On June 25, 2009, American singer

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

died of acute propofol and

benzodiazepine Benzodiazepines (BZD, BDZ, BZs), sometimes called "benzos", are a class of depressant drugs whose core chemical structure is the fusion of a benzene ring and a diazepine ring. They are prescribed to treat conditions such as anxiety disorders, ...

intoxication at his home on North Carolwood Drive in the

Holmby Hills Holmby Hills is a neighborhood on the Westside of Los Angeles, California, United States. The neighborhood was developed in the early twentieth century by the Janss Investment Company, which developed the rest of Westwood as well as other Los Ang ...

neighborhood of

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. His physician,

Conrad Murray Conrad Robert Murray (born February 19, 1953) is a Grenadian former cardiologist who was the personal physician of Michael Jackson at the time of his death in 2009. Murray was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter for improperly administeri ...

, said that he found Jackson in his room not breathing and with a weak pulse; he administered

cardiopulmonary resuscitation Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure consisting of chest compressions often combined with artificial ventilation in an effort to manually preserve intact brain function until further measures are taken to restore spont ...

(CPR) to no avail, and security called

9-1-1 , usually written 911, is an emergency telephone number for the United States, Canada, Mexico, Panama, Palau, Argentina, Philippines, Jordan, as well as the North American Numbering Plan (NANP), one of eight N11 codes. Like other emergency nu ...

at 12:21 p.m.

Pacific Daylight Time The Pacific Time Zone (PT) is a time zone encompassing parts of western Canada, the western United States, and western Mexico. Places in this zone observe standard time by subtracting eight hours from Coordinated Universal Time ( UTC−08:00) ...

( UTC–7). Paramedics treated Jackson at the scene, but he was pronounced dead at the

Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center (also commonly referred to as ''UCLA Medical Center'', "RRMC" or "Ronald Reagan") is a hospital located on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles, in Westwood, Los Angeles, California, United ...

. On August 28, 2009, the

Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner (formerly the Department of Coroner) was created in its present form in Boyle Heights on December 17, 1920 by an ordinance approved by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, ...

concluded that Jackson's death was a

homicide Homicide occurs when a person kills another person. A homicide requires only a volitional act or omission that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from accidental, reckless, or negligent acts even if there is no inten ...

. Jackson had been administered propofol and anti-anxiety benzodiazepines

lorazepam Lorazepam, sold under the brand name Ativan among others, is a benzodiazepine medication. It is used to treat anxiety disorders, trouble sleeping, severe agitation, active seizures including status epilepticus, alcohol withdrawal, and c ...

and

midazolam Midazolam, sold under the brand name Versed among others, is a benzodiazepine medication used for anesthesia and procedural sedation, and to treat severe agitation. It works by inducing sleepiness, decreasing anxiety, and causing a loss of a ...

by his doctor. Murray was

convicted In law, a conviction is the verdict reached by a court of law finding a defendant guilty of a crime. The opposite of a conviction is an acquittal (that is, "not guilty"). In Scotland, there can also be a verdict of "not proven", which is consid ...

involuntary manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th c ...

in November 2011, and was released in 2013 after serving two years of his four-year prison sentence with time off for good behavior. At the time of his death, Jackson had been preparing for a series of comeback concerts, This Is It, due to begin in July 2009 in London. His death triggered reactions around the world, creating unprecedented surges of Internet traffic and a spike in sales of his music. A televised memorial service, held at the

Staples Center Crypto.com Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Downtown Los Angeles. Adjacent to the L.A. Live development, it is located next to the Los Angeles Convention Center complex along Figueroa Street. The arena opened on October 17, 1999; it was ...

in Los Angeles, was viewed by an estimated 2.5 billion people globally. In 2010,

Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...

signed a US$250 million deal with Jackson's estate to retain distribution rights to his recordings up until 2017 and to release seven posthumous albums over the following decade.

Circumstances

At the time of his death, Michael Jackson was preparing for a series of comeback concerts, This Is It, due to begin in July 2009 at London's

O2 Arena O2 Arena may refer to: *The O2 Arena (London) *O2 Arena (Prague) *The 3Arena The 3Arena (originally The O2) is an indoor amphitheatre located at North Wall Quay in the Dublin Docklands in Dublin, Ireland. The venue opened as The O2 on 16 Decem ...

. On June 24, Jackson arrived for rehearsal at the

, Los Angeles, at around 6:30 p.m. According to the magician

Ed Alonzo Ed Alonzo (born July 26, 1968) is an American comedian, actor, and professional magician. Acting career Alonzo had roles on ''Saved by the Bell'' (20 episodes between 1989–1990), ''Head of the Class'' and '' Totally Hidden Video''. He also ...

