New Evidence Against Dr. Conrad Murray

by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright January 6, 2011
All Rights Reserved.                                

                 Devastating evidence at Dr. Conrad Murray’s preliminary hearing before Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Micahel Pastor compels the Los Angeles District Attorney to reconsider charges against the 57-year-old physician.  Before testimony began Jan. 4, Murray stood to defend himself against involuntary manslaughter in the June 25, 2009 death of “king of pop” icon Michael Jackson, who the Los Angeles County Coroner ruled Aug. 28, 2010 Jackson’s death was due to “acute Propofol intoxication.”  Before the coroner’s report, speculation swirled over whether the 50-year pop singer died to a heart attack or stroke following a dress rehearsal June 24 at Stapes Center for his upcoming British tour.  While the timeline’s unclear, Jackson died sometime in the morning of June 25, though the exact time-of-death remains uncertain.  New testimony by Los Angeles County Paramedics sheds some light.

            :Los Angeles County paramedic Martin Blount testified that when he first examined Jackson around 12:30 p.m., June 25 in his Holmby Hills bedroom, the pop singer was lifeless and non-responsive.  Blount asked Murray what drugs Jackson had been taking, admitting to only lorazepam or trade-named Ativan.  No mention at all was made by Murray of the Propfol drip used to treat Jackson’s insomnia, the coroner’s exact cause of death.  Murray also failed to mention the Propofol drip to UCLA emergency room physicians, an egregious omission when you consider it was Jackson’s cause of death.  Phone company records indicate that Murray was text messaging during the time he said he was administering emergency CPR.  Phone records indicate Murray texted at 12:03 p.m. and 12:04 p.m. then again at 12:15 p.m., 12:18 p.m. and 12:53, all critical times he said he was administering CPR.

            Given the time delay between when Murray administered the Propofol drip and when he found Jackson not breathing, there are real discrepancies.  Murray has admitted only to administering 25 mg of Propofol to police detectives, despite the coroner’s report showing 150 mg in Jackon’s bloodstream.  Murray’s legal team have implied that Jackson may have administered the lethal dose to himself during a brief window after Murray administered the 25 mg and before he was discovered dead in his bedroom.  Testimony by LA County EMTs and UCLA emergency room personnel revealed that Murray did not share he administered Propofol.  In yet another suspicious admission, Jackon’s bodyguard, or MJ’s head of logistics, Alberto Alvarez testified that Murray asked him to remove medicine bottles and the Intra-venus drip-bag from Jackson’s bedroom at 12:17 p.m., the time paramedics were finally called.

            Before Los Angeles County District attorney charged Murray with involuntary manslaughter Feb. 8, 2010, questions remained about the timeline and Murray’s disclosures to medical personnel and investigators.  Today’s revelations in the preliminary hearing indicate that Murray withheld information to investigators and medical personnel with respect to Jackson’s recent drug history.  Failing to tell EMT paramedics and UCLA ER personnel about his Propofol drip indicates a deliberate attempt to cover up material facts at the crime scene.  Whether he instructed Jackson’s bodyguard to remove or dispose of evidence is anyone’s guess.  Murray’s reluctance to admit he administered Propofol suggests he knew he had performed substandard medical care that resulted in Micheael’s death.  When Murray disappeared off the map June 25, it also pointed to culpability.

            Murray and his legal team can’t have it both ways:  Admitting, on the one hand, that he injected Michael with 25 mg of Propofol but, on the other hand, failing to disclose this fact to medical personnel and investigators.  His legal team now implies that Jackson, himself, might have given himself the lethal injection of Propofol. Denying any Propofol use to medical personnel and investigators indicates that Murray knew, with malice aforethought, that Profol use was dangerous, inappropriate and unprecedented for treating insomnia.  His deliberate attempt to conceal its use to appropriate authorities suggests that Murray had something to hide.  “A killing caused by dangerous conduct and offender’s obvious lack of concern for human life,” defines second-degree murder.  Given the new evidence, the Los Angeles County District Attorney must re-file the appropriate charges.

            New evidence regarding the suspicious circumstances of Michael Jackson’s June 25, 2009 death indicates that District Attorney filed the wrong charges against Dr. Conrad Murray.  New facts indicate that Dr. Murray engaged in “a killing caused by dangerous conduct and offender’s obvious lack of concern for human life,” clearly requires the DA to re-file charges for second-degree murder.  When Murray decided to invent a dangerous insomnia machine, setting up an anesthesia operatory in Jackson’s bedroom without proper training, experience or certification, he committed second-degree murder.  Whether Murray intended to kill Jackson or not, has nothing to do with second-degree murder.  His reckless medical practices caused Jackson’s death in the morning of June 25, 2009.  Because of Murray’s reckless incompetence, the world lost one of its brightest stars.

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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