Lethal levels of propofol found in Michael Jackson's body, affidavit says [Updated]

L.A. County coroner's officials found lethal levels of the powerful anesthetic propofol after examining Michael Jackson's body, according to a search warrant affidavit unsealed today in Houston.

According to the search warrant, Jackson's doctor, Conrad Murray, told detectives with the Los Angeles Police Department that he had been treating Jackson for insomnia for about six weeks. He had been giving Jackson 50 milligrams of propofol every night using an intravenous line, according to the court records.

But Murray told detectives that he feared Jackson was forming an addiction and began trying to wean the pop star off the drugs. He lowered the dosage to 25 milligrams and mixed it with two other sedatives, lorazepam and midazolam. On June 23, two days before Jackson's death, he administered those two medications and withheld the propofol.

On the morning Jackson died, Murray tried to induce sleep without using propofol, according to the affidavit. He said he gave Jackson valium at 1:30 a.m. When that didn't work, he said, he injected lorazepam intravenously at 2 a.m. At 3 a.m., when Jackson was still awake, Murray administered midazolam.

Over the next few hours, Murray said he gave Jackson various drugs. Then at 10:40 a.m., Murray administered 25 milligrams of propofol after Jackson repeatedly demanded the drug, according to the court records.

[Updated at 12:45 p.m.: Although Murray acknowledged to police that he administered propofol, authorities said they could find no evidence that he had purchased, ordered or obtained the medication under his medical license or Drug Enforcement Administration tracking number. However, police detectives saw about eight bottles of propofol in the house along with other vials and pills that had been prescribed to Jackson by Dr. Murray, Dr. Arnold Klein and Dr. Allan Metzger.

Other drugs that were confiscated in the search included valium, tamsulosin, lorazepam, temazepam, clonazepam, trazodone and tizanidine. They also found propofol in Murray’s medical bag. Murray told detectives that he was not the first doctor to administer the powerful anesthetic to Jackson.

At least two unidentified doctors gave Jackson propofol in Germany. Between March and April 2009, Murray said he called Las Vegas doctor David Adams at Jackson’s request to arrange for Adams to administer propofol. Murray said he was present at a cosmetologist’s office, where Adams used propofol to sedate Jackson. Since he began treating Jackson, Murray said he repeatedly asked the pop star what other physicians were treating Jackson and what drugs they were prescribing. But Jackson declined to provide the information, Murray told authorities.

Murray said he noticed injection marks on Jackson’s hands and feet. When he asked Jackson about them, the pop star told him he had been given a “cocktail” to help him. In addition to Murray, authorities subpoenaed medical records from Dr. Arnold Klein, Dr. Allan Metzger and Dr. David Adams, the affidavit states. They also asked for medical records from Dr. David Slavitt, who conducted the independent medical examination of Jackson for Anschuntz Entertainment Group, Dr. Randy Rosen and nurse practitioner Cherilyn Lee. They also subpoenaed records from Dr. Mark Tadrissi, who stored medical records with Adams. ]

Murray has already acknowledged obtaining and administering propofol to Jackson the morning that the pop star died. In an interview with police, Murray told them that he had left Jackson alone under the influence of the medication to make telephone calls to his Houston office and family members.

When he returned, he discovered Jackson was not breathing. He performed CPR, and one of Jackson’s staff members called 911. The 50-year-old pop star was rushed to the UCLA Medical Center, where he was later declared dead. Much of the investigation has focused on propofol — a drug typically administered by anesthesiologists during surgery — and whether Murray’s decision to give it to Jackson as a sleep aid outside a hospital setting reaches a level of negligence required for an involuntary manslaughter charge.

-- Kimi Yoshino

Photo: Conrad Murray. Credit: AFP / Getty Images

Full coverage: Michael Jackson's Life and Death

Interactive timeline: Michael Jackson | 1958-2009

Video Q&A: Times reporters on Michael Jackson's death

Comments

[me]

The doctor may be negligent, but MJ is responsible for his own death. Let remember we're talking about The king of pop with an endless supply of money (everyone says he was 'broke', but I don't see the holder of rights to The Beatles catalog...worth hundres of millions...as being broke). MJ had the money and the power to buy anything and ANYONE he wanted. I love the guy but he actually bought his own death. Just my opinion...