, Jackson jokingly complained of

laryngitis Laryngitis is inflammation of the larynx (voice box). Symptoms often include a hoarse voice and may include fever, cough, pain in the front of the neck, and trouble swallowing. Typically, these last under two weeks. Laryngitis is categorised ...

and did not rehearse until 9 pm. "He looked great and had great energy," Alonzo said. The rehearsal went past midnight.Lee, Chris, and Ryan, Harriet
Michael Jackson's last rehearsal: just beaming with gladness
''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'', June 27, 2009. Jackson returned to his home at 100 North Carolwood Drive in the

neighborhood around 12:30 AM the following morning and retired to bed one hour later. Jackson had long suffered from insomnia, and had a history of using drugs in an attempt to help him sleep. Jackson's physician

was present to help Jackson sleep and gave him various drugs including

diazepam Diazepam, first marketed as Valium, is a medicine of the benzodiazepine family that acts as an anxiolytic. It is commonly used to treat a range of conditions, including anxiety, seizures, alcohol withdrawal syndrome, muscle spasms, insomnia, a ...

ativan Lorazepam, sold under the brand name Ativan among others, is a benzodiazepine medication. It is used to treat anxiety disorders, trouble sleeping, severe agitation, active seizures including status epilepticus, alcohol withdrawal, and ch ...

and

while monitoring him by his bedside. After several hours and several drug injections, Jackson was still unable to fall asleep, and, according to Murray, was repeatedly asking him for "milk", a term for the powerful sedative propofol, which Jackson had used in the past as a sleep aid. At 10:40 AM, with Jackson still not asleep, Murray relented to his requests and injected him with 25 milligrams of propofol diluted with

lidocaine Lidocaine, also known as lignocaine and sold under the brand name Xylocaine among others, is a local anesthetic of the amino amide type. It is also used to treat ventricular tachycardia. When used for local anaesthesia or in nerve blocks, lidoca ...

. With Jackson finally asleep, Murray testified that he left his bedside to go to the bathroom, and after returning two minutes later, discovered that Jackson was not breathing and had a weak pulse. Murray testified that he tried to revive Jackson for around ten minutes by performing

CPR Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure consisting of chest compressions often combined with artificial ventilation in an effort to manually preserve intact brain function until further measures are taken to restore sponta ...

and administering

flumazenil Flumazenil (also known as flumazepil, code name Ro 15-1788) is a selective GABAA receptor antagonist administered via injection, otic insertion, or intranasally. Therapeutically, it acts as both an antagonist and antidote to benzodiazepines ( ...

, a drug used to counteract

sedative A sedative or tranquilliser is a substance that induces sedation by reducing irritability or excitement. They are CNS depressants and interact with brain activity causing its deceleration. Various kinds of sedatives can be distinguished, but t ...

overdose, after which he called for help from staff present in the house. Statements described Murray using a non-standard CPR technique on Jackson. The recording of the emergency call was released on June 26, one day after Jackson's death, and it described Murray administering CPR on a bed, not on a hard surface such as a floor which would be standard practice.Gumbel, Andrew
Michael Jackson doctor hires lawyer as family hires pathologist
''The Guardian'', June 28, 2009.
''The Telegraph'', June 26, 2009. Murray said that he placed one hand underneath Jackson and used the other for chest compression, whereas standard practice is to use both hands for compression.Lang, Anne, and Jones, Oliver

, ''People'', June 29, 2009.Childs, Dan; Schlief, Michelle
Could Better CPR Have Saved Michael Jackson?
ABC News, June 30, 2009. Murray controversially did not call 911, claiming that he was hindered because there was no

landline A landline (land line, land-line, main line, home phone, fixed-line, and wireline) is a telephone connection that uses metal wires or optical fiber telephone line for transmission, as distinguished from a mobile cellular network, which uses ...

telephone in the house and because he did not know the house's exact address.Chernoff, Ed., ''The Situation Room'', CNN, June 29, 2009
Transcript
/ref> It was later discovered that Murray had made several private calls on his cell phone in the hour after discovering Jackson's state which he did not inform law enforcement about. A security guard eventually called 911 at 12:21 pm, nearly an hour and a half after Jackson was first discovered not breathing. Paramedics reached Jackson at 12:26 p.m. and found that he was not breathing and had no pulse.Blankstein, Andrew, and Willon, Phil
Michael Jackson dead at 50
, ''Los Angeles Times'', June 25, 2009.Rayner, Gordon and Singh, Anita

''The Telegraph'', June 26, 2009. Paramedics performed CPR for 42 minutes at the house.Ruda, Steve
Paramedic on Jackson 911 call
''BBC News'', June 25, 2009. Murray's attorney stated that Jackson had a pulse when he was taken out of the house and put in the ambulance. An

LAFD The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD or LA City Fire) provides emergency medical services, fire cause determination, fire prevention, fire suppression, hazardous materials mitigation, and technical rescue services to the city of Los Angeles ...

official gave a different account, stating that paramedics found Jackson in "full

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and possib ...

