Conrad Murray

Conrad Robert Murray (born February 19, 1953) is a Grenadian-born American former physician who was convicted for his role in the death of American singer and dancer Michael Jackson. He was the personal doctor of Jackson on the day of the singer's death in 2009. In 2011, during People v. Murray, Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in Jackson's death for having inadvertently overdosed him with the surgical anesthetic propofol, which was being improperly used as a bedtime sleep agent. Murray served just under two years out of his original four-year prison sentence. He released a memoir titled This Is It! in 2016.

Early life Conrad Robert Murray was born on February 19, 1953, and was raised by his maternal grandparents, who were farmers in Grenada. He later joined his mother, Milta, in Trinidad and Tobago when he was seven years old. He grew up poor in Port of Spain, the capital of Trinidad and Tobago. He did not meet his father, Rawle Andrew Sr., also a physician, until he was 25. Andrew, who died in 2001, was devoted to providing medical services to the poor. Murray finished high school and worked as a volunteer elementary school teacher in Trinidad. After teaching, he worked as a customs clerk and insurance underwriter to save up for college tuition. Jackson insisted that Murray be employed by his show promoter, AEG Live, for $150,000 monthly. However, AEG later claimed there was never a contract with Murray. Murray and AEG agree Murray was never paid.

His medical licenses in California and Nevada had been suspended following his arrest. Following his release from prison in 2013 for involuntary manslaughter, Murray's legal team filed petitions in Texas to have his medical license reinstated since it had been revoked earlier that year.

In 2016, Murray released a memoir, This Is It!, which detailed his experience as Michael Jackson's physician and tells of having treated Mother Teresa. Murray wrote,

The A.V. Club called the book "literary poison with no antidote," and The Daily Telegraph said any revelations the memoir contains are "mired in several thousand words of self-aggrandising, poorly punctuated and repetitive text."

In May 2023, Murray opened a medical center in San Juan, Trinidad and Tobago. He was in arrears on the mortgage for the Las Vegas home occupied by his first wife and children and owed child support to the mothers of children outside of his marriage, which he could not pay due to the amount of money he owed to Michael Jackson's family. He was married to Blanche, his second wife, whom he met at medical school, and helped pay rent for another woman, Nicole Alvarez. Murray met Alvarez at a gentlemen's club in Las Vegas when she worked as a stripper, and Alvarez gave birth to their son Che Giovanni Murray in March 2009. Another relationship, with a cocktail waitress from Houston, was also reported.

In 2016, Murray lived in a luxury condo building near Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with his dog, Sebastian, but later immigrated back to Trinidad and Tobago.

Legal issues Murray was at risk of losing his California medical license due to unpaid child support to one of his children and owed $13,000 to a California woman, Nenita Malibiran. Murray was a defendant in numerous civil lawsuits (though none for medical malpractice). By 2008, he had accumulated over $600,000 in court judgments against him for medical equipment and unpaid rent for his practices in Texas and Nevada. He also owed $71,000 for student loans at Meharry Medical College. Murray had filed for bankruptcy in 2002, in California.

Death of Michael Jackson

On June 25, 2009, Jackson died due to a lethal dose of propofol administered by Murray. Court documents released in August 2009 revealed the coroner's preliminary conclusion indicating Jackson overdosed on propofol. However, the coroner's office declined to comment on reports claiming the death was ruled a homicide.

Several offices of doctors who were believed to have treated Jackson were searched. Based on the autopsy and toxicology findings, the cause of Jackson's death was determined to be acute propofol intoxication with a contributory benzodiazepine effect. Upon review, coroners construed the manner of death as homicide, so that, eventually, the focus of the investigation shifted toward Murray. He admitted administering 25 mg of propofol intravenously, for insomnia, on the night of Jackson's death. He claimed he tried treating Jackson with other drugs and also asserted he administered propofol after Jackson insisted, according to a police affidavit. Though any FDA-approved drug can potentially be used off-label in a responsible manner which is medically appropriate for their patient but different from the intended use the indicated use for propofol is as anesthesia and not as a sleep aid. Therefore, appropriate use of propofol would require a hospital or clinical setting with close monitoring and under the orders of an anesthesiologist, Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA), critical care physician, or other medical professional who had received extensive training in the use and monitoring of anesthetics. Murray had no such specialty training.

In February 2010, Murray was formally charged with involuntary manslaughter. On September 27, 2011, Murray went on trial in Los Angeles and was convicted of involuntary manslaughter on November 7, 2011. His bail was revoked and he was remanded to custody pending his November 29 sentencing date. He received the maximum penalty of four years in prison. His Texas medical license was revoked, and his California and Nevada licenses were suspended. After serving two years, Murray was released on parole on October 28, 2013.

Jackson's father, Joe Jackson, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Murray in 2010 but dropped it in 2012. Also in 2010, Jackson's mother, Katherine Jackson, and three children, filed a separate wrongful death suit against concert promoter AEG, claiming the company was negligent in hiring Murray; the jury decided in favor of AEG in 2013.