Did Dr. Murray Do It, Or Did MJ Do It To Himself?
Did Dr. Murray do it, or did MJ do it to himself?
From The Bald Truth, (c) www.artharris.com, all rights reserved
From a gruesome photo of his dead body to an audio tape his doctor made of the slurring superstar, high on something, prosecutors in the Conrad Murray manslaughter trial portray Michael Jackson’s doctor as callous, greedy and negligent in treating the pop star’s chronic insomnia with a powerful anesthetic called propofol in 2009 as he was preparing for an ambitious world tour.
That’s what killed him, prosecutors said in gut-wrenching opening argument Tuesday, powerful and damning, detailing how the Houston cardiologist demanded $5 million to close up his money losing practice to travel and care for Jackson as his solo patient, then settled on $150,000 a month when rebuffed.
Only he never signed the contract, and never was paid, his late manager told me, but still proceeded to give Jackson what he wanted–the powerful anesthetic propofol–so he could get sleep that was eluding him, affecting his ability to rehearse and perhaps threatening his “This Is It” Tour.
(Hear Jackson slurring on audio tape made by Dr. Murray on the next page)
It was indeed “It” for Jackson, and this may be it for Murray and his medical practice–UNLESS his silver tongued Houston lawyer Ed Chernoff can convince the jury what he says is true: that Murray loved Jackson and was trying to ween the superstar patient OFF propofol, but his addiction to demerol, courtesy of Beverly Hills dermatologist Arnie Klein, was a roadblock that sent him into chills, shakes and withdrawals that caused him to miss several rehearsals.
He felt the stress, said Chernoff, who claimed it was Jackson, not Murray, who self administered a fatal dose of the powerful drug that suppresses respiratory function–when Murray was out of his bedroom.
According to Chernoff, Murray had administered several other benzodiazapines to try to lull the supestar into sleep, but they weren’t working when Jackson demanded propofol. With a noon wakeup call, Jackson had been up all night, when at about 10:45 am Murray gave him a small does of 2.5 ccs of the milky white liquid by IV. He said vital signs were fine, when he left the room, returning to find a desperate Jackson unconscious from an apparent overdose he’d given himself.
What will have to be explained is that propofol is a fast acting anesthetic, so if Jackson shot himself up, he would have fallen asleep in an instant, likely dropping the syringe. Or if it was given as an IV drip, which doctors familiar with the drug tell me is highly irregular unless someone needs to be kept under after surgery, how did Jackson speed it up? Or if he drank it as some claim, was he aware ingesting it orally has no affect?
Or, might Jackson have had so much fear and performance anxiety, he pulled his own plug, or was he just another groggy addict suffering judgment lapses from his drug combos and made a fatal mistake?
That will be for the jury to decide, but bottom line, they will have to grapple with the fact, under best medical practices and standards we will be hearing more about, Dr. Murray should not have turned Jackson’s bedroom into his own sleep clinic, using propofol. Only a hospital setting makes the drug safe, with an anesthesiologist checking vital signs, including heart, breathing and blood pressure, and ready to use oxygen, and a respirator to resucitate if a patient stops breathing as Jackson did.
Prosecutors said Murray had a small device to measure oxygen absorption and a bottle of oxygen, but it was empty, and there was no respirator in the house, and lots of other drugs by his bedside…
What do you think happened?
What we haven’t heard is Jackson’s history of painkiller addiction, stemmimg from the Pepsi commercial where he suffered burns, and a lifetime of doctor shopping, and enough money to build a wall between him and those who might try to help him detox, or get into rehab.
Why didn’t Murray just say, “No!” to Jackson’s propofol demands? How had he found over the years, as those close to Jackson have told me, did he find it so easy to find doctors here and around the world to give him whatever drugs he wanted?
“It’s hard to tell a powerful billionaire like Michael Jackson “no,” his former lawyer, Brian Oxman said in one HLN interview.
As a dejected Murray blotted away tears Tuesday, his awyer, Ed Chernoff, mounted a moving defense of a doctor he said was trying to save his friend’s life by using other drugs to wean him slowly off propofol in a bizarre bedroom clinic medical boards would surely decry.
It’s unclear when Murray recorded a slurring Jackson on his cell phone, or why? But Chernoff did claim Jackson couldn’t sleep because insomnia is a side effect of a drug another Beverly Hills doctor was giving him — demerol.