", and that they did not observe a change in his status en route to the hospital.Eckstein, Marc
Michael Jackson EMS Response Details Emerge
, ''JEMS (Journal of Emergency Medical Services)'', June 26, 2009. LAFD transported him to the

. The ambulance arrived at the hospital at approximately 1:14 pm, and a team of medical personnel attempted to resuscitate him for more than an hour. They were unsuccessful, and Jackson was pronounced dead at 2:26 pm at age 50.McGevna, Allison
Tape of 911 Call Released as Michael Jackson Autopsy Under Way
, Fox News, June 26, 2009.Harvey, Michael
Fans mourn artist for whom it didn't matter if you were black or white
''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', June 26, 2009.Tourtellotte, Bob
King of Pop Michael Jackson is dead: official
Reuters, June 25, 2009.

Investigation

Autopsies

Jackson's body was flown by helicopter to the Los Angeles County Coroner's offices in Lincoln Heights, where a three-hour

autopsy An autopsy (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any di ...

was performed the next day (June 26) on behalf of the

Los Angeles County Coroner The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner (formerly the Department of Coroner) was created in its present form in Boyle Heights on December 17, 1920 by an ordinance approved by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, ...

by the chief medical examiner

Lakshmanan Sathyavagiswaran Lakshmanan Sathyavagiswaran (born March 17, 1949; ta, லட்சுமணன் சத்யவாகீஸ்வரன்) is the former Chief Medical Examiner-Coroner for the County of Los Angeles. In 2016, he again took over this position ...

. Jackson's

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

arranged for a second autopsy, a practice that could yield expedited, albeit limited, results. After the preliminary autopsy was completed, Craig Harvey, chief investigator for the coroner's office, said there was no evidence of trauma or foul play. On August 28, 2009, the Los Angeles County coroner classified Jackson's death as a

, determining that Jackson died from

combined drug intoxication Combined drug intoxication (CDI), or multiple drug intake (MDI), is a cause of death by drug overdose from poly drug use, often implicated in polysubstance dependence. Deaths by combined drug intoxication are relatively rare (one in several mil ...

, with the most significant drugs being the

anesthetic An anesthetic (American English) or anaesthetic (British English; see spelling differences) is a drug used to induce anesthesia ⁠— ⁠in other words, to result in a temporary loss of sensation or awareness. They may be divided into two ...

propofol and the

anxiolytic An anxiolytic (; also antipanic or antianxiety agent) is a medication or other intervention that reduces anxiety. This effect is in contrast to anxiogenic agents which increase anxiety. Anxiolytic medications are used for the treatment of anxi ...

, and less significant drugs found in Jackson's body being

, and

ephedrine Ephedrine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is often used to prevent low blood pressure during anesthesia. It has also been used for asthma, narcolepsy, and obesity but is not the preferred treatment. It is of unclear benefit in ...

. The coroner kept the complete toxicology report private, as requested by the police and district attorney. The autopsy report revealed that Jackson was otherwise healthy for his age (age 50) and that his heart was strong; his most significant health problem was that his lungs were chronically inflamed, but this did not contribute to his death. His other major organs were normal and he had no

atherosclerosis Atherosclerosis is a pattern of the disease arteriosclerosis in which the wall of the artery develops abnormalities, called lesions. These lesions may lead to narrowing due to the buildup of atheroma, atheromatous plaque. At onset there are usu ...

except for some slight plaque accumulation in the arteries in his leg.

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

stated that his weight was in the acceptable range.

Law enforcement agencies

Jackson's death was investigated by the

Los Angeles Police Department The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-large ...

(LAPD)Esposito, Richard
"Police say Michael Jackson 'heavily addicted' to Oxycontin"
''ABC News'': June 26, 2009. and the

Drug Enforcement Administration The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA; ) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating drug trafficking and distribution within th ...

(DEA); the latter agency had the authority to investigate issues otherwise protected by doctor-patient confidentiality, allowing it to trace the complex trail of prescription drugs supplied to Jackson.Griffin, Drew.

