Michael Jackson's fans hail Murray verdict
Dr Conrad Murray has been found guilty of the involuntary manslaughter of Michael Jackson and been remanded in custody.
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Dr Conrad Murray has been found guilty of the involuntary manslaughter of Michael Jackson and has been remanded in custody.
The jury delivered their verdict at the Los Angeles County courthouse on November 7, 2011, after just 10 hours of deliberation, following a six-week trial.
Dr. Murray had pleaded not guilty to causing Michael's death on the morning of June 25, 2009 by giving him the anesthetic Propofol as a sleeping aid.
The courtroom was hushed ahead of the verdict, as Superior Court judge Michael Pastor took to the stand just after one PM local time.
He called the jury to deliver their verdict, which he checked then passed to the court clerk who read it out.
The clerk said: "Superior court of California, Los Angeles County, the people of the state of California plaintiff Vs Conrad Robert Murray, defendant. We the jury in the above mentioned actions, find the defendant guilty of the crime of involuntary manslaughter." -
The trial of Dr Conrad Murray, charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, opened on a weird note on September 27.
The Prosecutor showed a photo of Michael Jackson after his death and played a disturbing audio of the singer slurring a month before death.
Jackson's parents and siblings Janet, La Toya, Tito, Randy and Jermaine were present in the court.
Coming Up: Room where Michael was found... -
Faheem Muhammad testified at Dr Murray's trial.
"When I came into the room, I saw Alberto standing up kind of pacing, I saw Mr. Jackson's feet near the side of the bed on the ground. And as I continued to walk over I could see the rest of the body and I saw Dr Murray near his side," said Muhammad. -
Michael Jackson with his stop-on-a-dime dance moves and sensual soprano influenced generations of musicians. The King of Pop stood for much more than pop greatness or tabloid weirdness. One of entertainment's greatest icons, he was a ridiculously gifted, equally troubled genius who kept us captivated at his most dazzling and his most appaling. Jackson had announced a series of comeback concerts at London's O2 arena before he passed away on June 25. Today as the world celebrates Jackson's 52nd birth anniversary, here's a look at the most important things that surrounded the life of the King of Pop. (Photo: AP)
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Aug. 29, 1958: Michael Joseph Jackson is born in Gary, Ind., the seventh of nine children. His father, Joe, is a crane operator who once played guitar in an R&B band. His mother, Katherine, is a devout Jehovah's Witness. In 1987, Michael disassociated himself from the religion.
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1968: The Jackson 5, with 10-year-old Michael as lead singer, signs with Motown Records. In 1970, they become the first group to have their first four singles hit No. 1. Two years later, Michael's first solo album, Got to be There, is released. It spawns his first No. 1 hit, Ben. (Photo/Text: AP)
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1982: Jackson releases Thriller, which becomes the best-selling album of all time. Seven of the album's nine songs hit No. 1. The videos for Billie Jean, Beat It and especially the title song are elaborate productions that revolutionise the genre. Their popularity paves the way for other black artists, who had largely been shunned by the fledgling MTV. (Photo: AP)
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1983: Jackson electrifies the 50 million viewers of the Motown 25 television special by singing, dancing, and debuting the 'moonwalk' to 'Billie Jean'. He wears a black fedora, one white glove, and pants that end above his ankles. The same year, he becomes the first black artist to get extensive video play on MTV when his 'Thriller' video premieres. (Photo: AP)
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February 1984: During production of a Pepsi-Cola commercial, Jackson's scalp is burned when a pyrotechnic special effect sets his hair on fire. In the photo Jermaine Jackson, foreground, performs during the taping of the Pepsi TV commercial in Los Angeles, blissfully unaware that his brother, background, has his hair on fire. The singer was rushed to the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center where doctors treated him for third-degree burns and a palm-sized second-degree burn on his head.
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1985: Jackson, Lionel Richie, and 43 other singers record what becomes one of the fastest-selling singles ever: 'We Are the World'. Written by Jackson and Richie, the song was produced to raise money for victims of the famine in Ethiopia. The same year, Jackson pays $47.5 million for the rights to more than 250 songs written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney.
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1988: Jackson pays $14.6 million for a 2,500-acre property in Santa Barbara, California, wine country. He names it 'Neverland' and creates a sprawling children's playground complete with amusement park rides and a zoo. Due to his childhood fascination with Peter Pan, that character is the inspiration behind his mansion.(Photo: AP)
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Following Jackson's death in 2009, there were widespread speculations that the pop star's one time home and amusement park at the 2,800 acre spread, located 33 miles northeast of Santa Barbara, California, would be turned into a Graceland-like memorial. However these reports were denied by the Jackson family.
