Conrad Murray Trial for Michael Jackson Manslaughter: Key Facts
The involuntary manslaughter trial against Conrad Murray has officially begun.
Formerly Michael Jackson’s personal physician and licensed cardiologist, Murray is under investigation for the death of the pop icon in 2009.
In the high-profile trial, the prosecution is trying to convince the jury that it was Dr. Murray’s “gross negligence” in treating Jackson with numerous drugs that killed the superstar.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Murray’s Background
Born February 19, 1953 in St. Andrews, Grenada, Murray was raised mainly by his maternal grandparents while his mother searched for work in Trinidad and Tobago. Murray did not meet his father, Rawle Andrews, a doctor in the Houston area, until he was 25.
In 1989, Murray received his Ph. D. from Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee. He then completed his residency at Loma Linda University in 1992, the same year he filed for bankruptcy.
Meeting Jackson
Murray was contacted to treat one of Jackson’s children for an unknown medical situation in 2006. The two became friends, and the singer offered Murray a full time position to be his personal physician while on tour in 2009, for a reported $150,000 per month.
The arrangement was speculated to be the result of Jackson’s dependence on drugs and inability to sleep. Following Jackson’s death, police investigators found over 20 different prescriptions inside his rented Holmby Hills home, including methadone, fentanyl, Percocet, dalaudid, and vicodin.
The Trial
On June 25, Murray administered the usual intravenous drip dosage of propofol to help Jackson sleep, along with lorazepam, an anti-anxiety medicine, and midazolam, a muscle relaxer. Shortly after, Murray detected a weak heartbeat from the singer and no breathing.
Murray told police that he had applied CPR immediately, and in a suspicious act, administered another drug- flumazenil, in order try counteracting the tranquilizers.
Some accounts speculate that Jackson had a full blown addiction to the nightly dose of propofol, and accuse Murray of being negligent.
Jackson was pronounced dead officially at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center the same day.
Conrad Murray’s trial began September 8 and the jury will likely take several months to decide a verdict. The physician pleads not guilty, and if convicted, he faces a maximum of four years in prison and will likely never be able to practice medicine again.