Anderson Cooper 360° ''Anderson Cooper 360°'' (commonly shortened to either ''AC-360'' or ''360'') is an American television news show on CNN and CNN International, hosted by CNN journalist and news anchor Anderson Cooper. Since May 20, 2019, ''360°'' has been br ...

, CNN, July 1, 2009
Transcript
/ref> On August 28, 2009, LAPD announced that the case would be referred to prosecutors. Because the LAPD did not secure Jackson's home and allowed the Jackson family access to it as well before returning to remove certain items, the department raised concerns by some observers that the

chain of custody Chain of custody (CoC), in legal contexts, is the chronological documentation or paper trail that records the sequence of custody, control, transfer, analysis, and disposition of materials, including physical or electronic evidence. Of particula ...

had been broken.Deutsch, Linda and Thomas Watkins
"LAPD under scrutiny in Jackson death"
''

AOL AOL (stylized as Aol., formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City. It is a brand marketed by the current incarnation of Yahoo (2017� ...

News'': July 3, 2009. The police maintained that they had followed protocol. California Attorney General

Jerry Brown Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected Secretary of S ...

announced that his office was helping the LAPD and DEA to create a statewide database of all medical doctors and prescriptions filled. The LAPD

subpoena A subpoena (; also subpœna, supenna or subpena) or witness summons is a writ issued by a government agency, most often a court, to compel testimony by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure. There are two common types of ...

ed medical records from doctors who had treated Jackson. Police considered, but did not bring, homicide charges against those who had supplied drugs to Jackson.Bone, James
Jackson death may have been 'homicide', says police chief
''The Times'', July 10, 2009.Leonard, Jack, and Ryan, Harriet
Murder charges in Michael Jackson case are unlikely, source says
''Los Angeles Times'', July 19, 2009.

Drug-use allegations

Marc Schaffel, Jackson's former video producer, said that the singer had used propofol,

alprazolam Alprazolam, sold under the brand name Xanax, among others, is a fast-acting, potent tranquilizer of medium duration in the triazolobenzodiazepine (TBZD) class, which are benzodiazepines (BZDs) fused with a triazole ring. It is most commonly u ...

(an antianxiety agent) and

sertraline Sertraline, sold under the brand name Zoloft among others, is an antidepressant of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) class. The efficacy of sertraline for depression is similar to that of other antidepressants, and the differe ...

(an antidepressant).James, Susan Donaldson
Friend Says Michael Jackson Battled Demerol Addiction
ABC News, June 26, 2009. Other drugs included

omeprazole Omeprazole, sold under the brand names Prilosec and Losec, among others, is a medication used in the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), peptic ulcer disease, and Zollinger–Ellison syndrome. It is also used to prevent upper g ...

hydrocodone Hydrocodone, also known as dihydrocodeinone, is an opioid used to treat pain and as a cough suppressant. It is taken by mouth. Typically it is dispensed as the combination acetaminophen/hydrocodone or ibuprofen/hydrocodone for pain severe en ...

paroxetine Paroxetine, sold under the brand names Paxil and Seroxat among others, is an antidepressant of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) class. It is used to treat major depressive disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder ...

, carisoprodol, and

hydromorphone Hydromorphone, also known as dihydromorphinone, and sold under the brand name Dilaudid among others, is an opioid used to treat moderate to severe pain. Typically, long-term use is only recommended for pain due to cancer. It may be used by mou ...

. After his death, police found several drugs in his home, which included propofol. Some of these drugs had labels made out to false names, and others were unlabeled. A 2004 police document prepared for the 2005 ''

People v. Jackson A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of property ...

'' child abuse trial said that Jackson was taking up to 40 alprazolam pills a night. Alprazolam was not found in his bloodstream at the time of death. Jackson's friend Dr. A. J. Farshchian stated that Jackson was scared of drugs. Eugene Aksenoff is a Tokyo-based physician who had treated Jackson and his children on a few occasions, and he expressed concern about Jackson's use of various drugs. He said that Jackson asked for stimulants so that he could get through some demanding performances, but he said that he refused to prescribe them. He recalled that Jackson had chronic fatigue, fever, insomnia, and other symptoms, and he took a large amount of drugs. He suspected that one of the major factors causing these symptoms was excessive use of steroids or other skin-whitening medications. Janet Jackson claimed that the Jackson family tried to stage an intervention in early 2007 when Jackson was living in Las Vegas. She and some of her brothers allegedly traveled to his home but were turned away by security guards who were ordered not to let them in. He was also rumored to have refused calls from his mother. However, the family denied that they had tried to intervene.

