Michael Jackson threatened to cancel his London comeback concerts unless he was given drugs to help him sleep on the day of his death, a court has heard. Detective Orlando Martinez took the stand at a Los Angeles court on Monday, January 10 to testify at a preliminary hearing to decide whether Jackson's personal physician Dr. Conrad Murray should stand trial on an involuntary manslaughter charge.
Murray is accused of administering a fatal dose of anaesthetic Propofol which killed the singer on 25 June, 2009. Martinez, who interviewed Murray two days after the star's death, claimed the medic told him he had been giving Jackson the anaesthetic six nights a week for two months leading up to his death, but was trying to wean him off the drug, according to the Associated Press. The cop claims Murray told police that on the day of Jackson's death, he gave him sedatives lorazepam and midazolam intravenously and supplied a valium pill, but the star complained he still couldn't sleep.
Martinez quoted Murray as saying, "Mr. Jackson began to complain that he couldn't sleep and that he would have to cancel his rehearsal and cancel his shows if he couldn't get any sleep since he couldn't perform."
Martinez claims Murray then gave Jackson a dose of Propofol, telling the court, "It was an injection to get him to sleep and a slow drip to keep him sleeping." After Jackson fell asleep Murray left the room to go to the bathroom but returned shortly afterwards and "was stunned to see Mr. Jackson not breathing", according to Martinez.
The singer had suffered a cardiac arrest and was later pronounced dead by medics. Murray has pleaded not guilty to the charge of involuntary manslaughter.
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