Michael Jackson doctor found guilty of manslaughter

Los Angeles

Michael Jackson's doctor Conrad Murray was hauled off to jail in handcuffs last night as he was found guilty of killing the star.

Grim-faced Murray (58), sat unblinking as the jury of seven men and five women returned a unanimous verdict on a charge of involuntary manslaughter.

They decided after nine hours of deliberations and a six-week trial that he killed Jacko (50), with a massive dose of hospital anaesthetic propofol. The Jackson family were jubilant. Inside the Los Angeles courtroom the star's sister La Toya let out a yelp of "Yes!" as the verdict was read at 9.17pm. Outside, hundreds of banner-waving Jacko fans cheered and whooped in delight.

Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor refused bail and remanded Murray in custody for sentencing in three weeks. He faces up to four years.

The judge told him: "The public should be protected. This is a crime that ended in the death of a human being." The killer doctor, in smart grey pinstripe suit, was immediately surrounded by three uniformed officers who pulled his arms behind his back and cuffed him. His lawyer Ed Chernoff looked tearful as the verdict sunk in.

The Jackson family - dad Joe, mum Katherine, and siblings Randy, Jermaine, Rebbie and La Toya - were in court. Jermaine said: "Justice was served. Michael is with us."
La Toya (55), said she was "overjoyed", and added: "Thank you America. Thank all the fans. Thank you the prosecuting team. Michael loves everybody and we love him. He was in that courtroom and that's why victory was served."

It was believed Jacko's children Prince (14), Paris (13), and Blanket (9), were told not to watch the verdict on TV at home so their grandmother could break the news to them in person later. The court had heard how Murray administered the dangerous sedative in the singer's bedroom on June 25, 2009, before abandoning him. The doctor claimed Jacko injected the drug himself. As Murray was led out of the court he looked at his mother, who whispered: "I love you".

Guilty doctor Conrad Murray took £96 000 a month to care for Michael Jackson - but ended up killing him. He shamefully claimed the troubled "Thriller" star caused his own death by overdosing on a powerful anaesthetic.

But a jury saw through his lies - and decided Murray pumped the King of Pop with such a massive amount of propofol he was certain to die.

The 58-year-old physician - convicted last night of involuntary manslaughter - was so distracted by his tangled love life that he disgracefully neglected his duty of care to his world-famous patient.
On the morning of the tragedy, Murray gave 50-year-old Jacko a 100ml dose of propofol. That amount is only used in hospital to knock out patients before major surgery - and was FOUR TIMES the dose that Murray admitted administering. The lusting medic then left the singer alone to speak to THREE lovers.

Jurors at Murray's Los Angeles trial were told he spent 45 minutes on the phone to cocktail waitress Sade Anding (25), before he realised Jacko was in trouble and raised the alarm.

He had texted Spearmint Rhino stripper Michelle Bella earlier that morning - and took a call from another mistress, Bridgette Morgan, at around the same time. The playboy physician was living with Nicole Alvarez (29), mother of his young son, at the time.
Murray made three other calls as the lethal dose coursed through Jackson's body. He even messaged insurers to insist the star's health was fine. Prosecutor David Walgren told the court: "He left this vulnerable man, abandoned him, to fend for himself. It violates not only standards of care, but decency from one human being to another".

Murray, who had been treating Jackson for six weeks, was still on the phone to Sade when he found the singer slumped on his bed at his Holmby Hills home at 11.56am on June 25, 2009. As Jacko's children Prince and Paris looked on in horror, Murray yelled: "Does anyone know CPR?"

After cardiac resuscitation failed, the doctor rang the star's PA Michael Amir Williams at 12.12pm. Murray told him: "Get here right away - Mr Jackson had a bad reaction."

Astonishingly, Murray waited until 12.20pm - 24 minutes after he first found Jackson's body - before asking security guard Alberto Alvarez to call the 911 emergency number.
Paramedics arrived in six minutes but Jacko was already dead. Murray failed to tell the emergency crew he had given the star propofol. He also insisted he had only left Jackson "a minute".

Jacko was taken to the UCLA medical centre where he was officially declared dead at 2.26pm. LA Deputy District Attorney Mr Walgren revealed Jacko's body was full of drugs, including relaxant valium and the sedatives lorazepam and midazolam.

An autopsy revealed traces of propofol in his heart, liver, stomach and even his EYEBALLS. Murray had ordered an extraordinary 155 000mg of the drug - just over four gallons - between April and June 2009.

The court heard a slurring Jacko on a recording found on Murray's iPhone. It was disturbing evidence of the singer's drug-addled state.

Good pal Kenny Ortega - co-director of Jacko's planned This Is It tour - testified to the star's "rambling and obsessing" manner in the days before he died. Bodyguard Alvarez's tearful evidence also painted a picture of Murray's blind panic in the moments after Jacko's death.

He described how he saw the doctor rip an intravenous tube from Jackson's leg and take a vial filled with a "milky white substance" from the bedroom. Prosecutors said Murray was trying to remove propofol from the scene. - The Sun.