LOS ANGELES — The defense for the doctor charged in Michael Jackson’s death surprised prosecutors and a judge Wednesday, dropping a key claim that the singer swallowed a fatal dose of an anesthetic while the physician wasn’t looking.
Dr. Conrad Murray’s attorneys have for months suggested that Jackson could have swallowed propofol, which is normally given through an IV drop in hospital settings.
They told jurors in opening statements that they would present a theory that Jackson swallowed several pills of the sedative lorazepam and somehow self-administered the propofol — killing the singer before he had a chance to close his eyes.
On Wednesday, without jurors in the courtroom, attorney J. Michael Flanagan said he commissioned a study on propofol’s effects if swallowed, mainly to counter one by a key prosecution expert that it would have been negligible.
Flanagan said the defense study confirmed that the effect would be “trivial.”
“We are not going to assert at any time during this trial that Michael Jackson orally administered propofol,” Flanagan said.
Deputy District Attorney David Walgren and Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor appeared surprised by the disclosure.
Prosecutors are in the final stages of their case against Murray, with three expert witnesses set to testify about their impressions of Murray’s actions in the days and hours before Jackson’s death and his efforts to revive him.
On Wednesday, Walgren called Dr. Alon Steinberg, a cardiologist, who told jurors that Murray displayed gross negligence and repeatedly violated the standard of care.
