Conspiracies Behind Michael Jackson's Death - Jasmin Zaman

         On stage there was no one better. In fact, he appeared to have it all: from being the lead singer in the famous Motown group to becoming a worldwide phenomenon (“Michael Jackson”). He was the “King of Pop,” and as we will soon learn his life may have been the famous thriller he once sang about. On June 25, 2009, fifty-year old Michael Joseph Jackson was found lying in his bed with his eyes and mouth partially opened, and hands out (Peretti). Soon after, he was declared dead of an overdose of Propofol (a sleeping drug) and a mixture of medications (1). The search for answers began, and conspiracies over his mysterious death erupted. Did his very own physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, overdose him with the drug? Perhaps it was the icon himself?  Let’s explore the media behind the questions, with the most plausible cause being that Dr. Murray killed Michael Jackson.

From a young age, it was evident that Michael Jackson was destined for stardom. While some may argue that he lived the ideal life, the reality of his situation wasn’t always this (Shaw). In fact, Michael had a very lost childhood that contributed to many of his future passions and troubles (DiMao). In an interview, Michael shares how across the street from his recording studio as a kid he would hear children playing and cry because he had to work instead (1). Michael goes on to explain that as an adult he tries to compensate for this lack of childhood through always surrounding himself with kids (1). This is why he constructed Neverland, the 2,600 lot in Santa Ynez Valley, full of rides and games (Peretti). However, suspicions over Jackson's odd relationship with kids led to allegations of sexual abuse against him in 1993 and in 2005 that caused severe anguish within Michael (“Michael Jackson: After Life”). Following this time, many of the world's thoughts on him divided (1). However, one thing remained evident, Michael largely influenced the music industry around the world (1).

Michael Jackson’s good friends and employees have nothing but positive comments as they speak of him as unarguably one of the most concerned, genuine, and kind-hearted people one could ever meet (DiMao) (Millard). Kenny Ortega, director of Michael’s This is it concerts, shares that as soon as they landed in Romania, Michael went straight to the orphanage instead of his hotel (Millard). Here, he whispered to children that the shelter was going to be turned around with new beds, clean sheets, and more caregivers (1). Michael promised them if this failed, he would not go on stage, and sure enough within twenty-four hours Michaels visions came true (1). Additionally, he displayed his overwhelming generosity through his dreams of adopting two children from every continent around the world (Shaw). It was unquestionable that Michael had a burning desire to improve conditions everywhere he went in hopes to make the world a better place.

Although none of what Michael did was for recognition, he had impacted so many that it was inevitable that he received numerous awards (Varner). Among these were: the “Points of Lights Ambassador” awarded by president Bush for assisting disabled children in Neverland, the medal of honor and “King of Sani” title in Africa for visiting numerous orphanages and hospitals, and the world record for “Most Charities Supported by a Pop Star” (1). Michael’s eagerness to share not just his funding, but his radiating love for those in need truly exemplifies his selflessness and charismatic nature. Perhaps his longtime friend, Elizabeth Taylor, best puts into words whom Michael is: “he was understanding … sympathetic … and wonderfully giving” (DiMao).

Someone once wrote that in optimism there is magic, and this is the approach Michael took in his life (DiMao). As a young singer, the icon reveals that his father would “sit in a chair with a belt at rehearsal, and if he missed just one step, he would be brought into a room and whipped” (Shaw). Sometimes he was so terrified of his father that he would vomit at his presence (1). While many would resent anyone who has harmed them, in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, Michael stated, “I love my father, but I don’t know him… I wish I could understand my father” (DiMao). Through this, we can see that Michael constantly looked for the good in people, even despite such horrible circumstances. Michael is also keeping an open mind as he recognizes his past and uses it as a motive in his own family life (Shaw). Michael tells how this violence prompts him to do all he can to protect his children (1). J. Randy Taraborelli, Jackson's confidant, says, “he was very patient, kind, and always available to them” (Taraborelli).

Aside from Michael’s optimism, he was driven by pure intentions and connected to the spiritual world (Diamond) (Millard). Ortega expands on the fact that Jackson never talked about wanting to sell records in all his time working with him but spoke of wanting to give back to those who supported him (Millard). In this way, Michael didn’t just consider his money and fame, but thought about his audience. He wanted to create magic to share with the world, and in interviews you will repeatedly hear him say this (Diamond) (DiMao). Interestingly, Michael credited this ‘magic’ to a higher power, who, he says, tunneled the art through to him (Diamond). We can see that Michael appears humble despite his significant position, and fuels his music with intentions to give harmony and beauty to the world.

