The Los Angeles Coroner’s office has declared Michael Jackson’s death a homicide, and many believe that the singer’s personal physician Dr. Conrad Murray will be charged with manslaughter in the case.
The Telegraph reports that the doctor may be able to turn himself in voluntarily instead of being arrested. In California, those convicted of manslaughter can face a maximum of four years in prison.
Interestingly, there was not enough evidence for prosecutors to bring charges of second degree murder against Dr. Murray.
Although the doctor admitted to administering the strong sedative propofol to Jackson via an IV, he claims that the amount – 25 milligrams – should not have killed the singer. To convict Dr. Murray of involuntary manslaughter, prosecutors must show that he acted recklessly to create a high death risk for Jackson.
The doctor must also answer to the fact that he failed to inform UCLA paramedics and doctors that the singer had been giving propofol.
According to the coroner’s office, the lethal dose that killed Jackson was a cocktail of propofol and two other sedatives, lorazepam and midazolam. The director of the San Diego branch of the California Poison Control, Lee Cantrell, reports that 25 milligrams of propofol is indeed not much, but could have proven deadly when combined with the other drugs.
“This is horrible polypharmacy,” Cantrell tells the Telegraph. “No one will treat an insomniac like this.”
Dr. Murray has stated that he had been trying to wean Jackson away from using propofol. The doctor had been administering 50 milligrams of the drug to Jackson each night for six weeks, in order to treat the singer’s insomnia.
Two days before Jackson’s death, the doctor began administering 25 milligrams of propofol along with the lorasepam and midazolam – and the combination succeeded in putting Jackson to sleep. The following day, Dr. Murray did not administer propofol, as the other two sedatives were successful alone.
However, the doctor administered propofol to Jackson again on June 25, after giving in to the singer’s adamant demands for the drug.



















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