Michael Jackson's Cause of Death Was 'Acute Propofol Intoxication'
The massive hit movie, Michael, is bringing the life of controversial pop legend Michael Jackson back into the public's attention. That has a lot of people wondering more about Michael's death and how, when, and where he died.
Michael Jackson died tragically; he's brought back to life on the big screen by his nephew, Jaafar Jackson, who is the son of Michael's sibling, Jermaine Jackson, who was also a member of the Jackson 5. And, yes, Jaafar really does sing in the movie. The movie is controversial because of its failure to investigate the child sex abuse accusations against Michael Jackson; audiences appear to like it more than critics do, per its Rotten Tomatoes scores.
What was Michael Jackson's Cause of Death? How the Pop Legend Died, According to His Autopsy Report
Michael Jackson died in 2009. His doctor, Conrad Murray, was later found "guilty of involuntary manslaughter by a jury in Los Angeles," according to BBC.
Michael's autopsy report is available online. You can read it here. It says that the coroner determined that Jackson died of “acute propofol intoxication." Jackson was only 50 years old at the time of his death. His place of death was listed as the hospital in Los Angeles.
According to BBC, prosecutors alleged that Murray "was an incompetent physician who used an anesthetic called Propofol without the proper safeguards," but the defense argued that Jackson perished from a drug overdose. BBC reported that Murray allegedly gave Michael the drug to sleep, describing it as "a fast-acting hospital sedative, administered intravenously and used before anesthetics. It was first used widely in the late 1980s."
According to Entertainment Weekly, Michael was also using other drugs, with the site listing "Valium, lorazepam, and midazolam."
Dr. Conrad Murray Claimed He Tried to Get Michael Jackson to Sleep Without Propofol, Reports Say
(Photo by Kimberly White/Corbis via Getty Images)
The Los Angeles Times published a transcript with Murray. "In June 27, 2009, Dr. Conrad Murray was interviewed by two detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department shortly after Michael Jackson’s death," the newspaper wrote.
"During the interview, which took place at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Marina del Rey, Murray described the long hours during which he tried in vain to get Jackson to sleep with the aid of drugs other than propofol, the surgical anesthetic that ultimately caused his death," added the Times. You can read the full transcript of that interview here.
"Around 10:40 a.m., Murray gave Jackson 25 milligrams of propofol that had been diluted with lidocaine. Jackson was finally able to get to sleep," Entertainment Weekly reported.
"Unfortunately, he never woke up. Murray said that he left the room for roughly two minutes to use the restroom, and returned to discover that Jackson had stopped breathing."
According to People, Murray served about two years in prison and was released in 2013, although his original sentence was four years. He maintained his innocence, telling CNN in 2013 that he was "in the wrong place at the wrong time."
Murray returned to practicing medicine after his release, People reported, describing him as opening "the DCM Medical Institute in El Socorro, San Juan in Trinidad and Tobago."