It has begun! Will update when new facts come to light
intro from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-15058723
More than two years after Michael Jackson's sudden death, the singer's personal physician is to stand trial on Tuesday. Dr Conrad Murray, 58, has pleaded not guilty to a charge of involuntary manslaughter. If convicted, the maximum sentence is four years in prison.
It was a hot midsummer day in Los Angeles on 25 June, 2009. Hollywood was mourning the loss of the actress Farrah Fawcett, as fans and celebrities paid tribute to the TV star, who had died from cancer, aged 62.
But that day will be remembered for another, altogether unexpected death and for the extraordinary outpouring of grief it provoked.
Pop star Michael Jackson, a month shy of his 51st birthday, was rushed to hospital and pronounced dead, his brother Jermaine confirming the news to stunned fans in a hastily-arranged press conference.
Jackson had recently stepped back into the limelight. He was rehearsing at the Staples Centre arena in Los Angeles for This Is It, his hugely anticipated concert series, which was due to start at the O2 in London on 13 July.
The night before his death, he worked until after midnight. The next day, shortly after noon, he was discovered unconscious in his bedroom by his physician Dr Conrad Murray.
What happened in the time between those two events remains a mystery.
The singer's death, according to the Los Angeles County Coroner, was a homicide caused by "acute Propofol intoxication." Propofol is a sedative that is normally used in hospitals to induce or maintain anaesthesia during surgical procedures.Wh
But it will be up to a jury to decide whether the actions of Dr Murray, during the frantic efforts to revive the singer and in the hours before, caused his death.
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Update 1
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/enabler-or-scapegoat-jacksons-doctor-in-the-dock-as-trial-finally-starts-2361930.html
The charge, when it was read out, contained one word every defendant dreads: homicide. The plea: not guilty. Conrad Murray, the private doctor who was caring for Michael Jackson at the time of his death, entered the dock at Los Angeles Superior Court yesterday, where he was accused of involuntary manslaughter in relation to his client's fatal cardiac arrest.
The opening of the trial came more than two years after the 50-year-old singer lapsed into unconsciousness in the bedroom of a rented mansion, several miles from the courthouse, where he had been staying during rehearsals for a series of comeback concerts.
Both the prosecution and Dr Murray's defence team laid out the broad details of their case to the jury yesterday, offering wildly differing interpretations of the string of events that led to Jackson's sudden death, on the morning of 25 June, 2009.
They agree that the singer had taken a cocktail of sedatives, painkillers, and other prescription drugs to help him combat insomnia. And they also appear to accept the conclusion of coroners: that he was killed by an overdose of Propofol, a powerful anaesthetic known as "milk of amnesia".
Where the two sides differ, and the all-important question on which the case will eventually turn, is on how and why the drugs found their way into Jackson's system.
Prosecutors will paint Dr Murray as an "enabler" who accepted an inflated salary of $150,000 (£96,000) a month to feed his client's addiction to prescription drugs. They will claim that he injected Jackson with Propofol to help him sleep, and then failed to either monitor him or subsequently administer competent first aid.
The prosecution further alleges that Dr Murray, who was divorced and suffered from financial problems, spent many of the crucial minutes while his client's condition was deteriorating on the telephone to girlfriends. When he realised the seriousness of Jackson's condition, his initial reaction was attempt to hide evidence of the drugs he'd been given.
The defence, for its part, claims Dr Murray is being made a scapegoat for the personal failings of Jackson. They will argue that the singer was addicted to painkillers, did not share details of many of the drugs he was already consuming, and gave himself the fatal dose of Propofol, probably by swallowing it.
"We think that Michael Jackson was involved in several acts which ended his own life," said defence lawyer, Ed Chernoff, in eve-of-trial discussions. He claimed his client had been blindsided by a client who was "desperate" to get his hand on narcotics.
Dr Murray faces a maximum sentence of four years in prison along with the loss of his medical licence, if found guilty by the jury, which was selected last week. It contains several men and five women, from a racially-diverse background, who have filled in a 32-page questionnaire about their attitudes to both Jackson and issues regarding medical ethics.
The trial is expected to last between four and six weeks. In a curious move, given the acute public interest in the case (and the controversial history of televised trials) the Judge, Michael Pastor, has allowed cameras into his court.
A large media circus has already descended on the venue, in central Los Angeles. More than 50 satellite trucks were parked outside yesterday morning, along with scores of placard-wielding fans.
The witnesses
Kenny Ortega
As the first prosecution witness, famed choreographer Kenny Ortega will tell how Dr Murray assured him that Jackson was fit and healthy – despite the fact that he was giving the singer nightly doses of several drugs, including the anaesthetic Propofol.
Alberto Alvarez
Mr Alvarez was the first security guard to reach Jackson's room after he lapsed into unconsciousness. He says Dr Murray instructed him to remove IV bags and other drug paraphernalia from the scene before emergency services arrived. A colleague, Faheem Muhammad, who arrived shortly afterwards, will testify that, despite his alleged medical credentials, Dr Murray did not seem to know how to administer basic first aid to his dying patient.
Prince Michael Jackson
The singer's 14-year-old son was an eyewitness to the final moments of his life, and has reportedly volunteered to give evidence. No one knows how Prince Michael will cope under hostile cross-examination, however, and he could unwittingly aid Dr Murray's defence by discussing his father's history of drug abuse. With that in mind, legal analysts say that prosecutors could ultimately elect to leave him on the bench.
Wadda you think? Guilty? Not Guilty?
Face the future.. Gamecenter ID: nikkom_nl (oh no he didn't!!)