[Susi]

That was careless and irresponsible!! Michael needed HELP! And the doctors only gave him more and more drugs!!!! I can't believe that!

Germany loves you Michael! MJ4ever! Susi

[Marcus Robinson]

So Dr. Murray will go down as the "Drug Pusher" who help Michael Jackson overdose. MJ was a drug addict and if it were not Dr. Murray it would have been some else. Why in the hell didn't Michael Jackson seek serious help for he sleeping problem? Michael Jackson took the easy way out and not only became a drug addict but is now a dead drug addict.

[Michael]

If there is any blame for MJ's death, it should go to MJ himself. He knew his dependancy on drugs (perscribed or otherwise) was wrong. With all the money he had, MJ could have the best rehab in the world to live healthy without any medication.

[Marjo]

Was Michael Jackson responsible for his choices? Well yes, but no one will deny he was (and had been for a long time) under duress. Who knows what any of us would have done if living with the same stress and suffering from insomnia. Be that as it may, Jackson's responsibility for his medicine abuse doesn't exonerate the doctor for his death at all. Suppose someone came up to you in the street and said please kill me, and you obliged. You wouldn't really expect to be off the hook, now would you?
I am still so very sad about Michael Jackson's death. I truly believe he was a good person in a sick world.

[flora]

michael wanted sleep, he wanted to relax. he needed a trip to the spa, not a cocktail of drugs. the only solution those doctors know about is to administer drugs. all who were involved were just so stupid. it makes me so angry at how stupid and ignorant people can be. doctor murray says he was trying to ween mj off propofol. if he was smart enough to notice an addiction, then y wasnt he smart enough to know that he couldnt leave michael alone? michael trusted those people, and even his own doctors did him wrong. and the problem is that it was his fault too. he had enough power to find the doctors that would give it to him. he demanded those drugs, and thats what he was given. spoiled. out of control with too much control. as much as i love him and as devastated as i am, i can't even imagine how all his fans and family and poor children are feeling. another legend lost in this world power, greed, and drugs. so sad.

[k mcdoneld]

Do your research on propofol... not to be taken for and does not satisfy sleep deprivation. It was a wicked recreational drug IMO.... read FDA website and other Med websites. read about the propofol addicts. The most dangerous and expensive recreational drug in existence with extremely wierd effects. IMO, he was allowed - via the drip volume - to come to near consciousness and then back to "sleep" to get the recreational affect... His recreational discovery may have come inadvertently from the many many propofol applications during his multiple cosmetic surgeries....just my opinion..

[Rob Lime]

This looks like a sad insurance fraud, where death of Michael Jackson has been organised to get back $$$$ for cancellation of 50 concerts. Concerts would never have been possible, due to his health. So the question is, was Dr Murray working for the same people who were producing the " impossible tour "... ?

[al]

I am an imsoniac for years. I cant get to sleep until 4 a.m. after tossing and turning from 11 pm i sleep 3 good hrs and my eyes just open wide at 7 a.m. . ive tried everything from warm milk to sleeping pills, (which give me a hangover the next day) ive learned to deal with it and would never take drugs. i am 50 like Mike was and am waiting for the day i can sleep 8 straight hours, which i havent had in 30 years oh well

[Rob Rahlf]

Well I'm sure glad I'm not Dr. Murray, making personal phone calls, and leaving a patient unattended is absolutely grounds for a criminal offence. He's lucky he most probably will get only charged with manslaughter.

He should get a second degree murder charge in my opinion. I'm sure he didn't have any intent to kill Michael Jackson but his actions prove other wise, by him being 100% negligence. NO reputable physician or medical person whould leave a person unattended with those powerful drugs, PERIOD!!!!

Just goes to show us you can't trust anyone! The Government, Congress, Military, Physicians, Cops, anybody in authority.

~Rob

[Bart]

GOOD GOD! This "Doctor" gave Michael Jackson all that dope within a few hours?

WHAT responsible physician who cared at ALL about the wellbeing of his patient would DO this? And THEN to leave him alone with no monitoring - after administering an anesthetic that is ONLY to be used in a surgical setting with blood oxygen level and ECG monitoring - and following a lethal cocktail of other stuff - was Murray TRYING to kill Michael?