While in many ways Michael seemed to have the world in the palm of his hand; those who worked and knew him personally spoke of why it seemed this way to the public. Michael’s manager and right-hand man for seventeen years, Bob Jones, explains, “Jackson was clever at creating… and his whole life [was] tied up into building an image that is not true” (Peretti). J. Randy Taraborelli further supports this by revealing how Michael wanted to create a bizarre character that would keep the world at bay (1). The questions from this information then arises: Why did Michael feel he needed to create a fictitious version of himself? What was hiding behind the glitz and glamour of the world most iconic superstar?

No one better to answer this question is Michael himself. In an interview, Oprah asked him, “Were you as happy offstage as you appeared to be onstage?” (DiMao).  Michael replied, “On stage was home. I was and still am most comfortable onstage, but once I get off, I am very sad, lonely, and have to deal with popularity” (1).    

Many internal conflicts Michael battled were caused by his qualities of being a perfectionist (Millard). Michael was never pleased with anything, beginning in early adolescence with his looks (DiMao). Michael tells of how he had pimples all over his face and his father would call him ugly (1). “I would never look at myself in the mirror and I would wash my face in the dark and cry”, says Michael (Shaw). Soon, his drive for perfection caused him to become very self-conscious (1). Typically, when individuals are self-conscious they feel as if they are on a stage, and everyone is scrutinizing them. What made it even worse for Jackson is that he really was on stage in a spotlight in front of thousands and Michael says that it made him want to die (1). Even in his later years, following plastic surgery, Jackson was still so unhappy with his appearance that he flew in his own lighting experts for an interview (1). Perhaps, Michael’s deliberate seeking of approval was fueled by his desire to be loved by everyone. After all, love is the ultimate expression of validation.  

Michael was also very troubled by his enduring drive to do better, be better and create better. The superstar confesses how he was never satisfied even when people told him he was phenomenal (DiMao). In fact, after performing the moonwalk for the first time, he cried backstage because of how unhappy he was with his performance (1). How could a dance so praised and mimicked ages all around the word ever cause Michael to feel dissatisfied? Because to us this seems unrealistic, it only reinforces how hard Michael was on himself and allows us to imagine all the smaller things that were also causing him such sadness.

It was a wonder that Michael ever produced anything because of the constant pressure he always felt to do better. Akon, an American R&B and hip-hop artist who worked with him says, “As soon as we created better, he would say we can create even better” (Millard). Even Michael says that each time what he creates becomes harder and harder to match (DiMao). He told Taraborelli: “I just want to have a simple life, but this work all the time… it’s so hard… when do I get a break?” (Taraborrelli). Unfortunately, the break never came for Michael Jackson, as he was always the hardest and most serious worker inside the studio (Millard). Furthermore, his anxiety became so bad that it caused him never to relax (Diamond). Karen Fay, Michael’s makeup artist for more than twenty-five years, reports that his adrenaline was sometimes so high that he could not settle down for two days after one show (“Michael Jackson: After Life”). His lack of sleep created by his drive for perfection may be what ultimately drew the last straw for Jackson. He began begging for painkillers from not only his doctor, Dr. Conrad Murray, but his friend, Gotham Troppa’s father (“Michael Jackson: The Final Days”). When Dr. Troppa refused because he feared Michael’s health, Michael was furious and upset (1).  He told a mutual friend, “I’m suffering…My family wants me off the drugs. If I do, I’ll die. I won’t survive a day without them. No one understands that. I need to be here for my kids. There’s no other way. There’s just no other way” (Taraborelli). The overwhelming stresses he encountered on an everyday basis led him to look for an outlet to mask his issues. Such outlets included drugs, such as Propofol, that ultimately caused his death (Peretti).

Jackson not only had to battle conflicts internally, but he had to fight his public image that the media created (DiMao). He was given the nickname “Wacko Jacko” earned by his often wild and bizarre behavior (Peretti). The tabloids made stories such as how he bought the bones of an elephant man, levitated to relax and even slept in an oxygen tank (1). Jackson says, “there is so much garbage written…appalling God awful lies so far from the truth about me” (DiMao). What makes it even worse is that while he was continually trying to create an idealized imagine for himself, the media and tabloids kept tearing them down (Peretti). In fact, just two weeks before Michael’s death, he sent 13 messages to Michael Jacobshagen, a friend of two decades, saying: “They are trying to murder me” and “I am scared about my life” (Graham).

