Conrad’s six-week trial filled in many details about Jackson’s final hours, including the ill-advised use of operating room anesthetic propofol to treat the singer’s chronic insomnia.

“Dr. Murray created a set of circumstances and became involved in a cycle of horrible medicine,” the judge said. “The practice of propofol for medicine madness, which violated his sworn obligation, for money, fame, prestige and whatever else may have occurred.”

The cardiologist also has been criticized for not having emergency equipment on hand or keeping records of his treatment of the recording artist.

Although Dr. Murray declined to testify during his trial, the IBTimes points out that he did participate in a reality program which was centered around the Pop King’s death.

In “Michael Jackson and the Doctor,” shown after the guilty verdict, Conrad revealed he did not consider himself guilty of any crime. Instead, he blamed Jackson for entrapping him, claiming he pressured the doctor to supply him with propofol doses.

Murray’s sentence, the maximum allowed, comes just three weeks after he was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the pop star’s 2009 death.

According to CBS News, Conrad Murray might only have to serve half of the four years because of overcrowding in California jails.

Watch Conrad Murray’s sentencing being handed down in the video below:

via MSNBC.com

Conrad Murray Sentencing: Doctor Gets Four Years for Michael Jackson Death is a post from: The Inquisitr

The Dr. Conrad Murray trial is coming to a close. The jury is now considering the fate of Dr. Conrad Murray who is being charged with the involuntary manslaughter of Michael Jackson.

CNN reports that the jury, consisting of seven men and five women, heard from 49 witnesses over 23 days. The jury listened to testimony from Murray’s girlfriends, patients, medical experts, and some of Michael Jackson’s former employees.

Prosecutors said that there was “overwhelming” evidence that Dr. Conrad Murray had caused Michael Jackson’s death in 2009. The defense argued that if the man in question wasn’t Michael Jackson, there wouldn’t have even been a trial for Dr. Conrad Murray.

Defense lawyer Ed Chernoff said in his closing statements that this was a negligence case, not criminal, and that Dr. Conrad Murray should be standing in front of the state medical board not a jury.

Chernoff said:

“If it were anybody else but Michael Jackson, would this doctor be here today?”

It was determined earlier by the LA County’s coroner that Jackson died of  ”acute propofol intoxication” in combination with two sedatives.

The Wrap reports that the question before the jury is: Did Michael Jackson’s overdose occur from a steady IV drip put in place by Dr. Conrad Murray, or did Jackson inject the surgical anesthetic propofol by himself?

Prosecutor David Walgren asked the jury to have sympathy for Jackson’s children while considering the case of Conrad Murray.

Walgren said:

“Conrad Murray left Prince, Paris and Blanket without a father. For them, this case doesn’t end today, or tomorrow. For Michael’s children, this case will go on forever, because they do not have a father, they do not have a father because of the actions of Conrad Murray.”

Do you think Dr. Conrad Murray will be found guilty?

Dr. Conrad Murray Trial: The Fate of Michael Jackson’s Doctor Now in the Hands of the Jury is a post from: The Inquisitr

“The attorneys for the parties in this case … are ordered not to comment to anyone outside of their respective teams either directly or indirectly regarding any aspects of this case, whether orally or in writing,” Pastor said.

Judge Pastor’s order came at midday on Friday, the fourth day of the widely-watched trial in which prosecutors are trying to prove that Murray, former doctor of the late Michael Jackson, is responsible for the drug overdose that led to the pop icon’s death on June 25, 2009.

“I sat there with my mouth open,” Judge Pastor explained, when recalling the “Today Show” appearance by Matthew Alford, a law partner of the lead defense attorney.

On the show, Alford directly addressed the case, saying his team would keep Murray off the witness stand as long as possible, and that Jackson was addicted to propofol.

Pastor said that Alford’s actions were “shocking,” in light of his continual exhortations not to try Dr. Conrad Murray’s case in the media.

While lead lawyer, Ed Chernoff, argued that even though Alford was part of his law firm, he was not directly a member of Murray’s defense team and therefore, as a private citizen, should be allowed to speak freely, Judge Pastor disagreed, noting that Alford was repeatedly identified as a member of the defense team on the broadcast.

Conrad Murray is on trial for involuntary manslaughter; the trial is expected to last about five weeks. If he is convicted, he could spend four years in a California prison and lose his medical license.

To hear Alford’s full Today Show comments regarding the high-profile case, skip to the 4:20 mark in the video below:
via Hollywood Reporter

Conrad Murray Case: Judge Rips Attorney for ‘Today Show’ Interview is a post from: The Inquisitr

Michael Jackson’s death certificate, issued July 7, 2009, states that he was 50 years old, divorced, a black male, and that his profession was a musician. His mother is listed as Katherine Esther Scruse and father as Joseph Walter Jackson. Michael Jackson was pronounced dead at Ronald Regan UCLA Medical Center.