I'm sorry but this "doctor" is a greedy, quack who needs to be relieved of his ability to "practice medicine" on ANYone.

UNbelieveable. I DON'T CARE WHAT JACKSON ASKED FOR! ANY doctor with any sense of ethics whatsoever would have NEVER administered that stuff to him like that - and then left him alone.

!!!!!!!

Wow. Just. Wow.

[A Fan]

The blame in this sad case is spread among many. Yes, Dr. Murray was most likely negligent (to say the least) to administer all those drugs. According to reports, it appears that he was in financial trouble and resorted to a quick gig that required him to be the superstar's enabler and, perhaps, drug supplier... and administrator). It's arguable that MJ was also culpable. Addiction is a disease. It can be argued that the addict has no control over the addiction and will do whatever to feed it. And, in MJ's case, he was finanically able to feed that addiction without having to accept outside intervention or reprucussions, at least until now. MJ was treated for pill addiction in the 90's, but somehow he wasn't able to stay clean. Then there are the other doctors. Given MJ's very public profile, it wouldn't be difficult to discover his history, including his 90's admittance to an addiction to pain killers. The blame spreads far and wide. How many other doctors had enabled MJ in the past? It's Dr. Murray's misfortune to not only make the very bad decision to accept the position of MJ's personal doctor and what appears to be hislatest prime enabler, but also to be present, as one commentor put it, "when the shoe dropped." The sad thing is, unless a drug addict or alcoholic gets help, works to stay clean and sober, and refuses to even entertain the thought of using or drinking again, no matter the circumstances or reasons, tragedy almost inevitably occurs, sooner or later. With reports of MJ's drug use (recall the drugs found at Neverland when the police raided the place years ago?), the biggest wonder is that tragedy didn't happen sooner.

[Principessa]

Let's face it, Dr. Murray did not heed the Hippocratic oath and was only thinking of securing his financial future (which was in shambles by the way) when he was "treating" MJ. Poor MJ was and always has been too kind and trusting which is why he was continually being sued, extorted from and taken advantage by all of the leeches and opportunists swarming around him. Dr. Murray is a "cardiologist" what kind of medical school he went to who knows, he probably went to some quack school over seas. Anyway he has no business administering propofol which should only be administered by a highly qualified anesthesiologist in a hospital setting. Dr. Murray didn't even have heart or oxygen monitors for MJ when he administered this dangerous drug which is common protocol! What a freaking ignorant idiot! He didn't care if MJ lived or died as long as he got paid. He should definitely get manslaughter if not murder. RIP Michael Jackson Long Live the King of Pop

[Al Gonzalez]

Michael Jackson is dead???????!

[kat]

I feel that Dr. Murray did not mean to kill MJ, but he was not paying attention and made a horrible mistake. I have to say, if it were me that made that same mistake, killing MJ because of an error I made, I would have jumped off the highest bridge I could find, because I could not live with myself. Kill MJ? OMG!!!! I feel sorry for everyone, the Dr., MJ, his family AND all of us that are still mourning his loss. I am still so sad and I am having a hard time getting over it. RIP MJ!!! You are dearly missed.

[Paul]

This sounds really horrible, and I'm not discounting Dr. Murray's role in all of this but, face it, Michael wasn't getting any more normal as the years went by. I can't say that he's better off dead, but I certainly think "his" children have a better chance to grow up somewhat nomal now that their freak of a "dad" no longer controls their every move. Face it, Michael had many, many problems, and there was no one - not family, not friends - who were able to stop even if they knew about it. True, I think Michael was once a very talented artist but, for whatever reason, some his fault and some not, he became truly bizarre. I'm somewhat sad he is dead, but I'm much more relieved that I won't have to wonder any more, "What the heck is wrong with Michael Jackson?"

[John Parker]

I believe this was a murder made by the organization that footed the bill for this concert. Insurance will pay them. They made the decison to kill him after realizing he was not going to be able to perform. Being out so much money they had the vile of propa what ever increased and now the blame will shift on the poor doctor as too remove them from guilt. This is what my guides have told me and i may be viewed as a crazy but this is the truth.

