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INCIDENT REPORT / FILE 019 Case open

Michael
Jackson

DiedJune 25, 2009, age 50
WhereHis home in Holmby Hills, Los Angeles
Coroner's rulingHomicide: acute propofol intoxication
ConvictedHis doctor, of involuntary manslaughter

On the night of June 24, 2009, Michael Jackson rehearsed past midnight for a run of comeback concerts in London. By the next afternoon he was dead. The coroner called it a homicide. His sister said he was . And within weeks, a video claimed to show him walking out of the coroner's van.1

Follow the last day

Stop 1 of 4

Where Jackson spent his last night and day, and where he was buried. Tap a pin or step through in order.

N 1234

Sketch only, not to scale. Times are from the investigation and trial record as summarized in the sources.1

FILE 019CHAPTER 1

This Is It

In 2009, Michael Jackson was preparing a comeback: a run of concerts called This Is It at the O2 Arena in London, set to start that July.1

On June 24 he arrived at the Staples Center in Los Angeles around 6:30 p.m. Rehearsal started around 9 p.m. and ran past midnight.1

Michael Jackson in 1984, waving with a white sequined glove, wearing a sequined jacket with a gold sash and aviator sunglasses.
Exhibit 019-A Michael Jackson at the White House, 1984White House Photo Office, public domain
FILE 019CHAPTER 2

The morning

Jackson got home to his house on North Carolwood Drive at about 1 a.m. and went to bed. His personal doctor, Conrad Murray, was there.1

According to Murray's account, he gave Jackson several sedatives over the following hours. Jackson kept asking for "milk," his nickname for the surgical anesthetic propofol. At 10:40 a.m., Murray gave him 25 milligrams of it.1

~1.5 hourshow long after Jackson was found unresponsive before anyone called 911. A security guard made the call, not the doctor.

Murray said he left the room for about two minutes and came back to find Jackson not breathing. The 911 call came at 12:21 p.m. Paramedics arrived five minutes later.1

The modern glass and stone exterior of Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles.
Exhibit 019-B Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, where Jackson was pronounced deadPhoto: King of Hearts, CC BY-SA 3.0
FILE 019CHAPTER 3

Homicide

On August 28, 2009, the Los Angeles County coroner ruled the death a homicide, caused by "acute propofol intoxication," made worse by other sedatives.1

Murray was charged with involuntary manslaughter in February 2010. On November 7, 2011, a jury found him guilty. He got the maximum, four years, and was released in October 2013 because of prison overcrowding and good behavior.1

Jackson's mother and children sued the concert promoter, AEG Live, for $1.5 billion, saying it was responsible for hiring Murray. On October 2, 2013, the jury found that AEG did hire him, but by a 10 to 2 vote that he was not unfit for the job, so AEG was not liable.3

The outside of the Staples Center arena in downtown Los Angeles, with a large video screen, photographed during the memorial service.
Exhibit 019-C The Staples Center during Jackson's memorial, July 7, 2009Photo: Amin Eshaiker, CC BY-SA 3.0
FILE 019CHAPTER 4

Two kinds of doubt

Some of Jackson's family believed the doctor's conviction wasn't the whole story. In 2010, his sister La Toya said in a TV interview: "He was murdered for his catalog and they knew that."2 In 2017, his daughter Paris said she was "absolutely" convinced he had been murdered.1

Other fans went the opposite way: maybe he never died at all. In August 2009, a video appeared online that seemed to show Jackson climbing out of a coroner's van in a parking garage.4

FIELD LOGFILE 019

The timeline

  1. THE LAST DAY
  2. Jun 24, 6:30 p.m.Jackson arrives at the Staples Center to rehearse.
  3. About 1:00 a.m.He gets home to Carolwood Drive.
  4. 10:40 a.m.His doctor gives him 25 mg of propofol.
  5. 12:21 p.m.A security guard calls 911.
  6. 1:14 p.m.The ambulance reaches UCLA Medical Center.
  7. 2:26 p.m.Jackson is pronounced dead.
  8. AFTERWARD
  9. Jul 7, 2009Memorial at the Staples Center, watched by an estimated 2.5 billion people.
  10. Aug 28, 2009The coroner rules the death a homicide.
  11. Feb 8, 2010Dr. Conrad Murray is charged with involuntary manslaughter.
  12. Nov 7, 2011Murray is found guilty. He gets four years.
  13. Oct 2, 2013A jury finds AEG Live not liable.
  14. Oct 28, 2013Murray is released.
Illustrated portrait of Rex Marlowe, host of the believer case: a weathered man in a canvas field jacket.Host
Personnel file / Statement ARex MarloweThe believer caseHosted an overnight radio show about the unexplained for 20 years. Now he goes to the places in the files.

"Follow the money and the clock"

Look at the clock first. Jackson was found not breathing, and nearly an hour and a half went by before anyone called 911. The doctor didn't make the call.1 The coroner didn't call it an accident. The word on the report is homicide.1

Then look at who stood to gain. Jackson's catalog was worth a fortune, and his estate was reported to have earned more than $1 billion within a year of his death.2 His own sister said he was killed for it, and his daughter says she's sure he was murdered.2 One doctor went to jail for two years. I'd want to know who else was in the room, in every sense.

Illustrated portrait of June Okafor, host of the skeptic case: a woman in a blue work shirt holding manila folders.Host
Personnel file / Statement BJune OkaforThe skeptic caseSpent ten years as an insurance fraud investigator. Now she reads the original records so you don't have to.

"Two trials, two answers"

This death was examined twice in court. A criminal jury heard the evidence and convicted the doctor who gave Jackson propofol at home.1 A civil jury spent about five months on the promoter's role, reviewed thousands of documents and found it wasn't liable.3 The coroner's homicide ruling and the criminal verdict point the same way: at the doctor's care that night.

As for the idea that he's alive: the famous coroner's van video was made by a German TV channel, RTL, to show how easily people can be fooled online.4 It was shot near Cologne, not Los Angeles.4 It's still fooling people more than a decade later.5

Rex and June are characters written for this site and appear in every file. They are not real people. Their arguments come from the sources listed below.

THE STRANGEST PART

The hoax made to teach people about hoaxes

The most famous "he's alive" video was never meant to be believed. German broadcaster RTL staged it as an experiment and admitted it on its own news show days later. "We wanted to show how easily users can be manipulated on the Internet with hoax videos," a spokeswoman said.4

It didn't work the way they hoped. The clip resurfaced among fans in 2020, still presented as proof.5

READER FINDINGFILE 019

What happened to Michael Jackson?

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The file

DiedJune 25, 2009, Los Angeles
CauseAcute propofol intoxication (coroner)
ConvictedDr. Conrad Murray, involuntary manslaughter, 2011
StatusCriminal case closed. Family doubts remain.

Common questions

How did Michael Jackson die?

The Los Angeles County coroner found he died of acute propofol intoxication, made worse by other sedatives, and ruled the death a homicide. His doctor had given him the drugs at his home.

Who was convicted for Michael Jackson's death?

His personal doctor, Conrad Murray, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in November 2011 and sentenced to four years. He was released in October 2013.

Is Michael Jackson still alive?

No. The best-known video said to show him alive after his death was a hoax made by German broadcaster RTL in 2009 to show how easily people are fooled online.

Did AEG Live cause Michael Jackson's death?

Jackson's mother and children sued the promoter, but in October 2013 a jury found AEG Live not liable.

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Photo credits: Michael Jackson, 1984, White House Photo Office (public domain); Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, King of Hearts (CC BY-SA 3.0); Staples Center memorial, Amin Eshaiker (CC BY-SA 3.0). Full list on the credits page.