[Smells Like News] Michael Jackson's Final Hours: A Timeline

Affidavit reveals the many drugs Jackson was allegedly given prior to his death.
By Gil Kaufman


Michael Jackson
Photo: Dave Hogan/Getty Images

Michael Jackson spent his final hours battling insomnia and pleading with his personal physician to give him a powerful anesthetic to combat his chronic sleeplessness, according to a search-warrant affidavit unsealed on Monday. The document gives a detailed account of what police investigators say were the 50-year-old pop singer's last hours, detailing a dangerous cocktail of drugs allegedly administered by personal physician Dr. Conrad Murray that included a lethal level of the anesthetic propofol.

The information is included in an affidavit sworn by a Los Angeles Police Department detective Orlando Martinez included in a search warrant application filed in July in Houston, where police conducted searches of Murray's medical practice and a storage facility maintained by the doctor. Murray's lawyer, Edward Chernoff, released a statement on Monday calling much of the information in a search warrant affidavit "theory" and denying that his client gave police the timeline contained in the document.

"Much of what was in the search warrant affidavit is factual," Chernoff said in the statement. "However, unfortunately, much is police theory. Most egregiously, the timeline reported by law enforcement was not obtained through interviews with Dr. Murray, as was implied by the affidavit."

The coroner's office has completed its investigation, but put the final results on security hold pending the completion of the official police investigation into the 50-year-old singer's death.

Based on the affidavit, the following is a rough timeline of Jackson's final days:

June 22: Two days prior to his death, Murray attempted to wean Jackson from propofol by giving him a lower, 25 milligram dosage, along with anti-anxiety drug Ativan (lorazepam) and the sedative Versed (midazolam), which successfully got Jackson to go to sleep.

June 23 Leaving the propofol out, Murray gave Jackson Ativan and Versed, which helped Jackson get to sleep.

June 25, approx. 1:30 a.m.: Again leaving out the propofol, Murray gave Jackson a 10-milligram tablet of Valium.

2 a.m.: Unable to sleep, Jackson was injected with 2 milligrams of Ativan through an IV by Murray.

3 a.m.: With Jackson still awake, Murray gave the singer 2 milligrams of Versed through an IV.

5 a.m.: Jackson was still not asleep, at which point Murray gave him another 2 milligrams of Ativan through an IV.

7:30 a.m.: Murray administered the still restless Jackson another 2 milligrams of Versed in his IV. During this entire sequence, Murray reportedly told investigators, he was at Jackson's bedside monitoring him with a pulse oximeter connected to the singer's finger to measure his pulse and oxygen statistics.

10:40 a.m.: After repeated requests and demands from Jackson, Murray finally gave him 25 milligrams of propofol, diluted with the local anesthetic lidocaine through the IV drip to keep Jackson sedated. The lidocaine, which Jackson referred to as "anti-burn," is used to counter-act the typical burning sensation at the site of the propofol injection. Jackson finally went to sleep, and Murray told police he continued to monitor the pop star.

10:50 a.m.: Murray got up to go to the bathroom.

10:52 a.m.: Murray returned and noticed that Jackson was not breathing. The doctor began CPR and injected .2 milligrams of Anexate, a drug used to counteract the effects of sedative drugs. Murray called Jackson's personal assistant, Michael Amir Williams, on his cell phone for help and asked him to send security upstairs for an emergency. When no one came to assist, Murray went downstairs to the kitchen and asked the chef to send up Jackson's eldest son, Prince Michael, then returned to continue CPR.

11:18 a.m.: Murray made the first of three calls spanning 47 minutes on his personal cell phone, which last until 12:05 p.m.; he did not mention these calls to interviewing detectives, who uncovered them through a search of his phone records.

Approximately 12:22 p.m.: Security guard Alberto Alvarez called 911 on his cell phone. The affidavit suggests that nearly 82 minutes passed between the time Murray found Jackson not breathing and the time an ambulance was called.

12:22 p.m.: Los Angeles Fire Department rescue ambulance responded to an emergency call at Jackson's rented Holmby Hills, California, estate. Jackson was transported to UCLA Medical Center, along with Murray.

2:46 p.m.: Jackson was pronounced dead, and Murray refused to sign the death certificate.

Unknown time later that day: Coroner's investigators returned to the mansion to investigate and find numerous bottles of antidepressant, anti-anxiety, pain and insomnia medications prescribed by Murray to Jackson, including: diazepam (Valium), prostate medication tamsulosin (Flomax), lorazepam (Ativan) and tempazepam (Restoril). They also found other prescriptions from two other doctors (longtime dermatologist Dr. Arnold Klein and general practitioner Dr. Allan Metzger), which included anti-anxiety drug clonazepam (Klonopin), antidepressant trazodone (Desyrel) and muscle relaxer tizanidine (Zanaflex).

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Posted By sysop to Smells Like News at 8/25/2009 10:31:00 A
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