The Los Angeles coroner’s office has ruled Michael Jackson’s death a homicide, the Associated Press reports. The pop star had “lethal levels” of the surgical anesthetic propofol in his system, along with two other narcotics, when he died on June 25, an unnamed source told the AP. Jackson’s personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, who was present at the time of the singer’s death, told officials he administered 25 to 50 mg of propofol to Jackson nightly, possibly for as long as six weeks, as treatment for insomnia. Search warrants executed at the home Jackson rented turned up large quantities of propofol, as well as several other sedatives. The coroner’s findings could lead to charges against the doctor in Jackson’s death.
Update:
Jackson’s relatives issued a statement in response to the coroner’s homicide finding: “The Jackson family has full confidence in the legal process, and commends the ongoing efforts of the L.A. County Coroner, the L.A. District Attorney and the L.A. Police Department. The family looks forward to the day that justice can be served.”
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this so such sad news today. i do not now weather this is true or not but it is sad that mr. michale’s death could be prevented if family now about him take the anastesia like this. my thinking is with his families.
Whether the prosecution for Jackson’s death is delivered or not, i still find Jackson to be responsible for his own death, regardless if he was the king of pop or not. Nonetheless, Jackson was a grown man and knew that the repercussions were deadly.
oh brother…
Agree 100%
I totally agree with you. Jackson is the only responsible for his own death and not the doctor. If so, then we would need to prosecute who invented guns, because there are a lot of people being killed or killing whith them!!
Just trying to figure out which one of you is MORE SHALLOW — hmmm…it’s a toss up.
Its a sad world we live in where the whole of society demands everything they desire immediately and without much thought to others, no matter the cost, association or repercussion. Michael Jackson is just one celebrity who had the money, charm, prestige and what ever you want to pin it down on to acquire every need and/or desire no matter what it took. And if his life-long friend and doctor had not fulfilled these demands, Michael would have and could have found another to support his unusual requests. Do you really think he did this with pure malice? If this man is held responsible for the death of an icon none of us will ever experience again….then I guess someone should reopen the cases/deaths due to overdose or questionable harm in many many other celebrity losses over the years. Where are the suppliers who sold the heroin, the multiple doctors who prescribed the pills..??…I think you see where I am going with this. Then possibly all of us should rethink what really matters here (and the family as well)…he is gone, we are angry and its no one’s fault but his. We cannot regain his presence (or any other person; celebrity or addict on the street) by condemning and replaying it all so a public has something to focus on other than their own lives!!
First of all, Murray was not Michael’s “lifelong friend.” Secondly, to say that Michael would have gotten drugs from somewhere else if denied, still doesn’t make it right FOR A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL to just give him what he wants. Thirdly, yes – there should be an inquiry into situations like this where professionals have enabled celebrities and consequently contributed to their early demise. Fourthly, no one said Murray did this with malice — that is not the issue at all. Lastly, you talk a lot, but don’t make much sense.
come the hell on.. i DO know if i say ‘give me morphene’ in the hospital that its a good drug, but its up to hospital workers/nurses/doctors to know the levels needed for each body weight/etc. He may have said give me __ .. but its up to the doctor to see that he isn’t KILLING the man. I guess If I was getting 120,000 a month in payment I’d give Michael whatever he wanted as well.
To Angel and Mona Brooks, MJ did not KNOW the propofol would be deadly–that’s what Dr. Murray was there for–he was the authority and should have refused to give this to him. Tylenol is not deadly unless you take too many of them, and in this case Dr. Murray gave him too much. And, Mona Brooks, let me break this down for you–guns don’t kill people, people kill people and that’s why they go to court, get convicted and go to jail. If someone uses a gun to kill you then they should pay. This, you poor child, is not the same senario.
Randy, I totally agree and because there was monetary gain, that’s one of the reasons why he should be prosecuted and sent to jail and maybe these so-called “celebrity doctors” will think twice about doing anything and everything just for the money.
to Truth: For what it’s worth, Dr. Arnie Klein (a sleazy character at best) claims he told Michael he was crazy to be taking propofol. But you are right, Michael is not a doctor and cannot fully understand the consequences, especially when combined with other drugs.
