Conrad Murray Trial: Michael Jackson Died 'Before He Could Even Close His Eyes'
Opening statements of Dr. Conrad Murray’s involuntary manslaughter trial have been released.
Murray’s defense lawyer, Ed Chernoff, argued his client’s innocence, saying Murray is not to blame for the drugs Jackson administered himself, and led to his death.
Chernoff said during the trial that Jackson was killed so quickly that he “didn’t even have time to close his eyes.”
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Formerly Michael Jackson’s personal physician and licensed cardiologist, Murray is under investigation for the death of the pop icon in 2009.
Members of the jury were shown a picture of Jackson on a gurney by Deputy District Attorney David Walgren, according to AMC News. Walgren said he would describe every moment of the singer’s final hours of life.
“What you will learn through the evidence is that what happened during that time frame is that the acts and omissions of Michael Jackson’s personal doctor, Conrad Murray, directly led to his premature death at the age of 50,” said Walgren.
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 he stopped breathing.
Murray told police that he applied CPR immediately, and in a suspicious act, administered another drug- flumazenil, in order try counteracting the tranquilizers.
The jury will likely take several months to decide a verdict in the trial. 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.
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 $150k per month.
During the trial, the prosecutor also revealed a recording of Jackson speaking while heavily medicated. His speech is barely comprehensible, and the recording is being used to prove to jurors that Murray irresponsibly treated his patient.
