MORE TO READ: "One Year Later: Our Complete Jackson Coverage"
Murder and money.
One year after his death, that’s the state of affairs for Michael Jackson, legally speaking.
In the last decade of his life, Jackson spent much more time in the courts than he did on the charts; posthumously, things haven’t changed much for the superstar.
The flurry of record sales and downloads that catapulted Michael’s music back into the Top 10 has subsided, but the legal maneuverings are just getting started. There’s Michael’s will and his money, which the late singer’s estate is quickly enriching – and various family members and business associates want a piece of it.
There’s also his actual death, and whether his personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, has blood on his prescription drug-administering hands.
MURDER
Someone killed Michael Jackson – the question is, who?
On Aug. 28, 2009, just over two months after he was declared dead at UCLA Medical Center, Michael Jackson’s death was ruled a homicide by the Los Angeles County coroner. The cause, the coroner said at the time, was "acute propofol intoxication."
That report, which also cited lorazepam and Valium as contributing factors in the singer’s death, clearly showed Jackson, as many had suspected over the years, had a problem with drugs. It also implicitly laid responsibility on those who were providing and administering the powerful painkillers and sedatives to the singer.
On Feb. 8, 2010, as public pressure was building, Los Angeles prosecutors put that responsibility on Dr. Conrad Murray, Michael’s personal physician, who was in his house with him the day the singer died. According to the charge of involuntary manslaughter, Murray “did unlawfully, and without malice, kill Michael Joseph Jackson.”
If found guilty, Murray faces a prison sentence of up to four years.
However, despite presiding Judge Michael Pastor’s recent declaration that he wanted to prioritize the trial, don’t expect Murray behind bars or exonerated any time soon – the next hearing scheduled for Aug. 23 is still just another preliminary.
Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley, who is running for California attorney general, doesn’t want any repeats of the fiasco that was the O.J. Simpson trial. However, he and deputy D.A. David Walgren, who is actually handling the matter in court, don’t want to be accused of railroading Murray, either.
The DA’s office also knows that Murray’s likely defense – that Michael administered the fatal drugs to himself – isn’t going to moonwalk itself away without many days, if not weeks and months, in court. Then again, Murray, who is primarily represented by the smooth but pugilistic Ed Chernoff, might have a more immediate charge on his hands very soon.
On March 27, as TheWrap reported, lawyers for Joe Jackson, who was left out of his son’s will, served Murray with a notice of intent to initiate legal proceedings.
