LA coroner rules Jackson’s death a homicide

MICHAEL JACKSON’S death has been ruled as homicide, the Los Angeles County Coroner said yesterday in a move that could lead the way to criminal charges.

The King of Pop died as a result of “acute propofol intoxication”, a release from the coroner’s department revealed. Earlier this week, court documents disclosed that Jackson’s personal doctor, Dr Conrad Murray, administered propofol — a powerful sedative — just hours before the singer collapsed at his rented Los Angeles home. According to the coroner’s report, the effect of the psychoactive drug benzodiazepine contributed to Jackson’s death.

Alongside propofol and the benzodiazepine lorazepam, investigators found a cocktail of other drugs including diazepam and ephedrine in the singer’s system. The cause of the 50-year-old’s death and ruling of homicide are in line with earlier leaks to the press. Under US law, homicide could refer to murder or negligent or reckless manslaughter.

The ruling raises the possibility of criminal charges. On Monday, documents released by a court in Houston revealed Dr Murray administered several drugs to Jackson to help him sleep in the days leading up to his death.

These included propofol. But the doctor told police that he feared that the singer was becoming addicted to the drug and halved his dosage from 50 milligrams a night to 25 milligrams. Dr Murray, 51, told officers that during the morning of Jackson’s death, he tried to induce sleep without the use of propofol. But after giving the singer a cocktail of other drugs, he turned to propofol following persistent requests from Jackson himself.

The last time Dr Murray administered the medication was 10.40am on June 25 — just hours before Jackson’s heart stopped. Court reports suggested that the physician left Jackson’s side soon after giving him the drug, claims he has since denied.

The physician – who was Jackson’s side when he died – has become the focus of police efforts to establish the cause of Jackson’s death and has been interviewed twice by officers. Dr Murray has not been identified as a suspect, however, but is the target of what police term a manslaughter investigation.