Crime & Safety

Jackson Did Not Self Administer Propofol Says Medical Examiner

Los Angeles County deputy medical examiner who performed the autopsy on Michael Jackson testified that the singer did not give himself the anesthetic.

A Los Angeles County deputy medical examiner who performed the autopsy on Michael Jackson testified today that he concluded the singer did not give himself the powerful anesthetic propofol that caused his death on June 25, 2009.

Dr. Christopher Rogers -- who determined that Jackson's death was a "homicide" -- told the seven-man, five-woman jury hearing the involuntary manslaughter case against Jackson's personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, that "the circumstances from my point of view do not support self-administration of propofol."

He noted that Murray acknowledged to police he had given Jackson a 25-milligram dose of propofol, but said "there was not an appropriate medical indication'' for the doctor to give the 50-year-old entertainer propofol to help him sleep.

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The deputy medical examiner also told jurors that there was not an EKG monitor or a precision dosing device to ensure how much medication Jackson was being given.

"Essentially, the doctor would be estimating how much he was giving," Rogers said, noting that it would be easy "for the doctor to estimate wrong and give too much propofol."

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He said it was a "less reasonable'' scenario for Jackson to wake up at least to some extent under the influence of propofol and other sedatives while Murray was using the bathroom, to administer propofol to himself and stop breathing within the two-minute period of time the doctor told police that he was out of Jackson's bedroom.

Rogers said he was not able to determine right away what caused Jackson's death, saying he believed Jackson was "healthier than the average person of his age."

The deputy medical examiner said a photo taken of Jackson's nude body -- shown to the jurors on a large screen with the singer's genital area blacked out -- accurately depicted the singer's condition at the time.

Further testing helped to determine that Jackson's death was caused by acute propofol intoxication, with ``benzodiazepene effect'' as a contributing condition, he said. He noted that the sedatives midazolam and lorazepam were
found in Jackson's system, along with propofol.

The deputy medical examiner said he had sought out records involving Murray's medical treatment of Jackson the day of his death, but had not been able to obtain any.

Shown a photo of a vial of propofol seized at Jackson's home, Rogers said he noticed that the center of the vial's rubber stopper has a "more or less linear opening in it" that could have been created by a medical device that would be pushed into the stopper and result in propofol flowing out through the end.

Prosecutors allege that the 58-year-old Murray, a cardiologist who served his residency at Loma Linda University in 1992, administered a large dose of propofol to Jackson, then left him unattended to make phone calls and send emails. Previous witnesses have testified about being on the phone with Murray that morning, or about emails the doctor sent from his iPhone during the same time period, despite the doctor's assertion that he only left Jackson's side for a few minutes.

Defense attorneys maintain that Murray was weaning Jackson off propofol -- which the singer used to help him sleep -- and gave him only a small amount of it but that Jackson "self-administered" a larger dose, killing himself instantly after the doctor left the room.

In other testimony today, Los Angeles police Detective Scott Smith testified that Murray appeared surprised when he learned during a police interview two days after the singer's death that detectives had not yet found his medical bags, which contained 11 bottles of the powerful anesthetic propofol and other medical supplies.

"He seemed very surprised ... his eyes got bigger, wider, as if he was surprised,'' the police detective testified of Murray's response during the June 27, 2009, interview at the Ritz-Carlton in Marina del Rey. An audiotape of that interview was played for jurors Friday and today.

During the interview, Murray described the hours leading up to Jackson's death, telling detectives he administered several medications to the singer, who could not sleep. The doctor told detectives he eventually gave Jackson a small dose of propofol and waited until he fell asleep. Murray said he left the room for about two minutes to go to the bathroom, and when he returned he was "stunned in the sense that he (Jackson) wasn't breathing."

Toward the end of the police interview, Murray discussed how he placed various syringes and medications in three bags, and the bags were in a cabinet in a bedroom closet. Under questioning today by defense attorney Edward Chernoff, Smith said.

Murray described exactly where the bags were located. The bags were found by a coroner's investigator on June 29, 2009, when a search warrant was served at Jackson's rented Holmby Hills estate.

Chernoff noted that the search was conducted two days after the interview with Murray, and he asked Smith why the house had not been sealed after an initial search on June 25 to prevent people from going through the estate.

Smith said the decision not to seal the house had been made by the coroner's office.

Jackson was staying at the estate while he was rehearsing for a planned series of 50 concerts in London dubbed "This Is It."

According to the audiotape of the interview played for the jury, Murray told investigators how he went with Jackson's manager, Frank Dileo, and personal assistant, Michael Amir Williams, to tell the singer's three children at the hospital about their father's death.

Murray told police the children were "weeping, really weeping" when
they found out. He said he told Jackson's daughter, Paris, that he did his best to save Jackson.

"She said, 'I know that Dr. Murray. At least I know. I know you tried your best,'" Murray said, according to a transcript of the interview. "'I know you tried your best, but I'm really sad. You know, I will wake up in the morning and I won't be able to see my daddy.' She cried and was very stark."

Murray also told investigators in the interview that he had never met Jackson's mother, Katherine, but he was there when a doctor told her that the singer had died.

"So the doctor started telling her that, you know, her son came in and he was having difficulty breathing and they tried everything,'' Murray said. "And she said, 'Well, how is he? He's not dead, is he?' And the doctor said,
'Yes.' And she broke down. It was very -- and weeping. We stayed there, held
her hand."

Murray went on in the interview to discuss his past treatment of Jackson, noting that he had previously treated him for pneumonia and a fractured toe he suffered when the singer got upset and kicked a door. He also told investigators the singer had a respiratory problem and dehydration issues, noting that Jackson did not eat much. Murray said Jackson also had problems with a fungal infection on his toes.

I gave Mr. Jackson love,'' Murray said in the interview. "I was his friend. I cared about him. I tried to help him. that's all I was trying to do."

Terri Vermeulen Keith, City News Service


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