Conrad Murray Trial Recap: Expert Says ‘Extremely Unlikely’ Michael Jackson Caused Own Death
Oct. 20 2011, Published 2:30 p.m. ET
By Breaking Celebrity News Staff
An expert on the powerful anesthetic Propofol says it is "extremely unlikely" Michael Jackson would have caused his own death by swallowing the drug.
Anesthesiologist Steven Shafer took to the stand Thursday in the case against the late singer’s personal physician Dr. Conrad Murray, who has been charged with involuntary manslaughter of the pop star after he was accused of giving him an overdose of Propofol while trying to help him sleep.
Coroner's officials have determined the singer died from acute Propofol intoxication and also noted there was anti-anxiety drug Lorazepam in Michael's system.
Shafer - who is expected to be the prosecution's last witness - told jurors that the drug cannot enter the bloodstream in a sizeable quantity if it is swallowed and said based on Murray's timeline of events, where he says he was away from the pop star for just two minutes, there would not have been sufficient time for Michael to inject himself.
He explained: "The possibility of a direct self-injection seems extremely unlikely."
Shafer reminded the jury that injecting Propofol is a complicated process and showed them various formulas and diagrams on a large screen.
He said the defense's argument that Michael gave himself the powerful anesthetic was also unlikely because he would've been groggy from other drugs administered throughout the night.