To Clive: My point is that Michael would not have ever asked to be given Propofol at the amounts that Murray gave him, if he thought he would die. There are many presciption and non-prescription medications that can cause your death IF USED IMPROPERLY. Like I said earlier, Tylenol won’t kill you, unless you take too much. And, like someone else said, they give you morphine in the hospital–but if you are given too much it will also kill you–that’s why you have professional medical personnel to administer the drugs properly and to monitor you properly and Murray did not do that.
there should be more repercussions for being stupid — maybe people like you would think more before speaking/writing
If the Dr. gave Jackson that many drugs then he should be prosecuted. But if Michael took that many drugs on his own then why is this a homicide? I think public opinion has a lot to do with it because this looks to me like an accidental overdose unless it was the Dr. who administered the drugs himself. I know the Dr was with Jackson at the time of his death but who’s to say he knew Jackson had other drugs in his system? Such a strange case.
Um the Dr said it.
correct, Toenail, Murray gave Michael Valium, Ativan, Versed and Propofol – some of these are given intravenously like Propofol, and then the doctor is supposed to watch the patient constantly – this did not happen.
Homicide? Seriously? Doesn’t that imply *intent*? Wouldn’t gross negligence be a more appropriate description?
Lauren, it’s not called gross negligence – it’s “homicide.”
I’ve always felt that Jackson setup the doctor to pull the trigger that he couldn’t pull. It was just a matter of time that Jackson would be a Heath Ledger, who died similarly except he didn’t have a doctor around. They were sleep deprived, insomniacs, pill popping celebs…and in Jackson’s case I think he was just tired, a little paranoid, heavily in debt, and a whole bunch of other stuff….maybe he subconsciously wanted to die. And he had a doctor who would administer drugs instead of doing it himself.
Hey, Sally – did Heath have a death wish too, do you thinK? I mean, with all that fame and fortune and good looks and talent, who wouldn’t want to do themselves in?? He must have just been tormented!!
Sally, you’re nuts.
Homicide? Only if Jacko was being forced to take them. But since this is the early 21st Century in North America, and Jackson a celeb, personal accountability and ownership for ones own actions (no matter how tragic) are out the window and finding someone, anyone, to blame the name of the game. Let the lynching begin!
I totally agree with you, Snarf. With so much media pressure and grief, they’re probably just looking for a way for MJ (and paid interviews from “exclusive” experts) to live on, even if it means a murder trial:(
Snarf and Christine – You two have a very SHALLOW way of looking at things. No one can accuse you two of any depth of understanding.
You are right!
sdm: can’t you express any lucid opinions on your own? you just seem to be a mindless cheerleader…
it’s Jackson, not Jacko. get it right.
Snarf got it right. Jacko has been a longtime nickname of Michael’s.
Actually it’s Wacko Jacko!
thanks for clearing that up — get over it, it’s tired already
What does force have to do with it? He was under a doctors supervision. The Dr. openly admitted to administering the drug as a treatment. A drug the doctor was not authorized to administer, yet did so anyway. Irregardless of his reasons, that doctor made a bad choice.
Since when wasn’t the Dr “authorized” to administer the drug. Michael begged anyone and everyome for the drug. I call it suicide.
Monique-re. “the doctor made a bad choice” – that has to be the understatement of the century! As for the genius called “me” – No, actually Murray didn’t know anything about the drug and as he was not an Anaethesiologist, therefore not qualified/authorized to administer it.
to me: “Since when wasn’t the Dr “authorized” to administer the drug?” Hello. Earth to Idiot – since the dr. was NOT an anaethesiologist and since the dr. was not trained in administering this drug and since the dr. did not monitor the patient continuously, and since the dr. did not have the adequate personnel and equipment to provide the proper monitoring and resuscitation if needed…HELL, THE IDIOT COULDN’T EVEN DO CPR PROPERLY!! Try to educate yourself about the details of this before shooting your mouth off.
Enough with the Jacko crap already. It’s tired.
