Michael Jackson On Trial….Again!
Dr. Conrad Murray: Will Putting Jackson on Trial Get Him Off?
By Art Harris, The Bald Truth, (c) www.artharris.com, all rights reserved
Who would have dreamed Los Angeles prosecutors who once sent detectives all over the world to investigate charges Michael Jackson was a pedophile would now be fighting to defend the late pop star’s reputation, trying to keep damning evidence against him they once worked so hard to collect…OUT of court?
Yet, in the manslaughter trial of Jackson doctor Conrad Murray in Los Angeles, where a jury pool was selected this week, you won’t hear much about the pop star’s past drug abuse —- or past molestation trials and tribulations from 1993 to 2005, when Jackson was acquitted of sexually abusing a 13 year old former cancer patient.
What you will hear are charges his $150,000 a month doctor allegedly failed to monitor Jackson in his own bedroom, where he died of a drug overdose in 2009 from a powerful anesthetic called Propofol, aka Diprivan, a milky white fluid one anesthesiologist tells me is known to be quietly abused by some medical professionals for its fleeting sexual high. He called the short-acting hypnotic ideal for surgery if given in a hospital setting, but risky without vital sign monitors and a doctor watching them.
Mother of one Jackson Accuser, 2004, (c) Baldtruthtv.com
Murray has plead not guilty to one charge of involuntary manslaughter, and faces four years in prison and the loss of his medical license if convicted in a case that focuses on the Houston-based cardiologist’s actions in the final hours of Jackson’s life.
Murray’s lawyers are expected to argue the insomniac superstar demanded Diprivan to sleep – and self administered more than his doctor prescribed as a drip — even DRANK it —- while prepping for a 2009 world tour. A toxicology report showed Propofol was the main culprit with other prescription drugs in his system.
Yet Jackson’s history of doctor shopping and prescription drug abuse may only be introduced sparingly after LA prosecutors convinced the judge it would be “character assassination on the victim,” as Deputy DA David Walgren put it, and possibly taint the jury pool.
“How can you taint a jury pool that’s been overexposed to Jackson shockers from years, from dangling his kid out a hotel window to paying a 13 year old boy a reported $20 million in damages to drop molestation charges against him and agree to keep quiet?” asks Atlanta criminal defense lawyer Ray Giudice. “That’s alot of money to pay someone if you’re not guilty, but it may have been a good investment because Jackson went on to make alot more, and the District Attorney had to drop the criminal case against him after their key witness hit the Jackson jackpot.”
Acknowledging wide media coverage, LA Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor Friday ordered jurors to avoid it from here forward, and asked if there was anyone who had NOT heard of the Murray case.
No one raised a hand. Conceding some may also have an opinion about Dr. Murray’s guilt or innocence, he said the only requirement to serve was an abilty to be fair, to be be able to set aside any bias or opinion, and base a verdict solely on evidence presented in court.
At the end of the second day of jury selection Friday, the judge ruled he’d gathered a large enough pool to be whittled down to 18 Los Angeles County qualified citizensd willing and able to handle a month long trial. All received a 30 page questionaire to fill out, and will be quizzed by lawyers for bias and background when they reconvene Sept. 23 to pick those who will stand in judgement. Opening arguments are expected about a week after that, then fireworks.
But much will not be allowd, the judge has ruled, like witnesses telling Jackson drug stories, like the one I learned from a former bodyguard, an ex Los Angeles deputy who spoke with me after Jackson died, detailing how Jackson had multiple doctors he’d call on in every city he visited, at all hours, to ask for powerful drugs for aches and pains, real and imagined.
Once, fearing his groggy, heavily sweating boss was about to OD on his watch, the ex-cop, who asked that his name not be used, told me in an exclusive interview he’d stayed up all night to keep Jackson awake, then cancelled a business meeting for him the next day. “He was in no shape to meet anyone,” he said, just one of numerous drug tales from the Jackson trail Murray defense lawyers probably wish the jury could hear.
Only the judge has reportedly ruled out former doctors as defense witnesses, like LA dermatologist Arnie Klein, who gave Jackson Demerol shots (a favorite) in his Beverly Hills office for minor procedures before witnesses reported spying Jackson stumbling out and into his car. Jackson hired Dr. Klein to travel with him overseas on one tour, along with his then nurse he would later marry, Debbie Rowe, who also gave the Gloved One relaxing massages. It’s all described in court records obtained by The Bald Truth.