Propofol

Of all the drugs found in Jackson's home, the one that most concerned investigators was propofol (Diprivan), a powerful anesthetic administered intravenously in hospitals to induce and maintain

anesthesia Anesthesia is a state of controlled, temporary loss of sensation or awareness that is induced for medical or veterinary purposes. It may include some or all of analgesia (relief from or prevention of pain), paralysis (muscle relaxation), ...

during surgery. Nicknamed "milk of

amnesia Amnesia is a deficit in memory caused by brain damage or disease,Gazzaniga, M., Ivry, R., & Mangun, G. (2009) Cognitive Neuroscience: The biology of the mind. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. but it can also be caused temporarily by the use ...

" because of its opaque, milk-like appearance (and a play on the words "

milk of magnesia Magnesium hydroxide is the inorganic compound with the chemical formula Mg(OH)2. It occurs in nature as the mineral brucite. It is a white solid with low solubility in water (). Magnesium hydroxide is a common component of antacids, such as milk ...

"), the drug has been associated with cardiac arrest, but it still may be increasingly used off-label for

and other medically unsubstantiated purposes. Several propofol bottles, some empty, some full, were found in Jackson's home. On June 30, Cherilyn Lee, a nurse who had worked as Jackson's nutritionist, said that he had asked her in May to provide propofol to help him sleep, but she refused. He told her he had been given the drug before for persistent

insomnia Insomnia, also known as sleeplessness, is a sleep disorder in which people have trouble sleeping. They may have difficulty falling asleep, or staying asleep as long as desired. Insomnia is typically followed by daytime sleepiness, low energy, ...

, and that a doctor had said it was safe. Lee said she received a telephone call from an aide to Jackson on June 21 to say that Jackson was ill, although she no longer worked for him. She reported overhearing Jackson complain that one side of his body was hot, the other side cold. She advised the aide to send Jackson to a hospital. Arnold Klein said that Jackson used an anesthesiologist to administer propofol to help him sleep while he was on tour in Germany. The anesthesiologist would "take him down" at night and "bring him back up" in the morning during the

HIStory tour The ''HIS''tory World Tour was the third and final worldwide solo concert tour by American singer and recording artist Michael Jackson, covering Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania and North America. The tour included a total of 82 concerts spanni ...

of 1996 and 1997.

Medical professionals

The DEA focused on at least five doctors who prescribed drugs to Jackson, trying to determine whether they had had a "face to face" relationship with him and whether they had made legally required diagnoses. At least nine doctors were under investigation.At Least Nine Doctors Who Treated Michael Jackson Under Investigation
,

Fox News Channel The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...

, July 15, 2009. The police wanted to question 30 doctors, nurses, and pharmacists, including Arnold Klein. Klein said that he occasionally had given Jackson

pethidine Pethidine, also known as meperidine and sold under the brand name Demerol among others, is a synthetic opioid analgesic, pain medication of the phenylpiperidine class. Synthesized in 1938 as a potential anticholinergic agent by the German chemis ...

to sedate him, but had administered nothing stronger and that he had turned his records over to the medical examiner.Klein, Arnold.

Larry King Live ''Larry King Live'' was an American television talk show hosted by Larry King on CNN from 1985 to 2010. It was the channel's most watched and longest-running program, with over one million viewers nightly. Mainly aired from CNN's Los Angeles s ...

, CNN, July 8, 2009
Transcript
/ref>

Personal physician

Cardiologist Cardiology () is a branch of medicine that deals with disorders of the heart and the cardiovascular system. The field includes medical diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular hear ...

Conrad Murray joined Jackson's camp in May 2009 as part of Jackson's agreement with

AEG Live Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft AG (AEG; ) was a German producer of electrical equipment founded in Berlin as the ''Deutsche Edison-Gesellschaft für angewandte Elektricität'' in 1883 by Emil Rathenau. During the Second World War, AEG ...

, the promoter of his London concerts. Murray first met Jackson in Las Vegas when he treated one of Jackson's children. AEG Live said Jackson insisted the company hire Murray to accompany him to England. During Murray's trial it emerged that AEG employed Murray and that Jackson did not sign the contract for the above-cited employment either. Murray said through his attorney that he did not prescribe or administer pethidine or

oxycodone Oxycodone, sold under various brand names such as Roxicodone and OxyContin (which is the extended release form), is a strong, semi-synthetic opioid used medically for treatment of moderate to severe pain. It is highly addictive and a commonly ...

to Jackson, but did not say what, if anything, he did prescribe or administer. Los Angeles police said Murray spoke to officers immediately after Jackson's death, and during an extensive interview two days later. They stressed that they found "no red flag" and did not suspect foul play. On June 26, police towed away a car used by Murray, stating that it might contain medication or other evidence. The police released the car five days later. Politician and minister

Jesse Jackson Jesse Louis Jackson (né Burns; born October 8, 1941) is an American political activist, Baptist minister, and politician. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as a shadow U.S. senator ...

