After nearly three days of hearing a drug expert outline how he believes Dr. Conrad Murray contributed to the death of Michael Jackson, attorneys for the superstar's personal physician might finally question one of the prosecution's key witnesses.
Testimony in Murray's involuntary manslaughter trial is scheduled to resume at about noon, Friday.
Dr. Steven Shafer gave his account Thursday of the events that occurred in Jackson's body during the morning hours of June 25, 2009 -- the day the King of Pop died. Murray's administration of the surgical sedative propofol without proper monitoring equipment was just one critical mistake, Shafer said.
But it was Murray's abandonment of Jackson that ultimately led to the pop star's death, Shafer said. Murray told detectives that he left Jackson's bedroom for about two minutes to use the bathroom after Jackson fell asleep. That was after he administered a dose of propofol -- the drug cited in Jackson's death.
When he returned, he said he noticed Jackson was not breathing.
"Had Conrad Murray been with Michael Jackson, he would have seen the breathing slow down," Shafer said. "He could have easily turned off the propofol infusion... and there would have been no injury to Michael Jackson."
Instead, Shafer said the propofol continued to drip into Jackson's system. Eventually, the singer's heart no longer had enough oxygen and it stopped beating, Shafer said.
"He has died, but he has died with the (propofol) infusion still going, and that's why the levels are high," Shafer added.
Thursday's testimony included a demonstration of the propofol drip in court. As jurors watched, the milky white substance dripped into a water bottle to demonstrate the final scene of Jackson's life.
After questioning Shafer Friday, the defense is likely to start calling its own witnesses on the trial's 15th day. Those witnesses include Dr. Paul White, the defense's propofol expert who took notes as Shafer tried to pick apart defense theories.
One of those theories -- that Jackson self-administered the drug when Murray left the room.
"People don't just wake up hellbent to grab the next dose in the syringe, draw it and shove it in the IV again. It's a crazy scenario," said Shafer.
Another theory posited by the defense is that Jackson swallowed eight lorazepam pills in the hours before his death without Murray's knowledge. The amount of lorazepam in Jackson's stomach was "trivial," Shafer said.
"(Murray) is responsible for every drop of propofol in that room, every drop of lorazepam in that room,'' Shafer said.
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