Might we hear witnesses who could describe Jackson as speaking like that after an injection of demerol at Arnie Klein’s office, as Chernoff maintained.
I’ve interviewed former bodyguards who describe Jackson “out of it” and stumbling along the sidwalk after a visit to the dermatologist, waiting for his ride home. And Wednesday, Chernoff grilled an AEG executive about Arnie Klein. He said he’d never told Murray about Klein, and demerol shots, but had noticed on a prior concert Jackson slurring words after a visit to Klein’s office.
Greedy or loving? Negligent or caring?
The jury heard why prosecutors want Murray convicted of manslaughter–for using copious amounts of propofol as a sleeping aid, a powerful anesthetic designed only for use in hospitals, and why Murray says he’s only guilty of caring too much and trying too hard to save his friend from a terrible addiction and rescue his tour by helping Jackson sleep.
If he was indeed detoxing Jackson, was there any way for him to know, demerol withdrawal might kick in when it apparently did? Klein won’t be allowed to testify, nor any of Jackson’s past cavalcade of accomodating doctors. But Chernoff says his records will be admitted showing giant doses of demerol.
Who do you think is “winning” in court, and why?
September 28th, 2011 at 8:17 pm
I think the Defense is winning.. Murray is not the only one at fault in MJ's demise..Why didn't Michael Amir, his Assistant, call 911 when Murray told him MJ's had a bad reaction? A reaction in MJ's case would mean different drugs in his system reacting bad enough to possibly cause death. They all knew MJ's drug history. Why didn't someone call 911? I agree with LaToya Jackson..It's a cover up..I didn't think so before, but after hearing all of the testimony so far, that conclusion is not so far fetched…IMO I don't think MJ's "team" protected him as they should have..Arnie Klein is also responsible..He was shooting MJ up four times a week with Demerol..He should have known the drug interrupts sleep..No one was looking out for MJ..It was all about money…Art, why isn't Klein testifying? TY By the way, I don't think 5 mil was in excess to pay Dr, Murray..MJ was to make billions off the London concert..Dr. Murray closed four practices to travel with him..It was the greedy AEG who didn't go along with it..He convinced MJ to lower the Dr.s price to 150.000 monthly..In retrospect he was overpaid, if Murray was as negligent as portrayed..As we know, Murray didn't receive any monies..MJ died with his eyes open, as did JFK, when he was struck with a bullet..This tells me MJ possibly died when he took two or three narcotics not long before he as administered Propofol..The "bad reaction" hit him quickly. I heard MJ took eight narcotics at one time.. Thanks for covering the trial live, Art.. The commercials are sooooo irritating when watched on HLN…..
September 29th, 2011 at 3:21 am
Thanks, just keep tuned to our live feed from u stream and you will find no interruptions. Amazing stuff,no? approve
September 29th, 2011 at 2:30 pm
I recently had a procedure with propofol and asked the anethesiologist what he thought of Murray's actions. He said that the reason he would be convicted is because he administered the medicaiton without the proper monitoring equipment. He said that at the very least, a monitor for oxygen should have been used. When I asked him how hard this equipment was to get he said are you kidding, you can get it at Walgreens. He also said he went to med school with a guy who was addicted to propofol and walked around with a bag strapped to his leg. He did this when he was awake all day. Apparently, it calmed him. Unbelievable. And yes, he was caught and kicked out.
September 29th, 2011 at 7:30 pm
Yes, but Murray knew about the three bottles of narcotics on MJ's night stand..Why didn't Murray take that away from him? Murray was not going to deny his patient, the biggest star in the world, of his wants..IMO I also think it is possible Murray and Security were protecting his image by cleaning up before calling 911… no excuse, but feasible..I am not buying Murray didn't know about his trips to Klein for Demerol shots.. Surely his wasn't so careless he didn't know all of the meds MJ was taking…I wasn't impressed with the Chef's testimony today…All the chaos, screaming in the house, and she goes back to preparing lunch??? Puhleeez.. My theory still stands…MJ took too many meds before the Propofol, and he died…I don't think Propofol alone killed him..It was a mixture of all the other drugs that was in his system.. Not to let Murray off easy, but I think he was way over his head in this assignment, but MJ hired him.. Lots of blame to go around…IMO
September 29th, 2011 at 10:17 pm
In my "before I retired" profession I dealt with a lot of addicts and a lot of withdrawals. It takes 72 hours to phsyically withdrawal from most meds. It's uncomfortable and it causes physical distress. So what. IMO,iIf there was a true withdrawal going on, MJ would not be given all those drugs. The prosecution should have some sort of addiction specialist on who would claim that MJ should have been in a detox center to withdraw from drugs, and that's true for anyone who can manage it financially, but addicts withdraw at home all the time – in 3 days. And you wouldn't withdraw someone who's in the middle of getting ready for a concert tour. That's ridiculous. And you don't order as many drugs as Murray did to withdraw someone. Just an aside. I've had profofol for quite a few out patient procedures and never once did I wake up and say "give me more of that!" It's just not that type of drug.