Particularly after the allegations of 2005, is when many who knew him noticed a shift in his behavior (“Michael Jackson: After Life”). Fay tells how Michael was extremely sad and began to lose weight drastically (1). She also admits that she believes he was so vulnerable, that he might die (1). Jackson was outraged that he had given the world all that he has, and in return, was pointed fingers at (1). On the same token, Taraborelli says, “he seemed to be dying in front of my very eyes… he was clearly on a terrible path both physically and emotionally" (Taraborelli). In rehearsals just before his death, Jackson’s stamina was at an all-time low (“Michael Jackson: After Life”). He couldn’t even make it through a single song without stopping and the whole rehearsal was greatly edited so it appeared as if he was in a condition to perform (1). It was very clear that while he may have been fooling the audience on stage, the reality was that the Michael Jackson everyone once knew was slipping away.

Behind the show Michael put on for the world, he was suffering severely. Marvin S. Putnam, the lawyer representing AEG Live, blatantly states: "The truth is, Michael Jackson fooled everyone. He made sure that no one, nobody, knew his deepest darkest secrets" (Effron). Perhaps, these secrets may be the underlying causes for Michael Jackson’s death, or strange disappearance.

To fully understand the conspiracies behind Michael Jackson’s death, it is important to know the timeline of his death. Based on the affidavit, Dr. Conrad Murray’s efforts to help Jackson sleep were as followed: 10 mg of Valium at 1:30 A.M., 2 mg of Ativan at 2:00 A.M., 2 mg of Midazolam at 3:00 A.M., 2 mg of Ativan at 5:00 A.M., 2 mg of Midazolam at 7:30 A.M., and 25 mg Propofol at 10:40 A.M. (“Dr. Conrad Murray on Dr. Oz Show”). At 10:50 A.M. after Jackson was sound asleep, Dr. Murray went to the bathroom, and when he returned two minutes later, he found Jackson not breathing (Whitcraft). The doctor then began performing CPR (1). However, 911 was not called until almost an hour and a half later, and during this time phone records show that Murray made 3 phone calls: the first one at 11:18 A.M. to his medical clinic in Vegas, another to a patient at an unstated time, and the last at 11:18 A.M. to a friend of his in Houston (1). At 12:12 P.M., Murray finally sounded an alarm, calling Jackson's personal assistant, and at 12:17 security guard, Albert Alvarez, came into the room (1). At 12:21 P.M. Alvarez then called paramedics (1).

            Propofol is a fast-acting anesthetic administered to patients who are undergoing surgery in a controlled medical setting (Moisse). Dr. Richard Page, head of cardiology at the University of Washington medical center, says that Propofol requires extremely close monitoring (1). Cardiologist, Dr. Brian Olshansky, adds, "It is a very dangerous drug" (1). The Los Angeles County coroner concluded that Jackson had died of “acute Propofol intoxication” (Wehrwein). Although it is proven that Propofol was what ultimately killed Michael, the question investigated is who is to blame for the lethal dose? Was is Michael Jackson himself, or his physician, Dr. Conrad Murray?

            The first conspiracy theory argues that Michael Jackson killed himself. In court, the defense argued that Jackson had self-administered the fatal dose of Propofol after Dr. Conrad Murray left the room for two minutes (“Michael Jackson: The Final Days”). Many believe that Jackson pumped more Propofol into his system after not being able to sleep for nearly nine hours. Michael was first introduced to drugs in 1984 when he burned himself in a Pepsi commercial, says Taraborelli (Taraborelli). He goes on to explain how the doctors tried to give him medicine, but Jackson refused (1). However, as time passed Jackson became increasingly mentally and physically ill, and he began to rely on drugs to help him live as already explained (Peretti).  Michael even had a nickname for his Propofol, calling it his “milk” (Moisse).

            Defense attorney, J. Michael Flanagan, argues that a large amount of Propofol (possibly 150 milligrams) would have had to be present in Jackson's body to kill him and that Dr. Conrad Murray only gave him 25 mg (“M.J. Killed Himself: Dr. Conrad Murray's Defense”). Also speaking for the Doctor, defense attorney Ed Chernoff says Dr. Conrad Murray was “just a little fish in a big, dirty pond”, referring to other doctors who also gave Jackson Propofol (Duke). Dr. Christopher Rogers, who conducted the autopsy on Jackson testifies:

In order for Mr. Jackson to have administered the Propofol to himself, you would have to assume he woke up and although he was under the influence of ... Propofol and other sedatives, he was somehow able to administer Propofol to himself. Then he stops breathing and all of this takes place in a two-minute period of time. (“Conrad Murray Trial: Michael Jackson 'Did Not Give Himself Fatal Dose of Anesthetic”) 

From this information, it is easy to see how unreasonable it is that Jackson was the one who gave himself the fatal dose. Therefore, this theory is not plausible.