, a friend of Michael Jackson's family, said that the family was concerned about Murray's role. "They have good reason to be ... he left the scene."Harris, Paul
Michael Jackson's family 'ask for second autopsy'
''The Observer'', June 28, 2009. Over the next few weeks, law enforcement grew increasingly concerned about Murray, and on July 22 detectives searched Murray's medical office and storage unit in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, removing items such as a computer and two hard drives, contact lists and a hospital suspension notice.Items taken from Michael Jackson's doctor's buildings listed

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

, July 23, 2009. On the 27th, an anonymous source reported that Murray had administered propofol within 24 hours of Jackson's death.Police search Jackson doctor's home, office
CNN. July 28, 2009. Investigators had searched Murray's home and office in Las Vegas,Feds Raid Michael Jackson's Doctor Conrad Murray's Home and Office
''

Nightline ''Nightline'' (or ''ABC News Nightline'') is ABC News' late-night television news program broadcast on ABC in the United States with a franchised formula to other networks and stations elsewhere in the world. Created by Roone Arledge, the progra ...

'', July 28, 2009 as well as a Las Vegas pharmacy.Friess, Stev
New Raid in Inquiry on Jackson
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', August 11, 2009 Jackson paid Murray $150,000 a month. On February 8, 2010, Murray was charged with

prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the Civil law (legal system), civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the ...

s in Los Angeles. Murray pleaded not guilty and was released after posting US$75,000 bail. Shortly thereafter, the

California Medical Board The Medical Board of California (MBC) is a state government agency which licenses and disciplines physicians, surgeons and certain allied healthcare professionals in California. The Board provides two principal types of services to consumers: (1) ...

issued an order preventing Murray from administering heavy sedatives. On January 11, 2011, the judge from Murray's preliminary hearing determined that Murray should stand trial for involuntary manslaughter in the Jackson case. The judge also suspended Murray's license to practice medicine in California. After several delays, the

jury trial A jury trial, or trial by jury, is a Trial, legal proceeding in which a jury makes a decision or Question of law, findings of fact. It is distinguished from a bench trial in which a judge or Judicial panel, panel of judges makes all decisions. ...

began on September 27, 2011. On November 7, 2011, Murray was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and he was held without bail to await sentencing. On November 29, 2011, Murray received the maximum sentence of four years in prison. Murray was released on October 28, 2013, due to California

prison overcrowding Prison overcrowding is a social phenomenon occurring when the demand for space in prisons in a jurisdiction exceeds the capacity for prisoners. The issues associated with prison overcrowding are not new, and have been brewing for many years. Dur ...

and good behavior.

Health

Stacy Brown, a biographer, said Jackson had become "very frail, totally, totally underweight", and that his family had been worried about him. Another biographer, J. Randy Taraborrelli, said Jackson had been addicted to painkillers on and off for decades.

Arnold Klein Arnold William Klein (February 27, 1945 – October 22, 2015) was an American dermatologist. In the infancy of the AIDS epidemic, Klein became one of the first doctors in Los Angeles to diagnose a case of Kaposi's sarcoma in a young patient. He ...

, Jackson's

dermatologist Dermatology is the branch of medicine dealing with the skin.''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.'' Random House, Inc. 2001. Page 537. . It is a speciality with both medical and surgical aspects. A dermatologist is a specialist medical ...

, confirmed that Jackson misused prescription drugs, and that Klein had diagnosed Jackson with

vitiligo Vitiligo is a disorder that causes the skin to lose its color. Specific causes are unknown but studies suggest a link to immune system changes. Signs and symptoms The only sign of vitiligo is the presence of pale patchy areas of depigmen ...

and

lupus Lupus, technically known as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue in many parts of the body. Symptoms vary among people and may be mild to severe. Comm ...

. However, Klein said when he saw Jackson at his office three days before his death, he "was in very good physical condition. He was dancing for my patients. He was very mentally aware when we saw him and he was in a very good mood."

Family and legal affairs

Family reaction

The

Jackson family The Jackson family is an American family of musicians and entertainers from Gary, Indiana. Many of the children of Joseph Walter (or Joe) and Katherine Esther Jackson were successful musicians, notably the brothers that formed the Motown boy b ...

released a statement following the death: La Toya believed her brother "was murdered for his music catalogue". Shortly after Jackson's death, his family raised questions about the role of

, the '' This Is It'' concert promoter, in the last few weeks of his life.