September 30th, 2011 at 1:02 am
Why would a Dr. that is a dermotolgist have any legal reasons to give MJ that much Demerol? I don't believe that Murray didn't know he was seeing him
I both MJ and Conray are to blame.
I do find it disturbing for Murray want to have Prince to be in there while all that was going on.
I also don't believe that MJ injected himself. Maybe the first dose but not after that. I've been under that kind of drug and it knocks u out quick and takes time to come too . i just don' think it was possible for him to redose himself.
September 30th, 2011 at 9:17 pm
The Prosecution won today, although the Defense and Prosecution seem to be working together at times..One thing I haven't heard mentioned is a water glass on the night stand..If MJ took pills from the three med bottles on the night stand wouldn't there be a water glass? I looked closely today, and didn't see one..I am aware of two meds given intravenously and the Propofol..
Another thing that makes me go hmmm, is the Chef…MJ weighed 110 at death. For breakfast she prepared cereal (Granola) . For lunch she gave Michael tuna salad, and for dinner he had white bean soup……This is negligent on her part.. The man was dancing sixteen hours a day for gosh sakes..If the Propofol didn't kill him, starvation would have shortly… As a professional chef she should have prepared more healthy meals for a man in MJ's condition.. His favorite was fried chicken.. I didn't hear it mentioned how much she was being paid, but she sued his Estate for 8,000..If that was for a month's service she was overpaid…IMO
At this point I think Dr. Murray has to take the stand…His children, NO…
October 1st, 2011 at 2:27 am
I'm now confused again. Didn't one of the bodyguards say he saw the catheter and iv in M.Jackson's leg? Didn't one of them say he and the 'Dr' placed M. Jackson on the floor? So what happened in those 5 minutes waiting for the paramedics? Who dressed him in pajamas and put him back on the bed?
I'm sorry, but the Dr. would know how to press 911 on a phone. why on earth would he have to ask for someone else's help to 'get help', but not be specific about what type of help he would need? Then he doesn't tell the truth? It also seems one of those bodyguards wasn't exactly truthful either.
Yes, Art. Very Interesting stuff!
October 1st, 2011 at 9:52 am
One of those security guys sure has a lot of esplainin' to do & the defense will make sure of that! My head is still trying to figure out how many times Michael was moved on to the floor before those EMTS got there. Somebody is either not telling the truth or somebody moved the body twice before the EMTS did it a 3rd & 4th time.
Next question I want to hear clarification on is who was paying this Dr. 3 months prior to reaching an agreement with AEG? An agreement I might add was never consummated via signatures of either Michael or the Dr. Surely he wasn't buying all that Propofol on his own, being so cash strapped he couldn;t afford to pay his child support.
October 1st, 2011 at 6:55 pm
I can almost guess the person who might have been paying the Dr. was the same person who was paying for security, cook & nanny-you know, his 'financil guru'. That person would be part of Michael's inner circle whom he had fired just prior to dying. I just want to hear the words from court testimony.
This Dr. was in arrears with everything from equipment in his Vegas office, to his child support. He almost lost his mini mansion, but lo & behold, he rises like cream, doesn't lose his home, gets out of the baby jam and hires on a top notch attorney from Houston. Only in Hollywood.
October 2nd, 2011 at 12:27 am
Please share specific names if you’d like…and any info you have that he got paid…We know he didn’t sign the contract and presumably has not gotten a penny for the excellent medical care he rendered…you think he had the nerve to submit an invoice? Art approve
October 2nd, 2011 at 12:56 am
Oh My, we are cheeky, aren't we-lol! Excellent medical care my left breast! For now, I'll just say I'll email you my opinion. No, no invoice I don't think, just cold hard cash changed hands.