However, the judge said he’d allow some Jackson medical records, limiting Murray’s defense plan to put the victim on trial, always a popular, and often successful, strategy, from rape cases to molestation to murder—-and re-engineered for a 24/7 media by O.J. Simpsons’ so called Dream Team.
During the that case I covered for CNN, I watched Simpson lead attorneys Johnny Cochran and Robert Shapiro write the modern day playbook on how to salt ominous clouds over LA with reasonable doubt, leaking theories and facts to eager journalists like me who reported what we could confirm, and debunked the rest, aware potential jurors were watching.
One defense theory, quickly debunked, suggested unknown Colombian drug lords had estranged wife Nicole Brown Simpson, murdered for drug debts, hanging with a bad crowd, or that she was unwittingly caught in a deal gone wrong, and that Simpson was still hunting for the killer–even after his acquittal.
But I reported what O. J. had left out—that party pals, relatives and friends told me it was Simpson’s coke use Nicole feared was snorting out of control, fueling domestic violence, and jealous furies, like stalking her after spying the second murder victim, waiter Ronald Goldman, driving the white Ferrari that Simpson had bought for HER!
Goldman was found slashed to death, along with Nicole, after showing up for a romantic evening. Medical examiners found several knife wounds on the arms to be defensive, attempts by Goldman to bravely fighting back, briefly, against an ex-football star gone mad. OJ’s blood was found at the crime scene, and inside his white Bronco. How could he possibly get out of that? But his lawyers had a plan.
The strategy: “the 3 C’s,” lawyer F. Lee Bailey told me. “Conspiracy by police to frame OJ, contamination of the evidence and a case that was compromised by alleged police corruption.” He conceded he wasn’t out for justice, he was out to win.
And winning meant pressuring the DA to move jury selection from Santa Monica to downtown, where a majority black jury pool was available to pull from. And who was the perfect juror? Bailey told me they were targeting African American females, mother’s of sons who had been roughed up by the LAPD, and ruling out anyone with high school math or science; the team aimed to confuse, or convince them, that OJ’s blood and DNA at the crime scene didn’t matter.
“How are you going to beat DNA?” I asked Bailey, a who regularly consulted with a brilliant Atlanta defense lawyer, Mark Kadish, a law school professor and former co-counsel in winning an acquital years earlier for an Army officer accused of mass murder in the Vietnam My Lai massacre trial.
“That’s easy,” Bailey told me over dinner at Chops, an Atlanta restaurant, and a pricey bottle of red wine. “It’s white people’s science.”
Kim Kardashian’s father, Robert, a Simpson attorney, was stunned when the jury found his client not guilty, and OJ seemed to be swallowing his shocka and glee he’d gotten away with murder.
“They just threw spaghetti against the wall to see what would stick,” lead LAPD homicide investigator Tom Lange, told me, “and some of it did.”
In 2005, I watched another courthouse road warrior, Jackson defense attorney Tom Messereau, artfully portray his client’s sex crime accusers as a family of grifters, after a 13 year old former cancer patient, Gavin Arvizo, filed charges of child abuse and molestation.
For Team Murray, putting the victim on trial was also a logical strategy, as Houston criminal defense attorney Ed Chernoff tries to beat back the DA’s next expensive crusade to go after doctors of dead celebrities with big drug appetites.
Some critics say the outcome doesn’t really matter, as long as the cause wins anti-drug headlines for politicians like Jerry Brown, who rode the Anna Nicole Smith probe he ordered as Attorney General to the governor’s mansion. Sources close to the case tell me the AG pressed the LA District Attorney to proceed despite what was shaping up to be a weak case, costing taxpayers a fortune to fly in flaky witnesses like Smith’s Haitian nannies and their families all the way from the Bahamas. Ruled not credible, they were not even allowed to testify, as Atlanta criminal defense attorney Steve Sadow, who represented Howard K. Stern, ripped the prosecution’s case to shreds.
Indeed, the DA’s ofice got more egg on face when Anna Nicole Smith’s doctor, Sandeep Kapoor, was acquitted of charges he’d prescribed drugs to an addict, while another doctor and her lawyer— boyfriend Howard K. Stern — were only found guilty of misdemeanors.
