Michael Jackson's salvation turns into death potion

Los Angeles: The reason for the death of Michael Jackson is at the centre of the manslaughter trial this week, with Jackson’s doctor hired for the “This is it” tour, being questioned on how Jackson overdosed on a drug intended for hospital use.

Michael Jackson was physically exhausted from a day of gruelling rehearsals for his marathon 50-night comeback tour. But his nightly battle with insomnia had just begun. After showering and getting into bed, he called for his “milk,” a powerful drug he had been using to escape into unconsciousness.

Jackson saw the anaesthetic known as propofol as his salvation. On 25 June, 2009, it became the King of Pop’s death potion.

Testimony about the drug is expected to dominate the trial of Dr Conrad Murray, a Houston cardiologist who has pleaded not guilty to a charge of involuntary manslaughter in Los Angeles Superior Court.

The prosecution claims Murray was grossly negligent in giving Jackson propofol at home without proper lifesaving equipment available and then left the room long enough to find his patient not breathing when he returned.

His defence team claims the singer, desperate for sleep, swallowed an additional dose of the drug when his doctor was out of the room.

Getting to the truth of it will come down to sometimes technical testimony from an array of medical experts, pathologists and even the police officers and paramedics who inspected Murray’s equipment in the bedroom where Jackson went into cardiac arrest.

AP