a
strong heart and was mostly healthy, Rogers
added.
"The care was substandard," Rogers said. "There
were several actions that should have been
taken."
Rogers also testified that Murray was improperly
using propofol to treat the musician for insomnia,
and that Murray was wrong to leave Jackson's
side while he was under anesthesia before he
died.
Another witness. Dr. Richard Ruffalo, an
anesthesiologist and clinical pharmacologist, gave
the judge an exhaustive rundown on the
sophisticated medical equipment that should have
been present when Murray administered propofol
in Jackson's bedroom.
Among the devices were monitoring equipment
for heart and lungs and resuscitation equipment.
"You need to know what you're doing with the
expectation your patient will wake up quickly,"
Ruffalo said. "Even if you're using propofol for a
short time, it can do a lot of unfortunate things,
especially if mixed with other drugs."
Prosecutors used testimony and phone records
to create a timeline during the hearing of
Jackson's final hours on June 25, 2009.
Detective Orlando Martinez said Murray told police
he left the room for only two minutes after giving
Jackson a 25 milligram dose of propofol about
10:40 a.m. He said he returned to find him not
breathing.
Phone records showed 911 was not called until
12:21 p.m.
Jackson's burly former bodyguard Alberto
Alvarez testified that Murray instructed him to
place medicine vials in bags before calling 911 on
the day Jackson died. Two paramedics said
Murray didn't tell them he had given Jackson
propofol.
Martinez testified that Murray described a nearly
10-hour ordeal of trying to get Jackson to sleep,
giving him a valium pill and two other sedatives
intravenously before yielding to the singer's
demands for propofol.
Jackson called the anesthetic his "milk," and
coroner's investigators later found several vials of
it in a bag labeled "Baby Essentials" in Jackson's
closet.
Martinez said Jackson told Murray if he couldn't
get sleep, he might have to cancel his widely
heralded "This is It" comeback tour. The doctor
spoke of feeling pressured to give the star the
propofol he wanted, the detective said.
Jackson had been receiving propofol
intravenously six nights a week for the two
months before his death, Murray told detectives.
Pastor set Murray's next hearing for Jan. 25 when
he will set a trial date.
Source: Http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/top/all/7377216.html
physician who was demonized by Michael
Jackson's family and fans, was ordered Tuesday
to stand trial for involuntary manslaughter after
court testimony showed he administered a
powerful anesthetic and other sedatives then left
the pop star alone.
The ruling set the stage for what could be the final
chapter in the Jackson saga — a high-profile trial
that will examine all aspects of the star's death
and try to finally place responsibility for his
demise at the age of 50.
Witnesses at the six-day preliminary hearing
filled a number of gaps in the story of Jackson's
final hours, with accounts of his actions and the
sad plight of two of his children watching briefly
as their father lay dying.
Other witnesses recounted Murray's claim that he
delayed calling 911 for perhaps more than an
hour while he tried to revive the singer. A
security guard indicated that Murray seemed to
be rushing to hide evidence before paramedics
arrived.
Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor said the
hearing included sufficient evidence to support a
possible finding of guilt at trial. Murray's defense
attorney Ed Chernoff and prosecutors declined
comment on the ruling.
Jackson's famous family members were in court
and welcomed the development.
"I'm happy so far," LaToya Jackson said while
walking to her car. Randy Jackson thanked
prosecutors while flashing a peace sign outside
the courtroom.
Murray, 57, has pleaded not guilty, and his
attorneys have said he did not give Jackson
anything that should have killed him. Murray
could face up to four years in prison if convicted.
Compounding Murray's losses in court, the judge
also granted a request by the California Medical
Board to suspend his license to practice medicine
in California. Murray currently has offices in
Nevada and Texas, but the judge ordered him to
notify authorities in those states of his
suspension.
Chernoff pleaded with the judge not to take the
action saying, "If you do that, he's dead in the
water. He has no practice anymore. his patients
have no doctor."
