Jackson trial hears doctor’s interviews

JURORS hearing the involuntary manslaughter case against Michael Jackson’s doctor yesterday heard the physician begin to describe his relationship with the singer in detail for the first time.

Prosecutors began playing Dr Conrad Murray’s interview with police detectives two days after Jackson’s death in June 2009.

Murray tells the detectives that he first treated Jackson in 2006 in Las Vegas because the singer and his children were suffering from the flu.

The recording has never been played in public before, nor have its exact contents been released.

During the interview, Murray details his treatments in the hours before the singer’s death, including his administration of the anesthetic propofol.

Murray, accompanied by an attorney during the interview, told detectives he was trying to wean Jackson off propofol because he was afraid he was addicted.

He said he had given the singer other sedatives, including lorazepam and midazolam, in the hours before Jackson’s death, but that the singer couldn’t fall asleep.

The doctor also told police where vials of propofol could be found in Jackson’s rented mansion. The disclosure led police finding an IV bag, several drugs and creams to treat vitiligo and bottles of propofol.