Joseph Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

, Michael's father, filed a complaint with the California Medical Board alleging that AEG Live was illegally practicing medicine by demanding that Murray get Jackson off various medications. The complaint also alleged that AEG Live failed to provide the resuscitation equipment and nurse which Murray had requested. AEG spokesman Michael Roth declined to comment on the complaint. After Murray pleaded not guilty to the manslaughter charge, several members of the Jackson family said they felt he deserved a more severe charge. On June 25, 2010, Joseph filed a

wrongful death Wrongful death claim is a claim against a person who can be held liable for a death. The claim is brought in a civil action, usually by close relatives, as enumerated by statute. In wrongful death cases, survivors are compensated for the harm, l ...

lawsuit against Murray. The lawsuit alleged that Murray repeatedly lied to cover up his use of propofol, did not keep sufficient medical records and was negligent in his use of medications on Jackson. Murray's civil attorney, Charles Peckham, denied that Murray gave Jackson anything life-threatening. On August 15, 2012, Joseph dropped his wrongful death lawsuit against Murray. Michael Jackson's family praised the guilty verdict against Murray. In 2017,

Paris Jackson Paris-Michael Katherine Jackson (born April 3, 1998) is an American model, actress, and singer. She is the second child and only daughter of Michael Jackson and Debbie Rowe. In 2020, Jackson signed a deal with Republic Records. Her first sing ...

stated that she was "absolutely" convinced that her father had been murdered. In 2010, Jackson's three children and his

mother ] A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given childbirth, birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the cas ...

sued Jackson's concert promoter Anschutz Entertainment Group, Inc. (AEG) and its subsidiaries and principals, alleging that AEG had negligently hired the doctor. In 2013, following a 21-week trial in Los Angeles, the jury rendered a verdict in AEG's favor, finding that AEG had no reason to know that Murray would be "unfit or incompetent to perform the work for which he was hired" and therefore was not Negligence (law), negligent.

Estate

Jackson's last will was filed by an attorney

John Branca John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

at the

Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, with 9,861,224 residents estimated as of 2022. It is the ...

courthouse on July 1, 2009. Signed July 7, 2002, it names Branca and accountant John McClain as executors; they were confirmed as such by a Los Angeles judge on July 6, 2009. All assets are given to the (pre-existing) Michael Jackson Family Trust (amended March 22, 2002),Garber, Julie
"Michael Jackson's Will vs. the Michael Jackson Family Trust"
''about.com'', July 6, 2009. the details of which have not been made public. The

reports that, in 2007, Jackson had a net worth of $236.6 million: $567.6 million in assets, which included

Neverland Ranch Sycamore Valley Ranch, formerly Neverland Ranch"Neverland Never More"
, by William Etling (author ...

and his 50% share of

Sony/ATV Music Publishing Sony Music Publishing (formerly Sony/ATV Music Publishing) is the largest music publisher in the world, with over five million songs owned or administered as of end March 2021. US-based, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is itself owned ...

' catalogue, and debts of $331 million.MacAskill, Ewen
Jackson's body to be put on public display at Neverland
''The Guardian'', July 1, 2009. The guardianship of his three children is given to his mother, Katherine, or if she is unable or unwilling, to singer

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups o ...

. Jackson's will allocates 20% of his fortune as well as 20% of money made after death to unspecified charities. Media reports suggested that the settlement of Jackson's estate could last many years.Brown, David and Lewis, Leo
Michael Jackson: finances will take years to unwind
''The Times'', June 27, 2009. The value of Sony/ATV Music Publishing is estimated by Ryan Schinman, chief of Platinum Rye, to be US$1.5 billion. Shinman's estimate makes Jackson's share of Sony/ATV worth $750 million, from which Jackson would have had an annual income of $80 million. In September 2016, a deal was finalized for Sony's acquisition of Jackson's share of Sony/ATV from the Jackson estate for $750 million.Ed Christman

''Billboard'', September 30, 2016.

Public reaction

Media and Internet coverage

Jackson's death was first reported by the Los Angeles-based celebrity news website

TMZ TMZ is a tabloid news website owned by Fox Corporation. It made its debut on November 8, 2005, originally as a collaboration between AOL and Telepictures, a division of Warner Bros., until Time Warner divested AOL in 2009. On September 13, 202 ...

