10 Feb Coroner’s Report Reveals New Details On Michael Jackson’s Death

With Dr. Conrad Murray officially charged in the death of Michael Jackson, the Los Angeles coroner released new details from the autopsy. Below are some highlights from the report; read the full story at CNN or download the full report here. -Dr.FB

Jackson initally called Dr. Murray to his residence at 1am, where he “complained of being dehydrated and not being able to sleep”.

Murray told police investigators he had been treating Jackson for insomnia for six weeks at the time of the singer’s death. He had given Jackson 50 milligrams of the sedative propofol diluted with the local anesthetic lidocaine every night via an intravenous drip. He was worried that Jackson was becoming addicted to the drug and was trying to wean him off it.

The coroner took their first look at Michael’s body at UCLA Medical Center where they used his driver’s license to confirm his identity. “The decedent’s head hair is sparse and is connected to a wig. The decedent’s overall skin has patches of light and dark pigmented areas,” an investigator wrote.

At the time of his death, Jackson weighed 136 pounds and was 5 feet, 9 inches tall, according to measurements taken during the autopsy.

The front of Jackson’s scalp, from his hairline, was tattooed with dark ink over “frontal balding.” His eyebrows and the border of his eyelids were also tattooed. “There is a pink tattoo in the region of the lips,” the report said.

The autopsy also said that Jackson’s left lung was affected by “widespread respiratory bronchiolitis and chronic lung inflammation” that could have had an “adverse health effect.” But it was not “considered to be a direct or contributing cause of death,” a pathologist hired as a consultant concluded.

The report also outlined the unprecedented use of propofol as a sleeping aid, and the noticeable lack of equipment for administering and monitoring the drug, such as a continuous pulse oxymeter, EKG and blood pressure cuff. Use of propofol requires “full patient monitoring by a person trained in anesthesia,” Calmes, the consultant, wrote. Murray is a cardiologist.

“There was no evidence of an infusion pump for control of an IV infusion. No monitors were found at the scene; a blood pressure cuff and portable pulse oxymeter were recovered from a closet in the next room,” Calmes wrote. Calmes also said supplemental oxygen “should always be delivered” when propofol is being administered.

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