No, what is tiring is so many people defending Wacko Jacko. The dude was a freak show.
s&m – no one is “defending” him per se — just point out the complexities, the many facets of the situation — this is obviously way above your head.
while there is personal responsibility involved here, you miss the boat because you don’t understand 1) what it is to live with chronic pain and 2) you have no comprehension about the pressures of superstardom and 3)what it’s like to live with little or no sleep — they use that to torture people, you know. Anyway, you can spew forth all you want about personal responsibility but you clearly don’t see the big picture.
What about patient accountability?! All these doctors enabled MJ and an example must be made of them, but even though I’m a fan, he abused the drugs AND the system.
“patient accountability?” – you’ve got to be joking…doctors take an oath – they are supposed to abide by a code of ethics, they are not supposed to do any harm — but they get swept up in the whole celebrity thing and they need to be held accountable.
There are some people who should never sit on a jury–and you are one of them–look, go home, look at one of the millions of legal shows on TV or better yet, ask somone for the definition of homicide before you make stupid comments like this!!!
MJ was clearly abusing legal drugs. And I can’t believe that Dr. Murray wasn’t aware of this fact. Dr. Murray took an oath to “do no harm”. Administering the anesthetic medication propofol in order for MJ to get some sleep was like a really bad idea AND against the law. I do think that Dr. Murray should be charged with homicide. It’s no different than a bartender who has the legal and moral responsibility to not serve a drink to someone who’s clearly intoxicated. I was in Sam’s this morning and they had a sign posted that states that if you “appear” intoxicated, they will not sell you any acoholic beverages. Since the doctor “knew” he was breaking the law, he should be prosecuted.
of course Murray knew — most people knew — despite the fact that they claim not to…how could you not know? the burnt scalp in the 80’s, travelling with that sleazebag Dr. Ratner in the 90’s (the guy gave him propofol every night), checking himself into rehab in the 90’s, the apparent interventions his family tried to have…etc…Murray knew all right – and he would do anything to earn his 150K a month.
Are you kidding me about the comparison to a bartender? Negligence, maybe, but homicide? That’s just sensationalistic baloney.
Lauren & Benoreno – I tend to view a Doctor’s oath as having more gravitas than a bartender’s responsibilities to society. The doctor administered this drug outside a hospital setting, without the proper equipment, without having adequate personnel on hand, and left the room when the patient is supposed to be continuous monitored. It took him over an hour to call 911. This is serious stuff, wouldn’t you say? We don’t need to “sensationalize” anything – it’s got all those ingredients already. Lauren, the legal definition is “homicide” – it wasn’t a suicide, it wasn’t an accident…the doctor gave him drugs which killed him – then did not seek help immediately. What more do you need to know to wrap your head around the fact that it is a homicide? No one is saying Murray intended this – why would he want to kill his MEAL TICKET??
But his actions does fall under the definition of intent because intent means doing something that you “knew or SHOULD HAVE KNOWN would have a certain effect.
Maybe suicide but not homicide.
good thing you’re not a lawyer.
suicide means that a person killed themselves UNASSISTED by ANYONE else. suicide is not possible when someone else injects you with drugs.
The next poster Shaun up under this one should take note as well.
Just because it wasn’t “suicide” doesn’t mean MJ doesn’t bear some responsibility for ALLOWING himself to be injected with potentially lethal narcotics.
Have you heard of assisted suicide Clarence darrow.
you have no clue what you’re talking about
Clive, you are absolutely correct!!!
Suicide? You’re nuts. Have you been listening to the news for the past 2 months?
you’re obviously clued out…
Mikey M makes a good point. For years Jackson purposely and consciously sought out doctors who would administer drugs…maybe he setup the doctor to pull the trigger that he couldn’t pull.
puhleeze — you’re talking crap
And, that is still called, murder, manslaughter, etc.!!!
And let the non-stop coverage continue! I’m sorry, but if Michael Jackson was willingly taking the drugs, is it really a homicide?
The difference is that these drugs were administered by injection by the doctor, not by Jackson himself. It was the doctor’s sworn oath to deny Jackson any meds that might threaten his life, no matter how rich or how famous he was, or how much he insisted. The doctor had an ethical duty to give up the big payday and walk out rather than endanger a patient.
