GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – The celebrity trial of the year appears to be that of Michael Jackson’s doctor, Conrad Murray, for involuntary manslaughter. The jury said at 11:00 Los Angeles times Monday that it had reached a verdict. GUILTY, they said, one by one.
The Los Angeles Times reported that “Dr Conrad Murray faces up to four years in prison if convicted of involuntary manslaughter for Jackson’s death in 2009 from an overdose of the powerful anesthetic propofol. The seven-man, five-woman jury deliberated about six hours Friday and about two hours Monday. The panel did not ask any questions or request that any trial testimony be read back.”
The trial has been marked by testimony from both sides about Murray’s role in administering the drug, whether or not Jackson could have administered the lethal dose himself, and ultimately, about Jackson’s state of physical and mental health.
Murray chose not to testify in his own defense, which is common in the US, but made his decision known only 2 November, as the trial drew to a close.
The “foreperson” announced the news at 22:16 Swiss time: there was an error in the date of the “alleged incident” the judge announced before the verdict could be given. And then, one by one, the jurors said they found Murray guilty. The crowd gathered outside the Los Angeles County Courthouse cheered its approval.
Sentencing will be i29 November. Murray was remanded in custody, with bail refused.
Michael Jackson died 25 June 2009 of acute propofol poisoning and cardiac arrest.
LOS ANGELES – Dying has proven to be good business for Michael Jackson’s state which has generated over $300 million dollars since the singer’s death, says a report published by the Associated Press in Los Angeles, US.
“Michael Jackson’s estate has generated more than $310 million in the two years since the pop singer died deeply in debt, enabling executors to distribute a preliminary payment of $30 million to Jackson’s mother and children, and to unnamed charities,” says the article.
It seems Jackson’s mother, Katherine, also wants the executors of the state to negotiate the purchase of a new residence for her and Jackson’s children, Paris, Prince and Michael Joseph Jr.
Executors have also reduced debt obligations by more than $90 million and refinanced loans at lower interest rates.
Links to: Yahoo News.
Singer Michael Jackson’s doctor, who treated him the night he died, was arrested earlier in the week for involuntary manslaughter, and the Los Angeles county coroner in the US has released the official autopsy results. They show that the singer died from acute propofol intoxication. Propofol is the drug administered by Dr. Conrad Murray. The involuntary manslaughter charge states that Murray acted “without malice” but also “without due caution and circumspection.” The report noted that “the levels of propofol found on toxicology exam are similar to those found during general anesthesia for major surgery,” but none of the usual pre-surgery precautions appear to have been in place, including having an anesthesiologist at hand.
Murray has pleaded not guilty and the Los Angeles Times suggests that it is his police statement, made in the hours after Jackson’s death, that will make or break the homicide case.
Links to other sites: CNN, Los Angeles Times
The Grammy music awards in Los Angeles Sunday night 31 January were largely about women: Beyoncé and Taylor Swift took the top awards, with Beyoncé winning six awards, the most-ever for a female singer, and Swift winning the top award, Album of the Year. Beyoncé took Song of the Year and Best R&B Song for “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” as well as Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for “Halo”. The 20-year-old Swift became the youngest musician to win the Album of the Year award, for “Fearless”.
Links to other sites: CBC Canada, Grammy Awards, Rolling Stone, RTE Ireland
Paris and Prince Jackson accept Lifetime Achievement Award for their father, Michael Jackson
Entertainer Michael Jackson died from an overdose of the powerful sedative propofol, the Los Angeles coroner has said in a preliminary ruling, based on toxicity analyses of the singer’s blood. The drug, which requires close supervision and is used primarily in operating rooms, was administered by his doctor, Conrad Murray, who had been treating him for insomnia for six weeks. News agency AP reports that the coroner’s office is calling it a homicide, but CNN says the coroner’s office would not confirm this. CNN, BBC, Los Angeles Times
A powerful hospital sedative may have been given to Michael Jackson only hours before his death: according to a law enforcement official who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity, authorities suspect that Propofol, a drug mostly used in hospital settings, could have caused the death of the American music star. CBS News, New York Times
The Michael Jackson memorial festivities in Los Angeles Tuesday 7 July cost the city $1.4 million in crowd control, extra police officers, cleanup costs, and sanitation, CNN reports. The additional costs reopened a debate on whether and how much the city should pay for private events. Some say that the taxpayer should not foot the bill, especially in times of economic crisis, while others maintain that the city will reap benefits, possibly up to $4 million in tourist revenue, from the week-long attention the event provided. The city has debts of $530 million. The mayor’s office set up a special web site for donations from the public. It collected $17,000 before heavy web traffic caused the servers to crash. LA Times
Michael Jackson’s fans have flocked to Los Angeles for the performer’s memorial service concert Tuesday 7 July, possibly bringing the city $4 million in tourism money. Mariah Carey, Lionel Ritchie and Stevie Wonder are performing. Signs are that the family will bury him at the celebrity-studded Forrest Hills cemetery in Los Angeles. Meanwhile, a California judge has refused Jackson’s mother’s plea to remove his lawyer and music manager as executors, even on an interim basis, of his estate. The Washington Post and other media from Ireland to Canada to China are calling the events a media circus, in the broadest sense. BBC, CNN, Los Angeles Times, New York Times
Update 3 July 06:15 Debbie Rowe, mother to performer Michael Jackson’s two oldest children, implied in a 90-minute interview with US television network NBC that she intends to fight for custody of the children but her lawyer later softened that, after media reports, saying that she is undecided. BBC
American musician and superstar Michael Jackson has died, age 50, of an apparent cardiac arrest, in Los Angeles. Los Angeles Times, CNN, Rolling Stone