Now Murray is the latest accused Dr. Hollywood Feelgood, portrayed by prosecutors as reckless, malleable, star struck and broke, another pop doc who just couldn’t tell a superstar, “No,” a cardiologist earning far more treating Jackson than Medicaid patients back home in Houston.
While Murray maintains his innocence, his lawyers had been lining up witnesses to testify about Jackson’s past of doctor shopping, abuse of prescription drugs and more. But his ex docs have now been ruled off limits, along with old sex charges, forcing his lawyers to slash their witness list at the last minute.
Now it’s the lengthy juror questionnaire you can find here that they hope to use as Murray’s first line of defense, as both sides begin studying the pool. Prosecutors will try to weed out secret fans, the so called “runaway juror,” while others may favor Murray, harboring beliefs Jackson was able to have his way with young boys because he was rich and famous and chose his victims well.
“He groomed them like most pedophiles do,” an LAPD detective who worked the case told me. The detective was a veteran of sex crime investigations, describing how predators aim for weak victims who can be discredited.
He’d worked the 1993 molestation case against the pop star, too, when Jackson was headed for trial, until the key witness, Jordie Chandler, decided not to testify after Jackson paid him a reported $20 million to settle damage claims and keep quiet.
Sources told me LAPD detectives were dispatched around the world to track down victims and line up witnesses, to the Phillipines to interview ex staffers, and others who told investigators the pop star held dance contests overseas where boys vied to imitate the Moonwalk. Afterward, law enforcement sources familiar with the case, told me a Jackson staffer would tell the lucky boy, “Michael wants to meet you.”
Sources told me prosecutors believed they a “solid case” with multiple alleged victims when the case dissolved. Jackson always maintained his innocence.
Then, in 2003, almost a decade later, prosecutors in Santa Barbara, acting on a tip, sent deputies to Neverland Ranch, to raid Jackson’s sprawling ponderosa, and collect evidence for fresh sex charges brought by a former cancer patient he’d been cheering up with gifts and visits.
Gavin Arvizo was 13 then, and Jackson was nothing if not generous and kind, after being told about a dying child who adored the pop star, and asked to see him in the cancer ward, said friends. Jackson began showering the boy with gifts and attention, as he often did needy children, and later gave him trips to Neverland, where deputies in the 2003 raid hauled away bags of prescription drugs, along with pornography prosecutors introduced at the trial. It wasn’t enough.
Like some Casey Anthony jurors who acquitted Tot Mom, two jurors in the 2005 Jackson molestation trial said they believed the pop star guilty, only felt prosecutors didn’t prove it beyond a reasonable doubt.
That was the wild trial where Jackson showed up daily, once wearing pajamas, as deputies kept crowds back, burly bodyguards held umbrellas to protect the rock star from the sun and Jackson lawyers argued accusers with a past were lying to shake him down.
I obtained an exclusive 45 minute police videotape of the accuser’s mother claiming Jackson had entertained her family at Neverland, parking her in a guesthouse under surveillance, while he hosted spend the night parties in a private bedroom suite far from the main house, with a long hallway and motion detectors.
Keep checking The Bald Truth for never before shown excerpts from the tape.
While Jackson lawyers portrayed Victim Mom as a whacko who was later convicted of welfare fraud, she exuded fear on the tape, whether real or imagined, laying out how Jackson courted her son, then tried to whisk her and her family to South America to lay low.
On the stand, she was feisty, if frazzled, didn’t play well. She and her other kids said they were treated to movies and fun rides at Neverland, a railroad, a petting zoo, ferris wheels, a kitchen open 24/7…and spend the night parties in a private bedroom suite far from the main house.
One detective told me it had a long hallway with motion detectors to sound an alarm.
Why would Jackson need that with an army of security guards on the grounds?” I asked.
“I believe it was to warn him,” the detective told me, “so he wouldn’t get caught.”
September 9th, 2011 at 10:41 am
I am going to go out on a limb here by admitting I could care less about this trial. As far as I am concerned both Jackson and Dr. Murray hold equal responsibility.
An entertainer who went to great lengths to get his way even in the face of death and an obliging physician who wanted the money by offering accomodations for him to achieve the goal.
The doctor himself should have known better and exercised his role as one who "does no harm". But Jackson would have found another willing participant to carry out his wishes just the same because money was the bototm line.
Should Murry be held responsible? Absolutely but let's not exonerate the person who sought this treatment knowing full well the risks involved. Spoiled, arrogant, a man who thought he was "entitled" to get whatever he desired because of who he was.
