Update
Several hours after he was formally charged with involuntary manslaughter, Dr. Murray Conrad turned himself into the police and pleaded not guilty to the crime. Dr. Conrad was Michael Jackson's personal physician. The criminal charges stem from the pop star's death in 2009 after a drug overdose.
Judge Keith L. Schwartz of the Los Angeles Superior Court set bail at $75,000. That's three times more than the amount people normally face after being charged with involuntary manslaughter. Dr. Murray posted bail and was released from police custody, but not before Judge Schwartz warned him not to give or use general anesthesia while he's free on bail.
Conrad said he'll return to his medical practice in Nevada and Texas until the criminal trial starts in April of this year. The California Medical Board plans to have Murray's medical license suspended. The suspension, however, would only ban him from practicing medicine in California.
Original Article
Two months after Michael Jackson's untimely death, the Los Angeles County Coroner has concluded that it was a homicide. According to Associate Press reports, forensic tests show that a lethal combination of prescription drugs caused Jackson's sudden death. The drug propofol, a powerful anesthetic generally used only for hospital sedation, and at least two other sedatives were found in Jackson's bloodstream.
The Coroner's homicide ruling paves the way for criminal charges to be filed against Dr. Conrad Murray. Murray, a Las Vegas cardiologist, was the personal physician attending Jackson when he died.
Murray admits he used propofol to treat Jackson for insomnia, but says he was trying to wean the star off of the drug. The night before Jackson's death, Murray first tried a combination of other drugs to induce sleep. The doctor said that after giving Jackson at least four injections, he gave into Jackson's demands for propofol. He administered a relatively small dose of the drug, and Jackson stopped breathing a short time later.