Pastor said he was acting in the interest of public
safety and refused to stay the ruling for an
appeal. He also declined to increase Murray's
$75,000 bail, rejecting prosecution arguments
that there was risk he would flee.
Witnesses at the preliminary hearing said Murray
admitted giving Jackson the powerful anesthetic
propofol and other sedatives then leaving him
alone in his bedroom only to return and find him
not breathing.
Murray's lawyers raised the possibility that
Jackson, desperate for sleep, had self-
administered the final dose of propofol, causing
his own death.
Prosecutors concluded their case with testimony
from two doctors who said Murray acted outside
the standard of medical care when he
administered the propofol and failed to provide
proper care.
Both witnesses said that even if Jackson had self-
administered the final dose of the drug, his death
would be a homicide because of Murray's
actions.
During closing arguments, defense attorney
Joseph Low IV argued the case should be
dismissed because prosecutors didn't adequately
prove how Murray caused Jackson's death.
He also suggested Jackson's health may have
been a contributing cause, saying, "Sometimes
when it's your time to go, there's nothing you
can do."
Deputy District Attorney David Walgren
angrily disagreed.
"In contrast to Mr. Low's comment, let me just
say, it was not Michael Jackson's time to go,"
"Because of Dr. Murray's actions, Michael's
children are left without a father."
One of the final witnesses was Dr. Christopher
Rogers, chief of forensic medicine for the Los
Angeles County coroner.
During cross-examination, defense attorney J.
Michael Flanagan suggested Jackson could have
swallowed propofol, which is meant to be
administered intravenously.
While Rogers said that seemed unlikely, he said it
would not have made a difference in his finding
of homicide because of inadequate care by
Murray.
Rogers also testified that propofol should not
have been present in the bedroom because it was
meant only for hospital settings. Jackson had a
strong heart and was mostly healthy, Rogers
added.
"The care was substandard," Rogers said. "There
were several actions that should have been
taken."
Rogers also testified that Murray was improperly
using propofol to treat the musician for insomnia,
and that Murray was wrong to leave Jackson's
side while he was under anesthesia before he
died.
Another witness. Dr. Richard Ruffalo, an
anesthesiologist and clinical pharmacologist, gave
the judge an exhaustive rundown on the
sophisticated medical equipment that should have
been present when Murray administered propofol
in Jackson's bedroom.
Among the devices were monitoring equipment
for heart and lungs and resuscitation equipment.
"You need to know what you're doing with the
expectation your patient will wake up quickly,"
Ruffalo said. "Even if you're using propofol for a
short time, it can do a lot of unfortunate things,
especially if mixed with other drugs."
Prosecutors used testimony and phone records
to create a timeline during the hearing of
Jackson's final hours on June 25, 2009.
Detective Orlando Martinez said Murray told police
he left the room for only two minutes after giving
Jackson a 25 milligram dose of propofol about
10:40 a.m. He said he returned to find him not
breathing.
Phone records showed 911 was not called until
12:21 p.m.
Jackson's burly former bodyguard Alberto
Alvarez testified that Murray instructed him to
place medicine vials in bags before calling 911 on
the day Jackson died. Two paramedics said
Murray didn't tell them he had given Jackson
propofol.
Martinez testified that Murray described a nearly
10-hour ordeal of trying to get Jackson to sleep,
giving him a valium pill and two other sedatives
intravenously before yielding to the singer's
demands for propofol.
Jackson called the anesthetic his "milk," and
coroner's investigators later found several vials of
it in a bag labeled "Baby Essentials" in Jackson's
closet.
Martinez said Jackson told Murray if he couldn't
get sleep, he might have to cancel his widely
heralded "This is It" comeback tour. The doctor
spoke of feeling pressured to give the star the
propofol he wanted, the detective said.
Jackson had been receiving propofol
intravenously six nights a week for the two
months before his death, Murray told detectives.
Pastor set Murray's next hearing for Jan. 25 when
he will set a trial date.
Source: Http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/top/all/7377216.html
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