- Dr. Conrad Murray gives Michael Jackson a shot around 11:30am on the morning of June 25th 2009. Everyone believes the syringe contains Demerol, a powerful synthetic opiate. MJ had been using Demerol to control pain since the days of his Pepsi commercial.
- Michael Jackson tells everyone in his household that he is tired and he is going to take a nap. He proceeds to his... errrr... Doctor Contrad Murray's bedroom where he lays down and goes to sleep forever. Murray's bed room is equpped with IV bags, a crash cart, oxygen tanks and various other goodies. He likes to sleep well prepared for action, I guess.
- For reasons unknown, personal physician Murray checks up on Michael approximately 30 minutes later. He finds Michael in full cardio-respiratory arrest. He begins CPR and Rescue Breathing. He does not call 911.
- Sometime around 12:31pm, Dr. Murray instructs household servants to call 911 and demand an ambulance. About 30 minutes have elapsed since the discovery. It will be a full 30 minutes before the paramedics will arrive. It should be noted that propofol is a very biodegradable susbstance that breaks down inside the human body within 31 minutes. At that point it becomes untracable through toxicology reports. What a co-inky-dinky?
- When the paramedics arrive, they do not recognize MJ. Nobody told them either. They see a very frail old man who is already dead. They were ready to pronounce him dead on the spot. Murray does not permit that. He insists that they proceed with a rescue attempt. By California law, a medical doctor outranks a paramedic. A paramedic cannot pronounce a victem dead when an M.D. on the scene rejects that conclusion. Most of the members of that team never realized that they were working on MJ. They found out about that later.
- What insues is a rather preposterous mellodrama in which the LAFD and UCLA Medical are forced to work on a dead body for upwards of two hours. Some authority at UCLA Medical finally calls a hault to the farce.
- By this time, CNN and ever other news outlet, are running the biggest feeding frenzy of 2009.
- In his CNN interview, Michael Jackson's attorney states that this is another tragedy of perscription medication abuse, something he has warned family members about repeatedly. He states that when the truth comes out, this case will be far worse that than the Anna Nichole Smith story.
- LAPD Police Chief William J. Bratton hears this interview, and decides to dispatch his Robery/Homicide detectives to investigate this case. This was a highly provocative decision. Bratton was questioned several times at length about this decision. He simply said that this is a high profile case. As such he needed to ensure that everything was done correctly and in good order. For this reason, he wanted to dispatch his very best detectives.
- The detectives begin by interviewing the LAFD paramedics and the UCLA Medical team that worked on MJ. All of them report that Dr. Conrad Murray was behaving strangely, irratically, making bizzare decisions, and that he interfered with normal procedures.
- The detectives obtain a general search warrant to enter MJ's home and conduct a fishing expedition. They find many perscription drugs. Oddest of them all are bottles and bottles of a powerful anesthesia called Diprivan (Propofol) manufactured by AstraZeneca. Detectives are stupefide. What the fuck would anyone need a household supply of anesthesia for? Why would anyone have anesthesia laying around the house?
- Many medical professionals cringe at the first reports of Propofol in the house. They suspect that Michael has found plastic surgeons who will make house calls. They say nothing. Propofol is approved for plastic surgery, especially painful plastic surgery around the region of the face.
- The Jackson family and MJ's attorney correct this theory (privately) for the LAPD. Michael was using the substance to combat chronic insomnia. He was doing so with the aid of Dr. Conrad Murray. This had been going on for some time. Everybody was worried about this practice.
- These bottles of Propofol lead back to Dr. Conrad Murray. These specific serial numbered bottles can be traced, and they were purchased through standard suppliers under perscriptions written by Murray.
- Suddenly, Doctor Conrad Murray disappears from the scene. He is not availible to LAPD detectives for some three days. He talks with several reports, stating that he is in shock and grieving over MJ's death. He says that he is preparing to come in and talk with the LAPD soon, but he is not emotionally prepared to do this.
- Dr. Murray finaly consents to an interview with LADP Detectives. LAPD Detectives don't get everything they want out him. To be charitable, let's say that he is less than forthcoming.
- The LAPD make arrangements with the Federal DEA to conduct a raid on Dr. Murray's Houston offices. The raid goes down on Wednesday July 22, 2009. The focus was on Propofol
- The DEA conducted a second raid on Murray's Las Vegas Office on July 25th 2009. The focus was on Propofol.
- Last night, June 28th 2009, the DEA has conducted a third raid on Murray's personal home in Las Vegas. Once again the focus is on Propofol.
- The documentation captured in these three raids indicates that Murray had prescribe propofol for Michael's insomnia. Murray also described Michael as an addict in various documents.