[Steven Anderson]

The only thing Murray is guilty of is trying to wean Michael Jackson off of propofol without his consent. At some point Murray should have just walked away, as I'm sure many doctors treating Jackson had already done.

[Kim]

It may be that Michael had "demanded" drugs..however, any doctor is his right mind knows better than to just give them to him...Just because you "demand" a drug..doesnt mean ethically it should be given. This is totally unethical and when judged by a jury of his peers he will find other doctors would not have done what he did and he will be found guilty of homicide. Sorry, but any doctor would know better than to administer this drug. In the drug guide it says that intubation equipment should be available when taking this drug as it can create sleep apnea greater than 60 seconds..It also said that continuous monitering is necessery...He neither monitered Michael nor did he have intubation equipment ready and you should also have a staff in case you cant get the intubation maybe someone else can..he was not monitered by ECG equipment. He was not in a hospital. He was not a licensed anethesiologist. He is so ethically wrong in this case it is not even funny!

[Jack]

The combination of drugs that Murray provided Jackson with within hours before his death must have been tremendously risky. I think the doctor was very well aware of the fact that the combination was possibly lethal.

R.I.P Michael Jackson. Thank you for the inspiration.

[phyllis curry]

michael jackson was STUPID and dr. murray was just as STUPID. All that talk about how much michael loved his children. well we all can see who much STUPID michael loved his children. The more i learn of the secretive life michael lived we will see why STUPID lived the way he did. Can we get a line by line of this family with the gloves off and the real jackson family story out. We can read in small bits about the family, but i think the family is ready to talk $$$$$$$$.

[caitb]

I wonder where all of this outrage is when an innocent dies in the hospital from a wrong drug being administered or a surgery gone wrong. Or where the outrage is when a child dies in the street from a drug overdose - taken from mother's medicine cabinet... Michael Jackson was completely and utterly responsible for his own drug interaction and, for those of you who wonder why this doctor gave in to his client's demands - let's just say there were $150,000 a month worth of reasons. Jackson doesn't deserve the pity and outrage - there are far more deserving victims.

[Krzygus11]

What a Shame..Michael wanted to go to sleep,now he got his wish but he wont wake up. But maybe now.. he is awake. And you are the one's that are asleep. Michael killed Michael, bottom line. there are many natural alternatives to insomnia. The romans and egyptians used lettuce leaves, because they have a powerfull characteristic that help you sleep. The real Criminals here is "Modern Medicine, the drug companies, and the US government" by allowing these drug companies to poison us with their man made chemicals. Even illegal drugs are less menacing than all of these doctor perscibed poion pills. Maybe it's time that we all wake up, instead of trying to have a scapegoat for everything.

[urkel]

BOTTOM LINE, it ain't nobodies fault but MJ. For years he's had a drug problem, and did nothing about it and neither did his friends or relatives. the doctors he's employed as drug dealers should be stripped of their license, and hammered as drug dealers. You can set and say Mj would have never done this and that. Drug addicts do lots of things their not suppsed to do. Maybe MJ got tired of the weak attemtps by the doc to ease him to sleep, and then hit himself with a dose after the doc left the room. Nobody knows the truth but MJ and the Doc. One of them can't talk and the other won't.......

[aspiecelia]

MJ was a very sick addict and had been for years. Addicts are very skilled at getting the drugs they want. He had a lot of doctors supplying him. They would have denied a regular person, but they kowtowed to the celebrity. Some probably did it for money. He was taking a lot of different medications over a long time and had such a high tolerance that very powerful injected sedatives did not make him sleepy. Propofol is a safe drug administered under the right circumstances. A skilled health care practitioner needs to monitor the patient with cardiac and respitatory equipment. What this doctor did was crazy malpractice, but it sounds like he was working to wean Michael off the propofol. It also sounds like the problem was compounded by doctor hopping. Anyone who knows anything about addiction could look at him years ago and tell he was an addict and his behavior confirmed it. A lot of people have apparently tried to help him. It is a sad story all around. We need to lift the stigma from addiction so more people will seek help. We need more education for physicians because even though the information is there some aren't getting it.