The long-awaited trial of Michael Jackson's personal phsycian began Tuesday with an audio recording to the King of Pop as the prosecution began laying out the involuntary manslaughter case against Dr. Conrad Murray.
A seven-man, five-woman jury will hear the case against Murray more than two years and three months after Jackson's death at a rented Holmby Hills mansion. The Los Angeles County Coroner's Office determined that Jackson died of acute propofol intoxication and classified his death as a homicide.
Special Section: Case Timeline, Juror Profiles
In their opening statement, prosecutors referred to Murray as "incompetent" and "unskilled." They played audio of Jackson from a May 10, 2009 voice recording on Murray's phone. Jackson's speech is slow and slurred as he describes his expectations regarding his upcoming concerts.
"I want them to say, 'I've never seen nothing like this in my life,'" Jackson said on the recording.
"That is what Conrad Murray is seeing and observing," said Deputy District Attorney David Walgren. "What does he do? On May 12, he orders another shipment of propofol."
Walgren described Jackson as highly under the influence in the recording.
The proseuction wrapped up its opening statement at 10:35 a.m. Proceedings are scheduled to resume after a lunch break.
The trial is expected to last four to five weeks.
A director who worked with Michael Jackson on a world concert tour is expected to be the first prosecution witness called Tuesday after opening statements. Kenny Ortega worked on Jackson's "Dangerous'' world tour.
Ortega probably won't be called to testify until after a lunch break.
Murray arrived Tuesday in a van, which was escorted into an underground garage. As he walked down the ninth-floor hallway, a woman who rushed at him was restrained by two sheriff's deputies.
Jackson family members, including his parents and sister Janet, arrived at about 8:20 a.m. Several seats in the courtroom are reserved for members of Jackson's family.
Jackson fans, some dressed as the pop star and carrying signs, gathered outside the courthouse early Tuesday.
Murray, 58, was charged in February 2010 with involuntary manslaughter. If convicted, faces up to four years in state prison.
The defense claims Murray is wrongly accused and suggests Jackson self-administered a larger, lethal dose of the anesthetic propofol when Murray left his bedroom at a rented Holmby Hills mansion.
"The defense is going to say the doctor did everything medically appropriate that he was supposed to," said legal analyst Lou Shapiro.
Prosecutors claim Murray administered the the drug to help Jackson sleep after a rehearsal for a series of "This Is It" concerts in London, then failed to properly monitor his patient.
"The prosecution is going to say this straight out, 'It doesn't matter if Michael Jackson administered this himself, or not. The doctor created the negligible circumstances that led this result,'" Shapiro said.
Ortega testified in January at Murray's preliminary hearing. The international star was "excited about the historic proportions of doing 50 shows'' as part of "This Is It," he testified. But when Jackson arrived at a June 19, 2009 rehearsal -- about a week before his death -- he "didn't seem to be well enough to be there," Ortega said at the preliminary hearing.
A second "This Is It" concert executive is expected to following Ortega on the stand.
Watch live coverage of the trial on USA LOCAL NEWS.com. A livestream will be added when opening statements begin.
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