            The second conspiracy theory proposes that Michael Jackson’s physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, killed Michael through lethally injecting him with the Propofol (Allen). In court, Dr. Murray was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to four years in jail (1). A survey of 122 people revealed that 64% agree that this theory best solves the death of Michael Jackson.

            Dr. Murray claims that when he had first begun working with Michael in 2006, he had no idea that he was using Propofol to help him sleep (Graham). Three years later, when he became Jackson's personal physician, he found that Jackson had a personal stash of it that doctors from Germany had given him (1). In an interview with Doctor Oz, Murry reveals that Jackson had a sports bag that could not even be zipped because it was loaded with so much Propofol (“Dr. Conrad Murray on Dr. Oz Show”). Murray admits to administering Propofol to Jackson for two and a half months and claims he successfully weaned him off it three days before his death (Graham). The question then arises, why was Jackson still begging for the medication? Murray also explains how he did not agree with him using this drug to sleep, but says that “Michael was not the kind of man you could say no to” (“Dr. Conrad Murray on Dr. Oz Show”). Brian Oxman, Joe Jackson's attorney, makes a comparison saying that “giving this man Propofol every night for four to six weeks [is] like playing Russian roulette by putting six bullets in six chambers of a gun and pulling the trigger” (“Michael Jackson: After Life”). The prosecuting attorney also calls the act of administering Propofol and then leaving the room “bizarre, unethical, and unconscionable” (Duke).

            On June 25, after Jackson was rushed to the hospital, Murray failed to tell emergency room doctors that he had given Jackson Propofol (“Michael Jackson: After Life”). Shortly after, he then leaves the hospital against objections to investigating officers and even refuses to sign Jackson’s death certificate (1). As investigations continue, evidence links the bottles of Propofol found in Jackson’s bedroom, to ones the doctor had ordered from a pharmacy in Vegas (1). It wasn’t until days after Michael’s death that Dr. Murray admitted to administering the anesthetic (1). Not interesting enough? Alvarez says that when he walked into the room after Murray called for him, the doctor handed him vials of medicine and instructed him to put the Propofol in a bag (“Michael Jackson: After Life”) It was almost as if the doctor was trying to save his own reputation over the pop star’s life. Dr. Conrad Murray remains persistent, claiming that he would never hurt his good friend and patient Michael (“Dr. Conrad Murray on Dr. Oz Show”).

            Whether Dr. Conrad Murray meant to or not, he was very negligent. The doctor did not have the proper equipment, knew that “a natural and probable consequence” of the medication was death, and even abandoned his patient while on the drug (Duke). For these reasons, the most plausible cause of Michael Jackson’s death is that Dr. Conrad Murray killed him.

            On June 25,2009, the world-wide phenomenon, Michael Joseph Jackson, died of acute Propofol intoxication (Peretti). The conspiracies over his death came shortly after:

                        1. His personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, killed Michael.

                        2. Michael killed himself. 

Today, the question of who killed the “King of Pop” continues to baffle family, friends, and investigators; and Dr. Conrad Murray remains persistent in declaring his innocence (“Dr. Conrad Murray on Dr. Oz Show”).

Works Cited:

“Conrad Murray Trial: Michael Jackson 'Did Not Give Himself Fatal Dose of Anesthetic.” The Telegraph, Telegraph Media Group, 12 Oct. 2011, www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/michael-jackson/8821412/Conrad-Murray-trial-Michael-Jackson-did-not-give-himself-fatal-dose-of-anaesthetic.html.

“Dr. Conrad Murray on Dr. Oz Show.” 2017, www.doctoroz.com/episode/oz-investigates-are-you-really-getting-actual-chicken-your-fast-food?video_id=5412466982001.

 “M.J. Killed Himself: Dr. Conrad Murray's Defense.” NY Daily News, 30 Dec. 2010, www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/michael-jackson-killed-dr-conrad-murray-defense-argue-manslaughter-trial-article-1.475265.

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Taraborrelli, J Randy. “Michael Jackson's Life-Long Confidante J. Randy Taraborrelli Tells the Real Story of Star's Fall.” Daily Mail Online, Associated Newspapers, 29 June 2009, www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1196188/Michael-Jacksons-life-long-confidante-J-Randy-Taraborrelli-I-saw-eyes-dying.html.

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