Official cause of death has been listed as ‘deferred’ until toxicology reports from the autopsy are ready sometime in the next few weeks.

Michael Jackson’s Death Certificate (PHOTO)

A scaled down version of Michael Jackson’s death certificate is below. A larger version is available at this link, courtesy of Extra TV.

Michael Jackson’s Death Certificate Surfaces Online (PHOTO) is a post from: The Inquisitr

CNN is reporting that Michael Jackson’s funeral will be on Tuesday July 7 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

There has been a lot of speculation and rumors flying about when ahd where the the late Michael Jackson’s funeral and memorial service will be held, but CNN has confirmed that it will be next week on Tuesday, July 7 at the Staples Center in L.A. There were reports that there would be a memorial service and possible public viewing of the star at his Neverland ranch, but those were denied by his family and reps.

Other reports suggested that Jackson could be laid to rest on the Neverland property but due to complicated land use bylaws in the area, there would not have been enough time to cut through the red tape.

Michael Jackson’s Funeral takes place Tuesday July 7 at Staples Center in L.A. is a post from: The Inquisitr

Katherine Jackson, Michael Jackson’s mother was just awarded temporary guardianship of his three children.

In an Encino California courtroom this morning, Katherine Jackson filed for legal guardianship of her deceased son’s three children and was granted temporary custody until July 6, when the judge will decide on a more permanent situation for the kids.

Prince Michael Jr., 12, Paris Michael Katherine, 11, and Prince Michael II (Blanket), 7, are currently living with their grandmother who was awarded temporary custody because she has shared a “long established relationship” with them, the court filing says.

No doubt those children will be caught in the middle of an epic battle sooner than later and any judge would be remiss if they weren’t granted a permanent home based on love and stability. We’ll see how this custody battle plays out over the next few weeks.

Katherine Jackson Awarded Temporary Guardianship of Michael Jackson’s 3 Kids is a post from: The Inquisitr

Police are now searching for Michael Jackson’s personal physician who gave him a shot of the powerful painkiller, Demerol, before he died.

Police in L.A. are putting the word out via the media that they want to interview the doctor who gave Michael Jackson a shot of Demerol before he died. Jackson’s family has adamantly insisted since his death that the star was taking too much of the painkiller, given to him by his personal physician. Last night after Jackson’s death, police towed away a BMW belonging to the doctor as part of their investigation, and now the doctor cannot be located.

Speculation now is that Jackson may have overdosed on the drug, and a physician should have known when to stop. Now that the doctor cannot be found, it is possible that the doc may be partially responsible for his death.

I’m willing to bet the doctor will turn up with an attorney real soon.

[Source: TMZ]

Cops Search for Doctor who Injected Michael Jackson with Demerol is a post from: The Inquisitr

As news broke of Michael Jackson’s heart attack and subsequent death yesterday, thousands of sites buckled under the load of millions of people coming online to search for the latest news.

The world’s number one search engine, Google.com, was so inundated with searches for the star’s name that it started serving error messages on some searches. Google news took automated preventative measures under the weight of the traffic and started forcing visitors to enter a captcha to view news.

Twitter.com traffic doubled almost instantly, the amount of tweets per second doubled, and peaked at a point higher than during the U.S. presidential election. Sites in Australia saw increases in traffic up to 2000% and celebrity mega-blog, TMZ.com which broke the Michael Jackson death news went offline after being crushed by the load of people trying to access the site. The Daily Mail, one of the biggest tabloid sites in the U.K., doubled their traffic after reporting the news.

And the Inquisitr, the site you’re reading now, being one of the first to report on Michael Jackson’s death after the news broke, experienced traffic spikes that caused intermittent outages and database errors.

It wasn’t just the traffic spikes and outages that were prevalent: Within hours of his death, Michael Jackson’s 1982 album, Thriller, became the number one item on iTunes and Amazon.com saw several of his works hit the top most purchased items on it’s site.

Will there ever be another performer more popular online?

Michael Jackson Death News Causes Widespread Internet Chaos is a post from: The Inquisitr

Michael Jackson’s sudden an unexpected death may have been caused by an overdoes of Demerol according to new reports.

Demerol is the brand name for a form of Pethedine, an opioid analgesic drug that is used for the treatment of moderate to severe pain. The drug is often compared to morphine, and is supposed to be safer and carry less risk of addiction, and is claimed to be superior in treating certain types of pain. Demerol though has come under scrutiny in recent years, with Australia putting severe limits on its use.

According to unconfirmed reports, Jackson aides told medics he had collapsed after a Demerol injection. “Shortly after taking the Demerol he started to experience slow shallow breathing” an aide allegedly told the media. “His breathing gradually got slower and slower until it stopped.”

From the time he was discovered, Michael Jackson never regained consciousness. Official details as to the cause of death should be available early next week.

Michael Jackson may have died from Demerol overdose is a post from: The Inquisitr