Jackson’s doctor could face manslaughter charge

The likelihood that Dr Conrad Murray, personal physician to Michael Jackson, will be prosecuted for manslaughter has increased with the discovery that he gave the pop star a lethal dose of propofol, the powerful anaesthetic more normally used in hospital procedures, on the morning he died.

A preliminary assessment of Jackson's death by the coroner, Dr Lakshmanan Sathyavagiswaran, showed that as well as administering propofol to help him sleep, Murray had given Jackson other drugs in the early hours of June 25.

The coroner's assessment came to light on Monday when previously sealed court papers filed in Houston Texas, where Murray has an office, were opened. The documents also show that the Los Angeles police told judges in Texas and Nevada that they suspected Murray of manslaughter.

Included in the court papers are details of what happened at Jackson's rented house in Holmby Hills on the morning of June 25.

After a long sleepless night, during the course of which Murray has given him valium, lorazepam and midazolum, Jackson asked for propofol - his 'milk' as he called it. Murray gave Jackson 25 milligrams. He then "left Jackson¹s side to go to the restroom," the documents show. "Murray stated he was out of the room for about two minutes maximum. Upon his return, Murray noticed that Jackson was no longer breathing."

Murray said he tried to resuscitate Jackson and administered the drug flumazenil in an effort to reverse the effects of the sedatives. He then called Jackson's personal assistant, Michael Amir Williams, for help, as he continued cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Murray, a cardiologist who was hired by Jackson's London concert promoters AEG to be his personal doctor, had denied any wrong doing. Factors which now point to his culpability are:

♦ Murray waited approximately 80 minutes before anyone called paramedics to Jackson's home, according to the court documents. This delay was inexplicable, according to Dr Robert Kirby, an anesthesiologist, speaking to the New York Times. "Lord, no; you'd call right away," Kirby said.

♦ Murray did not initially tell paramedics or doctors that he had given Jackson propofol. Medical experts now say that the drugs he administered previously would have exacerbated the effect of the propofol.

♦ There are no records of Murray ever ordering propofol, according to an agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration, which means Murray was administering drugs obtained by the singer personally.

♦ Murray was in serious financial trouble at the time he was hired earlier this year by AEG. According to public records, he was in debt to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars and faced foreclosure on his Las Vegas home. ·