Both are idiots IMHO.
September 9th, 2011 at 11:07 am
I’m sure you’re not alone, Pat, but it’s a big story I covered and plan to write about…Haven’t forgotten Haleigh; you WILL be hearing more…thanks for weighing in.
September 9th, 2011 at 11:23 am
Pat—Beautifully written and right on, as usual. Tx for taking the time. Art
September 10th, 2011 at 12:00 am
Dr. Murray is indeed guilty…He was to be paid big money (150,000) a month to watch Jackson at all times, and failed to do so. He was aware of Jackson's past history of drug abuse, and should have known not to leave him alone with Propofol.. If I remember correctly, Murray was talking on the phone, in another room, with his lady friend when Jackson died.. Michael's past charges of child abuse should not be brought in this case, as it has nothing to do with Murray's trial.. I was never a fan of MJ's, but I don't think he molested boys.. So many people were out to get him throughout his life, he never had a chance of sobriety and happiness.. IMO
September 10th, 2011 at 4:07 pm
marti000 – do you remember a long time ago when it came out that the sadistic father molested MJ as a child (quickly covered up and never in the media again). That was long before he was suspected of molesting children but the fact is that a large percentage of victims become predators. It's hard to believe the things people do to each other. Thank god for LE because most of us can't comprehend or stomach it.
September 10th, 2011 at 5:21 pm
You think it’s relevant to talk about the topic while others try to lionize his music and the man? I do…I’ve got a tape of his first victim speaking to a shrink, sad, and the mother of last victim talking to S Barbara detectives never before played in public except for a few excerpts. What do you think if running it with poll question, who do you believe now, Michael or the Mom? Do you believe he was guilty in 93 and/or 2005? Did jury make right decision, etc? tx
September 10th, 2011 at 8:54 pm
I'm not saying MJ didn't molest boys. I am saying I don't believe he did..There was a lot of people who wanted a piece of his money. MJ stopped growing psychologically at about age seven…IMO He had a childlike voice, and persona throughout his life..Was this caused by an abusive father, who belted him at an early age? Many fathers have used the belt on their children, and they didn't turn out to become child molesters..I can understand how they could become drug abusers, which Michael surely was..He related to young boys because, in his mind, he was a young boy..He never matured into adulthood.. Who knows if the Jury made the right decision. After the OJ and Casey trial, I have lost all confidence in Jurors. .Art, you have done excellent reporting on many high profile cases.. I've never known you to be biased. You probably won't give me your opinion, but I'll ask..Do you think he was guilty in '93 and '05? My genre of music are the songs/Artists of the 60's…Joan Baez, Judy Collins, Joni Mitchell….I wasn't a fan of MJ's because I didn't like his music…not because he was weird…He was the ultimate artist, and will be remembered that way, I hope, but seriously doubt, and that is sad..The drugs and molestation trial will over shadow his great works…. IMO
September 11th, 2011 at 2:17 am
All I can tell you is I have interviewed several LA and Santa Barbara detectives who believe he did, and MJ lawyers and investigators who will deny it…where there’s smoke , there’s usually fire. Adept pedos know how to pick victims who will crumble if accusations happen or be easy to debunk…their MO…
September 11th, 2011 at 2:50 am
Thanks for replying, Art…You are too good…I knew you wouldn't commit to an opinion.. Good try, Marti..lol I agree, where's there's smoke there is usually fire. I would be interested in learning the psyche of a person like MJ.. What interfered with his developing into a normal male?…Was it his childhood? Was he a closet gay all his life, or a transsexual/transvestite person, in his mind?..At one time there were rumors he had facial surgery to look like Diana Ross..There are so many facets to MJ, he would definately be an interesting study.. Looking forward to the excerpts of the tape…
September 11th, 2011 at 2:22 am
Not sure if last went through, but after interviewing numerous detectives, some alleged victims from 93 plus cops, prosecutors in both cases, parents and mj experts, I’d say yes, in addition to a tape of Jordie Chandler, an audio tape with a shrink, and details of their encounters, and info on the settlement that took the police case apart…thanks much…ps he also traveled with his older bros and they shared same motel rooms where sex was happening between fans and his brothers; I’m told it had an effect on MJ. And that Joe used to beat him and denigrate him…
September 11th, 2011 at 11:24 pm
Art, can you share with us the tapes you have? I've heard the interview MJ had with Brushier (sp). but none of the victims or their family members… TIA
September 12th, 2011 at 8:57 pm
Would you like to see the 45 minute tape of the mother of the last accuser? As in the exclusive police interview I obtained at the time that was introduced as evidence but not released? Working getting it edited…
September 12th, 2011 at 11:36 pm
Yes, that one, or any tape/s you have..Did you say you have a tape of the victim (Chandler) I think that's his name.. That would be very telling, in my way of thinking, as to guilt or innocence on the part of MJ…. Thanks, Art..