DavidFSF – I completely agree. That doctor and other doctors need to be held responsible to say no.
The Dr was trying to wean Michael off drugs he had been addicted to for years. He did not do the right thing but Michael is the one who is most at fault. Addicts will find a way to get what they want.
David – finally…a voice of reason.
Dear “me” – The professional who was getting paid for providing a service was Murray. He bears the ultimate responsibility – HE WAS THE ONLY DOCTOR IN THE ROOM. How did he try to wean Michael off drugs – by giving him several different drugs over the course of a few hours, then apparently caving in when Michael asked for the Diprivan. Again, who’s the DOCTOR here?
once more with feeling – of course he would take the drugs…he needed them to deal with pain and the fact that he couldn’t sleep. If you regularly don’t get your daily 12 hrs. of sleep, I bet you’d be clamouring for anything to knock you out.
Shaun, you seem to be a good jury candidate for the defence. Hey, no one held a gun to his head or anything. Personal Responsibility trumps all – that’s the American way.
He went to a dr., who by law is not supposed to do harm. If what he asked for was not legal or too dangerous, it was the doctor’s legal responsibility not to administer it, as wouldn’t have been able to administer it himself.
have you been living under a rock all your life? you really should get out more…
is anybody really surprised?
The main thing ‘the’ family wanted was it not to ruled a suicide. Insurance does not pay on a suicide!
LOL, so true, that family is nothing but all aobut money, money, money, a family of freak shows.
The “family” is LOADED….AND will reap much more money than we can even fathom over the years to come…how in the world would any educated or informed person think this has anything to do with money??? You all stun the majority.
And, I’m sure your family will hope the same thing regarding you!!!
According to CNN:
At about 1:30 a.m., Murray gave Jackson 10 mg of Valium.
– At about 2 a.m., he injected Jackson with 2 mg of the anti-anxiety drug Ativan.
– At about 3 a.m., Murray then administered 2 mg of the sedative Versed.
– At about 5 a.m., he administered another 2 mg of Ativan.
– At about 7:30 a.m., Murray gave Jackson yet another 2 mg of Versed while monitoring him with a device that measured the oxygen saturation of a his blood.
– At about 10:40 a.m., “after repeated demands/requests from Jackson,” Murray administered 25 mg of propofol, the document said.
[continued]
“Jackson finally went to sleep and Murray stated that he remained monitoring him. After approximately 10 minutes, Murray stated he left Jackson’s side to go to the restroom and relieve himself. Murray stated he was out of the room for about two minutes maximum. Upon his return, Murray noticed that Jackson was no longer breathing,” the affidavit said.
Murray then proceeded to make phone calls and who knows what … all of which meant the ambulance was not called until over an hour later!
Who cares.
a lot of people do, nasty girl
oh Really?Dr murray is in Trouble with Michael Jacksons mother Katherine.When she finds out the Truth.She Takes Dr Murray to court about the wrongful Death of her son Michael.
no doubt, a wrongful death suit is coming, and Murray will be even more in the hole financially that he is to begin with – he’ll have to lay off the strippers and stop siring more kids!
He’d have to sell his soul in order to be able to pay what MJ was worth!!
From what I understand, this drug is not a sleep aid, so why was it being administered for that purposed by anyone who’s supposedly a medical professional? What happened to the Hippocratic Oath? Not to condemn this doctor, but….
sounds like he is worthy of being condemned – he gives propofol after hours of administering other drugs, then leaves the room, comes back and notices Michael’s heart has stopped — then makes 3 phone calls, none of which are to 911 — had he done that, Michael could be alive today…conclusion, he should be condemned
Not to mention administering cpr ON THE BED!! He should have moved MJ to the floor immediately and performed cpr there.
Obviously MJ was addicted to drugs and if this doctor wasn’t giving them to him he would have gotten them elsewhere but the doctor has to take some kind of moral responsibility. He probably just couldn’t turn down the $150,000 a month he was making.
You are right, there are many reasons why this doctor should be condemned. The oath is a big part of it.