October 2nd, 2011 at 3:40 pm
Sounds like a plan for below the radar medicine. Art approve
October 3rd, 2011 at 1:52 am
Well of course! A Dr. stockpiles all this stuff begining in April when he wasn't officially hired and the 'secret packages' kept going to his girlfriend's apartment which he lied and said was a clinic. Did you ever get a load of the cheesy pharmacy this stuff was ordered from? He did use his Master Card at least 1 time that I remember. The pharmacist who they want in to testify moved very quickly to Thailand supossedly. No chance of extradition. How did this Dr. think he was going to get past customs with this cache? Celebrity or not, Everybody gets checked and Dr's butt would be sucking buttermilk.
What do you think of the recording the Dr. made on his I(phone? Sounds like Michael slowly going under and it also sounds like the tempo could have been slowed down-I understand Iphones have a button you can slow down recordings. . Dr./Patient confidentiality went out the window on that!
October 1st, 2011 at 7:24 pm
The irony is rich when you seperate what Mrs. Jackson's stripend is for the month, compared to what the Dr. was going to get paid. Realize the plan was for the Dr. to be paid for an entire month, each and every month although Michael Jackson would be doing only a handful of rehearsals and 10 concerts a month. The Dr. also wanted free housing while in the UK.
If all this had happened and if Michael Jackson did go to the UK, I'd like to know how this Dr. thought he was going to get past customs with all that big p stuff? He would have been stopped and all sorts of media hell would have broke loose! Got a feeling Michael or his handlers never intended to take him along.
October 3rd, 2011 at 7:49 pm
Goodness! Todays testimony was pretty riveting, especially from the Cardiologist. from UCLA. She made Murray look like a junkman. What's was even more surprising was the testimony of one of Dr. C's 'Volunteers' from his Las Vegas office! No history of any type of medical knowledge, but she ran tests on patients As A Volunteer! I know full well what goes on in Vegas, stays in Vegas, but come on! We are talking about patients with Heart Problems for the most part. She's running ECG machines and doing all kinds of things, looking at patient charts 'for free' and with no training? I'd love to have asked her if She knew how to do CPR and if this Dr. taught her! And then, this Dr. tells Everybody he's going to go work for Michael-Isn't that breaking a patient/Dr. code of some kind? The funniest part came when one lady was reported to have been the Dr's girlfriend from Houston-But now she is a patient-ok. The girlfriend from Santa Monica-at least I think it's the one from Santa Monica-She looked so different from what she looked like 2 years ago. Talk about dressing down! Well, I hear tell she is an actress and for about 3 minutes, she was. jmo.
October 3rd, 2011 at 10:33 pm
Art, this trial is getting boring…IMO Both sides just seem to want to get it over with. The Defense and Prosecution seem to be one in the same at times…I am getting confused…It certainly isn't anything like the Anthony trial…At least the Attorneys were colorful in that trial…I was shocked to hear the girls in Murray's office had no experience in the medical field…sorta like a "learn as you go'' type office..Murray's lover, Bridgit had very little to say. She was protecting Murray..She admitted talking to him at 11:26 the day of MJ's death..To me that is a critical time, yet she wasn't pressured to tell what was said in the conversation..She was asked. and answered, "nothing in particular" or something similar..The subject was dropped..
Are there any "bombshell" witness coming up? They need someone to excite the place..lol
October 6th, 2011 at 10:27 pm
I absolutely adore the gray haired defense attorney..His folksy demeanor is appealing, plus he is very skillful as a Defense Attorney…IMO He had the Toxicologist scratching his head at times…I this he was surprised the Attorney knew so much about his (Toxicology) field…
I am starting to think hung jury, or not guility….Of course we have three more weeks, approximately, if the trial will end on Oct 28, as projected… A lot could happen between now and then…
October 12th, 2011 at 11:39 pm
The Defense is changing its' theory that MJ gave himself Propofol…Will they now say MJ injested the pills from the table next to his bed while Murray was out of the room.. I think it's possible.. It was obvious to me today the nice looking gray haired Cardiologist was being paid by the State..Sorry I can't remember names…His testimony was overkill for the Prosecution…Most of the time a yes or no answer would have sufficed.. Tomorrow the Defense will do their cross. It will be interesting…
Art, do you know who the last witness will be before the State closes? Has an Anthesiologist testified? The trial is moving along faster than I thought.. We may see a verdict by the end of September or early October.. IMO