Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Was MJ Murdered?


One day, I'm celebrating the music of Prince and his ladies, the next night I'm writing about Michael Jackson. You know, I hate to write about his death... I'd rather be celebrating his music and his talent.

Today, the Los Angeles County coroner ruled Michael Jackson’s death a homicide and a law enforcement official told this to The Associated Press. This finding makes it more than likely that criminal charges will be filed against Dr. Conrad Murray, the doctor who was with the pop star when he died on June 25th of this year.

The coroner determined that a fatal combination of drugs was given to Jackson just hours before he died in his rented Los Angeles mansion, according to the official who spoke on the condition of anonymity (Don't they always?) because the findings have not been publicly released (and he might lose his job). Forensic tests found the powerful anesthetic "Propofol" acted together with at least two sedatives to cause Jackson’s death, the official said. (I'll tell anybody... anesthesia is some damn good sleep but, Mike and his people took it too far.)

Dr. Murray, a Las Vegas cardiologist who became Jackson’s personal physician (WTH?) weeks before his death, is the target of a manslaughter investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department. NBC Dateline's Josh Mankiewicz confirmed that Dr. Murray is indeed the target of a manslaughter probe. (i.e. He's in big doo-doo right about now.)

According to a search warrant affidavit unsealed Monday in Houston, Dr. Murray told investigators that he administered a 25 milligram dose of Propofol around 10:40am, after spending the night injecting Jackson with two sedatives in an unsuccessful attempt to get him to sleep. (If you recall, he denied administering anything to Michael Jackson, just two days after the singer's death.)

The warrant dated July 23, states that lethal levels of Propofol were found in Jackson’s system. Besides the propofol and two sedatives, the coroner’s toxicology report found other substances in Jackson’s system but, they were not believed to have been a factor in the singer’s death, the official said.

Dr. Murray has spoken to police and last week released a video saying he “told the truth and I have faith the truth will prevail.” His attorney, Edward Chernoff, had no immediate comment but, has previously said Dr. Murray never administered anything that “should have” killed Jackson. A call to the coroner’s office was not returned on Monday.

According to the warrant, Dr. Murray had been treating the singer for insomnia with the sedative for six weeks. Murray said he had been trying to wean Jackson off the powerful sedative by using smaller doses in combination with the sedatives Lorazepam and Midazolam. (Is it just me or, are these drugs that you never even knew existed?)

On the morning Jackson died, Dr. Murray said he tried to induce sleep without using Propofol, starting first with Valium at 1:30am. When Jackson was still awake at 2:00am, Dr. Murray injected him with Lorazepam, then injected him with Midazolam at 3:00am. Dr. Murray told police that he administered several other drugs over the next few hours. Here is where the story gets murky...

By 10:40am, Jackson was still unable to sleep and "urged" Dr. Murray to give him Propofol. Dr. Murray said in court documents that he administered 25 milligrams of the drug at that time and then, he left Jackson alone under the influence of the drug to make phone calls to his Houston office. (Or, was he calling his lawyer? Had he already realized that something was going horribly wrong? I'll leave that up to you to speculate.)

When Dr. Murray returned, Jackson was not breathing. He performed CPR while a member of Jackson's staff called 911. The singer was rushed to UCLA Medical Center where he was pronounced dead sometime later. The affidavit says, while Dr. Murray acknowledged to police that he administered Propofol, authorities found no evidence that he had purchased, ordered, or obtained the medication under his medical license or Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) tracking number.

Police detectives found about eight bottles of the anesthetic in Jackson's house along with other vials and pills that had been prescribed to Jackson by Dr. Murray, Dr. Arnold Klein, and Dr. Allan Metzger. Valium, Lorazepam, Clonazepam, Tamsulosin, and other drugs were also confiscated in the search, and Propofol was found in Murray's medical bag. According to the warrant, Dr. Murray told police he was not the first doctor to administer Propofol to the singer.

Authorities subpoenaed medical records from D. Klein, Dr. Metzger, and Dr. David Adams, in addition to Murray, the affidavit states. They also asked for medical records from Dr. David Slavitt, who conducted the independent medical examination of Jackson for Anschuntz Entertainment Group, Dr. Randy Rosen, and nurse practitioner, Cherilyn Lee.

The affidavit also states that Jackson told Dr. Murray that two doctors in Germany had given him Propofol. Dr. Murray said he repeatedly asked Jackson what other physicians were treating him and what drugs they were prescribing. Dr. Murray said Jackson refused to give him that information.

