LOS ANGELES (AP) – Jurors hearing the involuntary manslaughter case against Michael Jackson’s doctor on Friday heard him begin to describe his relationship with the singer in detail for the first time.
Dr. Conrad Murray spoke with police detectives two days after Jackson’s death in 2009, and the tape has not been played in public until now. Murray describes his treatment of Jackson in the hours before the singer’s death, including his administration of the anesthetic propofol.
Murray has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter. If convicted, he faces up to four years behind bars and the loss of his medical license.
The cardiologist is heard telling detectives how he met Jackson and became his personal physician for a series of planned comeback concerts in London. He said he first treated Jackson in 2006 in Las Vegas because the singer and his children were suffering from the flu.
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A judge then recessed proceedings for lunch.
Authorities say Murray gave Jackson a lethal dose of propofol and other sedatives while trying to help the singer get some sleep.
Defense attorneys say Jackson gave himself the lethal dose after Murray left the room.
Murray, who was accompanied by an attorney during the interview, told detectives that he had been trying to wean Jackson off propofol because he was afraid he was addicted.
He told the police he had given the singer other sedatives, including lorazepam and midazolam, in the hours before Jackson’s death, but that the singer couldn’t fall asleep.
Detectives wrote that Murray told them he only left Jackson alone for a couple minutes when he returned around 11 a.m. on June 25, 2009 to find the singer had stopped breathing.
Murray’s attorneys have disputed the police description of the timeline and say the doctor returned to find Jackson unresponsive around noon.
In the interview, Murray also told detectives that other doctors had given Jackson propofol as a sleep aid in the past. The singer called it his “milk,” according to descriptions of the interview included in search warrant affidavits.
The doctor also told police during the intreview where vials of propofol that remained in Jackson’s rented mansion could be found.
The disclosure led police to search the singer’s bedroom and closet two days after the interview and turned up an IV bag, several drugs and creams to treat vitiligo and bottles of propofol.
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AP Special Correspondent Linda Deutsch contributed to this report.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.