September 10th, 2011 at 9:03 pm
Hi Janice 🙂
I remember when Joe Jackson was accused of physically abusing MJ, but I don't remember hearing that he molested him..I assume you mean sexually molested him..Granted, Joe was a hard driving, macho man, who ruled with his belt.. To this day he doesn't think using a belt on children is wrong..He tries to wiggle out of the question by saying, "it was the times back then"…Mean is mean!!!
September 10th, 2011 at 1:16 am
This is the first article I've read on this situation that was interesting, had new information and actually had something to say. Mj was without douby a child molester and, like Pat Johnson, I have no interest in this case (I agree, your comment was beautifully written). I have always felt there's something creepy about the whole Jackson family (not exactly a clinical word, but you know what I mean) and I am often stunned by the seemingly collective world denial because they can sing and dance. Another act in the theater of the absurd is coming. I think I'll skip watching this one. But I'll check your site to read about it.
September 10th, 2011 at 6:49 am
thanks, Janice for weighing in. great to have you here. art
September 23rd, 2011 at 11:15 am
Hey Art,
I just watched a MJ fan, on Jane or Nancy, can't recall. This woman believes that MJ is alive, and that he was actually kidnapped, by those against him, powers that be. The fan followed the ambulance to the hospital, and you could see the shadow of someone unknown jumping out, as the amb. turned into the bay. This 'fan' has this conspiricy theory all worked out. Interesting story.
Looking forward to your coverage of this court case.
Take care, stay cool, and catch me on the flipper!
Love ya,
SpikedLemon
September 23rd, 2011 at 11:17 am
Art,
One big thing I forgot to mention, she believes MJ is held as a slave, music slave!
Thanks,
Spiked
September 23rd, 2011 at 9:31 pm
A jury has been picked..The trial starts Tuesday, Sept. 27th…I predict it will be a swift trial and verdict.. I could be wrong, but I think I heard MJ's past drug use won't be allowed in. If it can only include the time Murray started working for Michael, it should indeed be a swift trial…I hope this is the case..His children will have a hard time moving on as long as their father is shown in a negative light.. IMO
September 25th, 2011 at 2:35 am
His dark side will always be a part of his story, and no I don't think it should be forgotten, if it's true, but I don't think it should be included in this trial.. The guilty are "gotten off" rich or poor….Case in point, Casey Anthony..She had no money, and her family very little..Bob Ward, the Real Estate Developer, who is wealthy, was convicted today of shooting his wife.. It doesn't matter, although the rich have a better chance of getting off.. Robert Blake was clearly guilty. IMO, as was OJ. Both had money, and were freed…So yes, money talks, and the guilty walk in too many cases..As for Michael, money, his defense team, and fans, had a big impact on his not guilty verdict.. He was the King of Pop…I don't think Elvis would have been convicted either if he had done the same things…It's our worship of "stars" society that puts them above the law.. It shouldn't matter, but it does….IMO
September 28th, 2011 at 12:14 am
I watched the trial today.. I think Dr. Murray will be charged with negligent homicide…After two months of MJ's death, he admitted to LE he did give MJ Propofol, when first not admitting it..As his Dr. he should not have left the room after administering the drug..MJ had also consumed two or three other drugs before the Propofol..He took eight pills of one drug in one swallow….I think it was an anxiety med. It's surprising he lived, considering the other drugs he had taken..The drugs, plus Propofol put him to sleep for good. IMO .Why didn't Murray remove the drugs from MJ's night stand before MJ could take them? If Murray was truly trying to wean him off drugs, why order more Propofol as few days before his death? Was he planning to take the drug to England with him for the "This is It" concert? Murray was careless. He should never have been hired by MJ, but as those who knew him intimately have said, "You don't say no to Michael Jackson"..It's a shame no one could stop him from his destructive life, and possibly save him.. . IMO