Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Michael Jackson's Final Hours


In the hours before his death, Michael Jackson was given a powerful cocktail of drugs by Dr. Conrad Murray to help him sleep. When one medicine didn't work, Murray tried another, finally resorting to a dose of the anesthetic propofol, although Murray allegedly feared Jackson was forming an addiction.

The details of Jackson's final hours, and the actions by his doctor, are outlined in an search warrant affidavit unsealed Aug. 24. Murray, in a statement issued by his attorney, Ed Chernoff, later that day, denied some, but not all, of the information police say he provided to them – specifically that he left Jackson's room during a critical period when the singer was under heavy sedation, according to the Associated Press.

What follows is the timeline of events allegedly given to detectives by Murray in the days following Jackson's death:

June 22: Murray gives Jackson 25 milligrams of propofol along with the sedatives lorazepam and midazolam. The singer is able to sleep with this mixture.

June 23: Murray gives Jackson the same drug combination as he did the day before, but this time without propofol in hopes of weaning him off it. Again, the singer was able to sleep.

The Day of Jackson's Death
June 25: At about 1:30 a.m., Murray again tried to get Jackson to sleep without propofol and gives the singer a 10-milligram tablet of Valium, but Jackson is unable to sleep.

• Around 2 a.m.: Murray injects Jackson with two milligrams of lorazepam, pushed slowly into the singer's IV. But again, Jackson can't sleep.

• Around 3 a.m.: Murray then gives two milligrams of midazolam to Jackson, also pushed slowly into the IV. Jackson remains awake.

• Around 5 a.m.: Murray gives the singer another two milligrams of lorazepam but Jackson still can't sleep.

• Around 7:30 a.m.: Murray administers another two milligrams of midazolam. Murray claims he is continuously at Jackson's bedside, monitoring the singer with a pulse oximeter [connected to Jackson's finger] and measuring his pulse and oxygen statistics. But Jackson remains awake.

• Around 10:40 a.m.: Murray gives Jackson 25 milligrams of propofol diluted with lidocaine to keep Jackson sedated after repeated demands for the drug by the singer. Jackson finally falls asleep, and Murray continues to monitor him.

• After 10 minutes: Murray states he left Jackson's bedside to use the restroom and is gone for no more than two minutes. Upon his return, Murray finds Jackson not breathing. Murray begins CPR, and gives Jackson 0.2 milligrams of flumazenil, an antidote for certain overdoses. Using his cell phone, Murray calls Jackson's personal assistant, Michael Amir Williams, and asks him to send security upstairs for an emergency.

Murray continues CPR – and before security arrives – he leaves Jackson and runs to the hallway and downstairs to the kitchen, where he asks the chef to send up Jackson's 12-year-old son, Prince Michael I. Murray continues CPR. The boy arrives upstairs and summons security.

• At 12:21 p.m.: Jackson staff member Alberto Alvarez dials 911, and the Los Angeles Fire Department responds on the scene shortly thereafter. Murray waits for the ambulance while conducting CPR, and later accompanies Jackson to the hospital.

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