Dr Conrad Murray’s legal team has sensationally claimed at a pre-trial hearing that pop superstar Michael Jackson committed suicide to avoid financial ruin.
The disgraced doctor, who is facing involuntary manslaughter charges over the singer’s tragic death in July 2009, has claimed via his lawyers during a pre-trail hearing that MJ resorted to “desperate measures” because of mounting debt.
According to The Associated Press, Dr Murray’s lawyer Edward Chernoff is arguing that his client is innocent, and while he carefully avoided using the word "suicide", he implied that MJ ended his own life with a fatal dose of Propfol while the physician was out of the room.
Chernoff told Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor: “The crux of the defence is going to be that Michael Jackson engaged in a desperate act and took desperate measures that caused his death.
“We believe at the time Michael Jackson died, he was a desperate man in relation to his financial affairs.”
But the prosecutors were having none of it, and in turn claimed that their allegations were a ploy to defame the King Of Pop - who died weeks before his monumental 50-date performance at London’s The O2 Arena. Chernoff’s request for access to the 'Thriller' singer’s financial records to gather proof were declined on the grounds that it was an unnecessary invasion of the singer’s privacy, with the judge calling it “major deep sea fishing”.
The judge also insisted that the defense's claims had nothing to do with the main crux of the trial – whether Dr. Murray was negligent in administering Propofol to the hit-maker.
Judge Pastor said: “I'm not going to turn an involuntary manslaughter trial into some kind of an escapade in analysis of the finances in Michael Jackson's entire life.”
The court is still screening jurors for the upcoming trial. We’ll keep you posted.
What do you think of Dr Murray’s claims? Let us know by commenting below. Meanwhile, remember Michael's legacy in the video below...
The disgraced doctor, who is facing involuntary manslaughter charges over the singer’s tragic death in July 2009, has claimed via his lawyers during a pre-trail hearing that MJ resorted to “desperate measures” because of mounting debt.
According to The Associated Press, Dr Murray’s lawyer Edward Chernoff is arguing that his client is innocent, and while he carefully avoided using the word "suicide", he implied that MJ ended his own life with a fatal dose of Propfol while the physician was out of the room.
Chernoff told Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor: “The crux of the defence is going to be that Michael Jackson engaged in a desperate act and took desperate measures that caused his death.
“We believe at the time Michael Jackson died, he was a desperate man in relation to his financial affairs.”
But the prosecutors were having none of it, and in turn claimed that their allegations were a ploy to defame the King Of Pop - who died weeks before his monumental 50-date performance at London’s The O2 Arena. Chernoff’s request for access to the 'Thriller' singer’s financial records to gather proof were declined on the grounds that it was an unnecessary invasion of the singer’s privacy, with the judge calling it “major deep sea fishing”.
The judge also insisted that the defense's claims had nothing to do with the main crux of the trial – whether Dr. Murray was negligent in administering Propofol to the hit-maker.
Judge Pastor said: “I'm not going to turn an involuntary manslaughter trial into some kind of an escapade in analysis of the finances in Michael Jackson's entire life.”
The court is still screening jurors for the upcoming trial. We’ll keep you posted.
What do you think of Dr Murray’s claims? Let us know by commenting below. Meanwhile, remember Michael's legacy in the video below...
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