. Doctors at

pronounced Jackson dead at 2:26 p.m., and TMZ announced the death 18 minutes later. The ''

'' confirmed the report at 2:51 p.m. PDT (5:51 p.m. EDT).Rawlinson, Linnie and Nick Hunt
Jackson Dies, almost takes Internet With Him
CNN, June 27, 2009. The news spread quickly online, causing websites to slow down and

crash Crash or CRASH may refer to: Common meanings * Collision, an impact between two or more objects * Crash (computing), a condition where a program ceases to respond * Cardiac arrest, a medical condition in which the heart stops beating * Couch su ...

from user overload.

and the ''Los Angeles Times'' suffered outages.

Google Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...

initially believed that the millions of search requests meant their

search engine A search engine is a software system designed to carry out web searches. They search the World Wide Web in a systematic way for particular information specified in a textual web search query. The search results are generally presented in a ...

was under

DDoS attack In computing, a denial-of-service attack (DoS attack) is a cyber-attack in which the perpetrator seeks to make a machine or network resource unavailable to its intended users by temporarily or indefinitely disrupting services of a host connec ...

, and blocked searches related to Michael Jackson for 30 minutes. Twitter reported a crash, as did Wikipedia at PDT (22:15 UTC). The

Wikimedia Foundation The Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., or Wikimedia for short and abbreviated as WMF, is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in San Francisco, California and registered as a charitable foundation under local laws. Best kno ...

reported nearly a million visitors to Jackson's biography within one hour, probably the most visitors in a one-hour period to any article in Wikipedia's history up to that point.

AOL Instant Messenger AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) was an instant messaging and presence computer program created by AOL, which used the proprietary OSCAR instant messaging protocol and the TOC protocol to allow registered users to communicate in real time. AIM w ...

collapsed for 40 minutes. Around 15% of Twitter posts (5,000 tweets per minute) mentioned Jackson after the news broke, compared to the 5% recalled as having mentioned the Iranian elections or the

flu pandemic An influenza pandemic is an epidemic of an influenza virus that spreads across a large region (either multiple continents or worldwide) and infects a large proportion of the population. There have been six major influenza epidemics in the last ...

that had made headlines earlier in the year. Overall,

web traffic Web traffic is the data sent and received by visitors to a website. Since the mid-1990s, web traffic has been the largest portion of Internet traffic. Sites monitor the incoming and outgoing traffic to see which parts or pages of their site are ...

ranged from 11% to at least 20% higher than normal.

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

and

BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los A ...

aired

marathons The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

of Jackson's music videos. Specials about Jackson aired on multiple television stations around the world. The British soap opera ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the Ea ...

'' added a last-minute scene to the June 26 episode, in which the character

Denise Johnson Denise Johnson may refer to: * Denise Fox, also Johnson, a character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' * Denise R. Johnson (born 1947), Vermont attorney and judge * Denise Johnson, singer with Primal Scream {{hndis, Johnson, Denise ...

discussed the news with

Patrick Trueman Patrick Trueman is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Rudolph Walker. He made his first appearance on 13 September 2001. His storylines include being the possible father of Denise Fox (Diane Parish), to whom ...

. Magazines including ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'' published commemorative editions. A scene that had featured Jackson's sister La Toya was cut from the film ''

Brüno ''Brüno'' is a 2009 mockumentary comedy film directed by Larry Charles and starring Sacha Baron Cohen, who produced, co-wrote, and played the gay Austrian fashion journalist Brüno. It is the third film based on one of Cohen's characters from ...

'' out of respect toward Jackson's family. According to an analysis released by the

Global Language Monitor The Global Language Monitor (GLM) is a company based in Austin, Texas that collectively documents, analyzes, and tracks trends in language usage worldwide, with a particular emphasis upon the English language. It is particularly known for its ...

(GLM), 72 hours after his death, Jackson became the ninth-most-covered news item in global print and electronic media. For the Internet and social media, Jackson was number two, behind the election of President Barack Obama. Commentators discussed Jackson's work and his "profoundly tragic figure". ''Le Figaro'' columnist Yann Moix said that although Jackson, like his iconic Moonwalk, lived life in reverse, the world at his death shed "identical and universal tears". A

Pew Research Center The Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan American think tank (referring to itself as a "fact tank") based in Washington, D.C. It provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends shaping the United States and the w ...

survey found that two-thirds of Americans believed the coverage of Jackson's death was excessive, while 3% felt it was insufficient. In the UK, the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

Circumstances

Investigation

Autopsies

Law enforcement agencies

Drug-use allegations

Propofol

Medical professionals

Personal physician

Health

Family and legal affairs

Family reaction

Estate

Public reaction

Media and Internet coverage

Grief

Tributes

Record sales

Services

Memorial

Burial

References

Further reading