Michael Jackson was a drug addict, plain & simple. Since the drug in question, propofol, must be administered by an anathesiologist and used for anathesiology purposes, nothing else, then Jackson must have known that he was getting a drug that he, or anyone else for that matter, could not possibly get. Dr. Murray was Jackson’s “mule” and acquired the drug for Jackson. The doctor administered this drug to Jackson; going along with Jackson’s need to want this drug to help his (Jackson’s) insomnia. I believe that Jackson and Dr. Murray are equally responsible for the death of Jackson. Since Jackson is dead, Dr. Murray must “face the music” and go on trial for his contribution to the death of Michael Jackson. Homicide? I don’t know what constitutes a homicide ruling.
Manslaughter seems more like the appropriate ruling. But, as I said, I don’t know the full definition of homicide. The authorities know what they are doing…let’s hope…in ruling Jackson’s death a homicide. Dr. Murray, from what the public has been told about him and his practicing of medicine, seems like a “shady” physician who cared little about his reckless way of practicing medicine & linking up with Jackson to be his personal physician. But, again, 50% of Jackson’s death is Jackson’s fault. This is what I believe.
Homicide is a cause of death not a legal charge. He has not been charged with anything yet.
he’s gonna be…
Couldn’t agree more. Both the Dr. and MJ are equally responsible. But MJ is dead so Dr. Murray is left holding his greedy little bag. Homocide as a cause of death just means death at the hands of another person. The criminal charge will likely be some degree of mansalughter. And it should be. What I don’t get is how MJs family can possibly claim ignorance on MJ addiction to dangerous drugs.
This is SO true and the case with many other celebrity deaths…we and the families turn our heads to any uncomfortable lifestyles until it affects US…unfortunately the children are the ones who suffer, because they will find out about it eventually and its sensationalized reality. Thank goodness non-celebrity deaths go by with more silence, for the sake of others.
I never either of them say they didn’t think he had a problem. I don’t think they claimed ignorance at all. MJ kept this from them as much as he could–you can only help someone when they are ready to get help.
ia, you are so right!!!
His death was absolutely a homicide. This was a drug that should have never been administered in the manner it was. That’s why it’s a homicide case. The D.A. absolutely knows what he’s doing. You can’t administer this to yourself. Dr. Murray gave this to MJ and should have known the dangers.
There is an information that Mikaeel Jackson’s death is related to issue that he will sing the islamic song “Give Thanks to Allah” in the end of his concert.
Is the information correct?
Maybe in heaven with 70 virginal young boys.
that’s a sick and nasty comment – no need to hear from you again, please
LOL
This is inappropriate and obviously coming from a totally uneducated person. Too bad you have no clue as to what you are talking about.
what are you talking about? MJ was killed by terrorists who employed Murray? that’s rich…
Abi, At least learn how to spell his name, for gawd sakes!
so Farrah Fawcett dies, gets to heaven and St. Peter says, Farrah you have been very good and for that you get to make one wish for humanity, she says… My wish is for all the children of the world to be safe. Five seconds later, Michael Jackson dies.
eli, another sicko – no need for the world to be inflicted with your mean spirit – go away
Or, maybe he took that wish and sent her “downhill” because of her own child–how about that??
Truth: I don’t understand what you mean – that F. wouldn’t be in Heaven because her son’s an addict?
If that is what you mean, that would be a narrow reading of this kid’s life: apparently his father, Ryan, played a big role in the fact that ALL his children battle addiction problems today. So if you’re condemning Redmond categorically, that is most unfair.
To Cleavon: I was simply responding to Eli’s ridiculous senario that Farrah wished that “all children of the world . . . be safe”. Well, if she made such a request, it would certainly include her child, right? And, the comment I made is no more unfair or no more narrow than all the comments that imply that MJ molested any child. He was not convicted, nothing was ever proven and we all know how much they tried. And no, I am not condemning Redmond or any child–never said that. Just wanted to point out how ridiculous it is to suggest that MJ died as a result of Farrah “asking that all children be safe.” I think before God granted such a wish, he would look at her first and the role she may or may not have played regarding her own child.
ok, Ely – it’s unanimous…this is too stupid for any further consideration.