Dr. Conrad Murray Is Charged In The Death Of Michael Jackson
At long last, authorities in charge of the Michael Jackson Death Investigation have charged MJ’s personal physician Dr. Conrad Murray in his death. Murray showed up at court today, as did members of the immediate Jackson family, to face a charge of Involuntary Manslaughter in regards to MJ’s sudden death last Summer. Here are photos of Dr. Murray, Katherine Jackson (MJ’s mother) and La Toya Jackson (MJ’s older sister) arriving at court and deets of the just launched criminal trial proceedings:

Nearly eight months after Michael Jackson died suddenly, his personal physician was charged Monday with involuntary manslaughter for providing him with a powerful anesthetic that was ruled a major factor in his death. The filing of the charges capped an investigation that revealed Mr. Jackson’s heavy reliance on narcotics, including propofol, an anesthetic normally used in surgery but administered to Mr. Jackson, 50, as a sleep aid. The doctor, Conrad Murray, a cardiologist with offices in Houston and Las Vegas, had acknowledged giving Mr. Jackson the drug shortly before the singer was found unconscious on June 25 in a rented mansion here, according to police affidavits. The coroner determined that Mr. Jackson had died from “acute propofol intoxication,” combined with other sedatives. Dr. Murray, 56, who arrived in Los Angeles last week trailed by paparazzi, has maintained through his lawyer that nothing he gave Mr. Jackson should have caused his death. If convicted, he faces a possible maximum four-year state prison term. Dr. Murray arrived at the Airport Courthouse here shortly before his arraignment was scheduled to begin, at 1:30 p.m. Pacific time, escorted by lawyers and sheriff’s deputies and without handcuffs. At least 24 television trucks and journalists yammering in a multitude of languages were awaiting his arrival, along with a smattering of fans, some bearing signs “Justice for Michael.” A Jackson impersonator did his moves, sometimes prompted, sometimes not. About an hour earlier, some members of the Jackson family had arrived in S.U.V.’s. Mr. Jackson’s father, Joseph — in sunglasses, a black suit and fedora, and red tie — paused by the curb, waiting for the others. Jermaine Jackson, the singer’s brother, and his wife, Halima Rashid, held hands as they walked toward the doors, followed by his sister, La Toya, in a bright pink blazer. The family members were escorted by five sheriff’s deputies, who then clustered by the entrance as they funneled in. The charge came after a week of negotiations between Dr. Murray’s lawyers and prosecutors that one of his lawyers said bogged down over whether Dr. Murray should be handcuffed and arrested, as opposed to surrendering at a courthouse in a more low-key way … Dr. Murray, according to police affidavits, was administering propofol to Mr. Jackson — the singer called it his “milk” — to help him sleep on the morning of June 25. Dr. Murray said he left the room for approximately two minutes to make a telephone call and found Mr. Jackson had stopped breathing when he returned. Efforts to revive Mr. Jackson at the house and a hospital were not successful, and the investigation of his death quickly focused on the drugs he was taking. Dr. Murray had no previous brush with celebrity until he began working as Mr. Jackson’s personal physician in May, after meeting him through an acquaintance in Las Vegas. He was promised $150,000 a month and had planned to accompany Mr. Jackson on his comeback tour, 50 concerts in London that were scheduled for July 2009 through next month.
This charge of Involuntary Manslaughter sounds about right to me. As I said before, I sincerely doubt that Dr. Murray intended to kill Michael Jackson. While it will be up to a jury of his peers to determine if he is guilty of his crime, I still believe that MJ’s death was not intentional. This court case is bond to be a media circus … especially since Michael Jackson is so well-known. After the jump, find out what TMZ has discovered from the final coroner’s report relating to MJ’s death and see what sort of evidence Dr. Murray is up against in this case against him …
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