- Once the word leaked out that Murray had prescribed Propofol for insomnia, a fracas erupted among anesthesiology professionals. These pros were downright livid. You never, never, never prescribe Propofol for insomnia. The first time you prescribe propofol for insomnia will be the last time, because you'll put him to sleep forever. Guidelines say you never use Propofol unless the patient is tubulated (connected to a respirator machine) and an anesthesiologist is present to monitor pulse and respiration. You must have a difibrilator on hand because the risk of cardiac arrest is so great.
- Law Enforcement officials have spilled the beans to the associated press. Approximately 2 years ago, Michael Jackson retained Dr. Murray's services as a personal physician. Murray would arrive at Jackson's house in the evenings and leave in the mornings. He would inject a preloaded syringe of propofol into a saline IV Bag. The IV would be injected into MJ's elbow. Dr. Murray would open up a slow drip which would put MJ to sleep almost immediately. Murray would remain to monitor his heart rate and respiration. 30 minutes prior to the moment MJ would want to rise and shine, Murray would cut the IV Drip. Aparently, Michael had been sleeping this way each night every night for some two years.
- Evidently, Conrad and Michael got away with it for some two years because Dr. Murray was diluting the substance so much. He was also on hand to deal with cardiac arrest if it occured. However, the whole arrangement was a ticking timebomb waiting to go off. Michael's cardiac arrest was an eventuality. It was bound to happen sooner or later.
- What we don't know is what Murray injected MJ with at 11:30am on June 25th 2009. Many still believe that substance was Demerol. They believe that Demerol formed a toxic cocktale with Propofol, and this ultimately killed Michael. Others are saying the syringe contained a less dilluted compound of propofol, and that Murray simply fell asleep himself while monitoring Jackson. {Remember, Murrays sleep patterns must be the opposite of Michael Jackson's. He was probably used to sleeping during the day.} MJ went into cardiac arrest during the time Murray was asleep.
- Various news sources continue to report that Dr. Conrad Murray is the subject of an ongoing manslaughter investigation. These same sources say that when the results of the toxicology labs are returned, Michael Jackson's death will almost certainly be ruled a homocide. They expect Dr. Murray to be hauled up on 2nd degree manslaughter charges.
- The LADP and DEA deny everything. They say Dr. Murray has been cooperative and that he is not considered a suspect. That smells like absolutely extraordinary bullshit. You don't enlist the aid of the DEA to raid the home and offices of a cooperative cardiologist some three times in a single week. You don't raid the home and offices of a non-suspect three times in a single week. Murray is under major suspicion for 2nd degree homicide. Everybody knows it.
- Due to various Supreme Court decisions related to the 4th Amendment, it is impossible to obtain a search warrant without submitting an affidavit of probable cause to a judge. A affidavit is a formal, written, sworn statement, submitted under oath to judge. Probable cause is a standard for evidence examination which is lesser than a reasonable doubt, but a higher than mere suspicion. To obtain the three search warrants that permitted the three raids on Conrad Murray's property, the LAPD, the DEA and the LVPD had to submit three different affidavits of probable cause that a crime had been committed. It is rank bullshit for them to declare Murray is not a suspect.
- CNN managed to obtain the leaked text of the Las Vegas warrants. The text cleared the police to search for evidence of excess: excessive medication, excessive prescriptions, prescribing drugs to a known addict. All of this was gathered together under the header of a manslaughter investigation.
- This investigation has changed from a cause-of-death inquiry into a fullblown criminal investigation. Murray is the target of the investigation. He will be arrested soon and the grandjury will hand down an indictment for manslaughter against him. The District Attorney will argue that Murray is a doctor who, after being sanctioned by his licensing board and falling into financial difficulties, was offered the princely sum of $150,000 per month to become the personal physician to the King of Pop. He sees stars, and his best professional judgement goes out the window.
- What they are likely to ignore is the fact that MJ probably sought him for precisely these reasons. MJ probably knew he would be pliable and amminable for these reasons. We need to remember that Michael wanted this. He could have sought rehab help at any time for his problems. His 'former wife' Lisa Marie said that Michael confided in her that he feared he would end up as Elvis did. This statement must imply that MJ had serious substance abuse problems, problems he could see the end outcome of, for at least the last 20 years of his life.
So, I am almost at a loss for what to say about this Propofol madness. This takes the ledgend of Wacko-Jacko to an entirely new, heretofore unknown level. Anybody who would use Anesthesia on a routine basis for two years is utterly crazy. Knowing and understanding the kind of brain damage this stuff can invoke, I would never willing take it unless life-threatening problems were being corrected by surgery. Murray had to be crazy to choose this approach to insomnia. I wonder what gave him this crazy idea?
I am no fan of media feeding frenzies. I do not look forward to the next trial of the century, and almost certain event. I would really, really, really hate it if CNN begins broadcasting 8 hours of trial per day from the L.A. County Superior Court downtown. I hope that the judge will have the common sense to bar cameras from the Courtroom. If he doesn't I hope he will be thrown off the bench.
This is a good moment to remember that a man's character is his fate. Michael Jackson died of his character flaws.