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February 1988: Jackson's autobiography, Moonwalk, is published. He writes that his father "was a great trainer," but adds, "We'd perform for him and he'd critique us. If you messed up, you got hit, sometimes with a belt, sometimes with a switch." (Text: AP)
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January 31, 1993: Michael Jackson gives a performance with 3500 children from over 35 nationalities during the Super Bowl XXVIII halftime show on January 31, 1993, in Pasadena, California. The performance's ratings still ranks as "the largest television audience in US history" according to Telegraph.co.uk.
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Feb. 10, 1993: Jackson tells talk show host Oprah Winfrey during a prime time interview that he suffers from vitiligo, a skin disorder that causes discoloration. Two days later, A.C. Nielsen reports that 62.3 million people watched the program. (Photo: AP)
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The public obsession with Michael Jackson's changing faces continued throughout his lifetime. Changes to his nose, jaw line and eyes sparked rumours about extensive plastic surgery, something that the singer vociferously denied. "I've had no plastic surgery on my face," Jackson told ABC News' Martin Bashir in a 2002 interview. "Just my nose. It helped me breathe better so I can hit higher notes."
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Aug. 23, 1993: Los Angeles police say they were investigating allegations that Jackson sexually abused a 13-year-old boy. No charges are ever filed. The alleged victim sues Jackson, who settles out-of-court for a reported $20 million while maintaining he is innocent. (Photo: AP)
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May 26, 1994: Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley, the daughter and only child of legendary American singer Elvis Presley, are married in the Dominican Republic. They divorce 19 months later. This is what Lisa had to say after Jackson's death last year: "Our relationship was not 'a sham' as is being reported in the press. It was an unusual relationship yes, where two unusual people who did not live or know a 'normal life' found a connection, perhaps with some suspect timing on his part. Nonetheless, I do believe he loved me as much as he could love anyone and I loved him very much. As I sit here overwhelmed with sadness, reflection and confusion at what was my biggest failure to date, watching on the news almost play by play The exact scenario I saw happen on August 16th, 1977 happening again right now with Michael (A sight I never wanted to see again) just as he predicted, I am truly, truly gutted." (Photo: AP)
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1995: Jackson releases HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I. The album runs into trouble, with Jackson being accused of using anti-Semitic lyrics in 'They Don't Care About Us'. He eventually has to re-record the lyrics. To make matters worse, R.Kelly is found to have plagirised one of the album's songs 'You Are Not Alone.' Despite the setbacks, HIStory goes on to become the best-selling multiple disc album ever by a solo artist, with worldwide sales of over 20 million copies. The album is nominated for five Grammy Awards, winning one for Best Music Video — Short Form for 'Scream'. (Photo: AP)
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Feb. 13, 1997: Just months after his divorce from Lisa Marie, Michael Jackson marries Debbie Rowe who worked in the office of his dermatologist on November 13, 1996 in Sydney, Australia. But apparently this union is less about romance, and more about furthering the Jackson family line. In February 1997 Rowe gives birth to the pop star's first child, a son named Prince Michael Jackson Jr.
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2001: Sales figures show his album Invincible, in its first week of release, debuts at No. 1 in the US and in more than a dozen countries overseas. But it fades quickly. It sells about 2 million copies — a low number compared to sales of his previous albums. (Photo: AP)
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Nov. 19, 2002: Jackson causes an international uproar when he displays his baby, Prince Michael II, to fans by dangling him briefly from a fourth-floor balcony in Berlin. The child's head is covered with a cloth. Jackson later calls the incident a "terrible mistake."
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February 2003: ABC airs the British documentary, Living With Michael Jackson, in which Jackson says he has shared his bed with children. During an interview with Martin Bashir, he says, "When you say 'bed' you're thinking sexual...It's not sexual, we're going to sleep. I tuck them in...It's very charming, it's very sweet." One boy shown in the documentary subsequently accuses Jackson of molesting him. (Photo: AP)
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Jan. 13, 2005: ABC News quotes excerpts of the grand jury testimony of Jackson's accuser. The boy told prosecutors that Jackson molested him and plied him with alcohol, according to the network. Jackson attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr. expresses outrage that the sealed grand jury testimony had been leaked.
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March 1, 2005: Opening statements begin in Jackson's trial. District Attorney Tom Sneddon tells jurors that Jackson plied his victim with vodka and porn, while the defense portrays the accuser's mother as a grifter hoping to profit from a smear. (Text: AP)
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March 10, 2005: Santa Barbara County Judge Rodney S. Melville issues an arrest warrant when Jackson failed to show up on time for the day's proceedings. Defense attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr. says Jackson went to the hospital with severe back problems. Testimony resumes after Jackson races back to court.
