Michael Jackson's doctor faces manslaughter charges

Published on Wednesday 3 February 2010 00:15

PROSECUTORS in Los Angeles last night confirmed they are to pursue manslaughter charges against Michael Jackson's personal physician.

Lawyers said Dr Conrad Murray now faced a court appearance in connection with the singer's death.

Jackson died on 25 June last year from an anesthetic overdose, but Dr Murray maintains he did not administer any medication capable of killing the star.

The district attorney's office has been working closely with Los Angeles Police Department investigators for weeks to build a case against Dr Murray. Jackson, 50, hired him to be his personal physician as he prepared for a strenuous series of comeback performances in London.

Jackson died in Los Angeles after Dr Murray administered the powerful general anesthetic propofol and two other sedatives to get the chronic insomniac to sleep, according to the coroner's office, which ruled the death a homicide.

Dr Murray has denied any criminal wrongdoing.

Initially, the case will be heard in private as a prelude to a public hearing, when a judge would make a decision on further procedings. At that point the judge would have to consider testimonies from witnesses and then decide whether their evidence justified a trial on an involuntary manslaughter charge.

Last night a spokeswoman for the doctor said he arrived in Los Angeles last weekend in anticipation of a charging decision from the district attorney's office. "Dr Murray is in Los Angeles for a dual purpose – on family business and to be available for law enforcement," said the spokeswoman, Miranda Sevcik. "We're trying to be as co-operative as we can."

There is no official word about exactly when an announcement about any charges might be made. David Walgren, the prosecutor handling the case, declined to comment last night.

"We continue to maintain that Dr Murray neither prescribed nor administered anything that should have killed Michael Jackson," Ms Sevcik said.

News that the singer's doctor is to be charged comes in a week when Michael Jackson was honoured by the music inductry at the Grammy Awards.

The star's children, Prince and Paris, addressed the ceremony in Los Angeles on Sunday night, when they accepted a posthumous lifetime achievement award on behalf of their father.

Wearing black suits and red armbands, Prince Michael (12) and Paris (11) thanked God "for watching over us these past seven months" and promised to maintain their father's legacy.

"Through all his songs, his message was simple – love. We will continue to spread his message and help the world," Prince Michael said.

The show included a 3D tribute to Jackson featuring a video clip he made of Earth Song. It began with footage of waterfalls and rainforests with Jackson heard declaring, "I respect the secrets and magic of nature".