The trial of Dr. Conrad Murray in the death of the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, is already shaping up as the trial of the century, as it began yesterday with some shocking opening arguments and a haunting phone recording from Jackson himself!
Inside a packed Los Angeles courtroom, prosecutors set the tone for what to expect in weeks to come by playing a recording of Jackson’s voice only weeks before his death, which was discovered on Dr. Murray’s mobile phone. Dr. Murray wiped away tears as the recording revealed a side of Michael Jackson most of the world was unfamiliar with — a much deeper voiced man who was fragile and totally incoherent.
His words were slow and slurred, as the obviously drugged Jackson spoke to Murray regarding his planned concert tour:
“We have to be phenomenal. When people leave this show, when people leave my show, I want them to say, ‘I’ve never seen nothing like this in my life. Go. Go. I’ve never seen nothing like this. Go. It’s amazing. He’s the greatest entertainer in the world.'”
Prosecutors played the damning audio hoping to portray the 58-year-old Dr. Conrad Murray, a cardiologist, as an incompetent physician who used a dangerous anesthetic outside of a hospital and without an emergency staff on hand. They hope to show the jury that Dr. Murray neglected and abandoned the superstar as he lay dying, which makes Dr. Murray responsible for his death.
But defense attorneys countered that Jackson was a known drug addict, who caused his own death by taking a dangerous combination of drugs without Dr. Murray’s knowledge or consent. They hope to show the jury that those drugs, including propofol, were administered by Jackson himself after Murray left the room, and that Michael Jackson caused his own death.
This is shocking and sad I saw the picture of him dead in the hospital on CNN, then I listened to this recording. Their going to drag him through the mud before this is over. What a sad ending to an incredible life.