Dr. Murray is probably going to be charged and arrested in the next few days for manslaughter. While he should take some of the blame for what happened... I named at least three or four other doctors here. These doctors's records are being examined by law enforcement officials right now but, there is little or no talk of indictments.

I'm going to stand alone here and say that Michael bares part of the responsibility for his death. He was asking for these drugs and he was surrounded by a lot of despicable and shady people who got him whatever he asked for and, more importantly, whatever he "paid" for. If any one of these people had of said no to Michael (and there were some who did), there would have been three or four more who would and did say yes to him, and were paid handsomely. It's a dirty business but, there is no one reading this post who doesn't know that. It's just a shame that Michael walked blindly into that good night knowing that too!

24 comments:

clnmike said...

I refuse to look at this as a murder. Accidental death maybe, negligent yup, but not murder. i dont like the way the press and the police have been treating this, from day one the vibe has been to treat the doctor as a murder instead of the irresponisble fool that he is.

Keith said...

I agree with you Clnmike...I don't think it was quite murder per se..
but more like negligence.I'm even willing to say that it was accidental.

Rich Fitzgerald said...

The doctor was clearly negligent having given him several drugs from 1:30am to 10am. They warn you not to take too many aspirin during that time frame, imagine what those drugs did to Mike's small framed body. There was no way he was going to absorb all that. I'm no doctor and I know that much.

I think the other thing people are overlooking is that the Jackson Family had to make sure that this didn't come away as some sort of assisted suicide because I'm almost certain Mike has a huge insurance policy and if he killed himself, the insurers don't have to pay.

A Free Spirit Butterfly said...

you know me and my profession, a person hooked on "drugs" is going to find a way. that's like the chief of police putting an officer on every corner to prevent a murder. if the person wants to kill you, they won't stop until they do. so very sad, but true. i just pray that it "all" doesn't fall on the doctor who, like you said, probably did what Michael asked of him.

when i get a craving for a brownie, i hit the streets (lol)

Love for a great day!

Anonymous said...

I'm with Clnmike. Don't think it's murder but megligent. What was Dr Murry thinking giving him all those drugs in a short time frame?

Arlene said...

Cousin, I'm going to go further out on your limb and blame this entire mess solely on Michael. He knew years ago that he was addicted to drugs. Whether the addiction was the result of treatment for the burn accident, stage injuries, or a crazy dad who didn't "love" his son, it was drug addiction no less. Instead of searching for recovery, he chose to search for the medical people who would do his bidding. Michael paid very well ($150,000 per month) and demanded service that he could direct. If he were buying drugs from the corner of my block the results would have been the same. I feel for the children who had to live with this man.

P.S. Did you see the news about Google losing the lawsuit preventing people from finding out who these supposed anonymous bloggers/writers are? I hope your pain in the butt comes back so we can find out who he/she is!!!

Keith said...

@Arlene- I think I hurt his/her (anonymous)feelings. lololol.

Toni said...

What an awesome tragedy from all angels

Angie B. said...

I think this was more of a case of negligence and stupidity than murder!

Sunflower said...

I think the LAPD and the Media are trying to sensationalize his death more than anything..This was clearly not murder...not in the traditional way it's thought of.

Cheryl said...

Truly Tragic!

Brenda said...

This is just one big mess, but it's not murder.

Grover Tha Playboy said...

Micheal was paying the man 15G a month...and paying his debts off..There is no motive there for him to want to murder him..This was just an accident.

Halo said...

I am so sad right now...I didn't even want to read this..but I di anyway.

Vanessa said...

This was more of a case of poor judgement ,on behalf of everybod concerned.

Lisa said...

Poor Michael, even in death, craziness follows him.

Swaggie said...

I think the doc should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law...You don't prescribe those many drugs in that short amount of time to anybody.

James Perkins said...

This was excellent reporting Keith
and some very good points made.
For the record,I don't think it was murder either.

Simon Bastion said...

Michael asked for and paid for those drugs...Not sayig that Dr. Murray was right, but if he didn't..someone else would have and Michael would still be dead...
The onus for this goes on Michael's
shoulders.

Jazzy said...

Good read Fam.

Tate2 said...

Everything surrounding Mike's death
just seems so shysty to me.

Sean said...

You know,I'd halfway feel sorry for Dr. Murray except that he ran
and left his car behind after MJ
died and then turns up two days later with a lawyer and a story he has changed at least three times.
Uh-Uh!!!Lock him up!

Captain Jack said...

Poor Michael, the weirdness and lunacy continues in death!

12kyle said...

no matter how it's viewed, mike is gone. the doctor is responsible directly or indirectly. and he will do jail time. believe that!




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