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June 13, 2005: A jury acquits Jackson of all charges in the 2003 child molestation case. He could have been sentenced to 20 years in prison. After Jackson's death, his lawyer, Thomas Mesereau Jr., said the star never fully recovered from the trial. Mesereau recalled Jackson visibly withering, losing weight, his cheeks sunken, his skin pale. Twice he was taken to a hospital emergency room for treatment. After once such visit, he arrived at court late, wearing pajamas. Also during the trial, a forensic accountant testified that the singer was spending up to $30 million more per year than he earned.
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September 2005: Jackson moves with his children to the Persian Gulf country Bahrain. Three months after the verdict in his child molestation trial, he tells The Associated Press that the trial was "the hardest thing I've ever done in my life." Jackson said he was "constantly working on" a charity song for victims of Hurricane Katrina. The song was never released.
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March 5: Jackson announces he will perform a series of 10 shows called This Is It at London's O2 Arena. Over the next eight days, the number of shows is increased to 20, then 50. Tickets sell out within hours. March through June Jackson prepares for his comeback shows, becoming heavily involved in all aspects of the concert rehearsals and practicing several hours a day.(Photo: AP)
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June 25, 2009 Michael Jackson is pronounced dead at age 50 after being taken to the UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles. His doctor later says he discovered Jackson at home not breathing and was unable to revive him. It's estimated Jackson was $400 million in debt. Within hours, fans inundate Web sites selling his music, and physical stores report they have been cleaned out of Michael Jackson and Jackson 5 CDs.
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June 26, 2009: An autopsy is performed, but cause of death is not determined. The Los Angeles County coroner's office says toxicology tests could take weeks. The same day, all 10 albums on Amazon.com's bestseller list are Jackson's; the 25th anniversary edition of Thriller is No. 1.
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July 7: A memorial service attended by about 20,000 people is held for Jackson at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Jackson's daughter Paris calls him "the best father" she could imagine. A 2002 will signed by Jackson cuts out father Joe, ex-wife Debbie Rowe, and puts the estate, which in an attachment was valued at more than $500 million, in trust for Jackson's children, his mother and charities. Names mother Katherine as guardian for children, names two executors.
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Aug. 3, 2009: Katharine Jackson and Debbie Rowe agree that Michael Jackson's children should be cared for by their grandmother Katherine, but that Rowe should be able to visit the two eldest children, as she is their biological mother. A judge grants permanent guardianship of Michael Jackson's three children to their grandmother, Katherine Jackson.
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Aug. 28, 2009: The Los Angeles County coroner releases a statement saying Jackson's death has been ruled a homicide. The cause of death is said to be acute intoxication from the anesthetic propofol, with other sedatives contributing to the death. Jackson's death certificate is subsequently amended to say his fatal injury was "injection by another."
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Aug. 29, 2009: Fans remember Jackson on what would have been his 51st birthday. In Brooklyn, New York, filmmaker Spike Lee hosts a dance party attended by several thousand. In Mexico City, a crowd of 13,597 dances to Thriller, setting a world record for the most people dancing to the song simultaneously in one place.
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Sept. 3, 2009: Jackson is entombed at Forest Lawn Glendale cemetery, about eight miles north of downtown Los Angeles, in a mausoleum alongside legendary stars including Clark Gable, Jean Harlow and W.C. Fields. Court documents later show that the private family funeral cost the Jackson estate $1 million, including burial, flowers, cars, security and a post-funeral dinner.
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Sept. 17, 2009: Newly unsealed court records show Katherine Jackson is receiving $86,204 per month from her son's estate for herself and her three grandchildren. Documents also show that she will be allowed to challenge administrators of the estate without losing her substantial stake.
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Sept. 24, 2009: Though sales won't begin until Sunday, Sept. 27, a line for tickets to the first public screenings of the This Is It documentary opens in Los Angeles. Tickets sell out in two hours. By Monday, Sept. 28, hundreds of show times have sold out around the world.
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Oct. 2009: Jackson's posthumous single, This Is It, debuts on his official Web site on October 12. The film Michael Jackson's This Is It premieres on October 27. It pulls in $103 million worldwide in its first five days, and is No. 1 in the US Halloween weekend.
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Nov. 22, 2009: Jackson wins a record four posthumous American Music Awards, bringing his career AMA total to 23. This makes him the most honored artist in AMA history. He is voted favorite male artist in the pop/rock and soul/R&B categories. His 2003 greatest-hits album, Number Ones, wins favorite album in both categories. In this photo, singer Jermaine Jackson (C) accepts Winner of Soul/R&B - Favorite Male Artist Award for Michael Jackson onstage at the 2009 American Music Awards at Nokia Theatre Los Angeles.
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Jan. 31, 2010: Jackson is given a posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammys. Two of Jackson's children, Prince and Paris, accept the award on Michael's behalf, with Prince vowing that the children will continue to spread their father's message of love. The televised ceremony includes a 3-D film in which Jackson sings his Earth Song, expressing his sadness about the destruction of nature and animals by humans.