Jackson drug cocktail 'recipe for disaster'

The combination of drugs given to Michael Jackson on the day he died was a "recipe for disaster," an expert said Thursday at the manslaughter trial of the star's doctor Conrad Murray. Murray's decision to give propofol on top of two other sedatives, along with other failings, produced a "perfect storm" which led to the King of Pop's death on June 25, 2009, said critical care specialist Dr. Nader Kamangar. The 58-year-old doctor is accused of involuntary manslaughter over Jackson's death, which was primarily due to "acute propofol intoxication" combined with the sedatives lorazepam and midazolam, according to coroners. "Ultimately this cocktail was a recipe for disaster," Kamangar told Los Angeles' Superior Court, wrapping up a short third week of testimony in the five-week trial. Giving the drugs was exacerbated by Murray's failure to keep records of the drugs he administered, and his failure to do proper tests to find the cause for Jackson's insomnia. "I think this was the perfect storm ... that ultimately culminated in his demise," he said. The trial last week heard a police interview with Jackson in which he recounted trying to help Jackson to sleep at his mansion in LA, where he was rehearsing for a series of comeback concerts in London. From around 1:00 am he gave the star a series of drugs, starting with a valium capsule, but also including two 25 mg infusions each of lorazepam and midazolam. Only at 10:40 am, when Jackson was still awake, did he agree to give him 25 mg of propofol, an anesthetic which the star had regularly used as a sedative to help him sleep. Murray claimed that, after Jackson finally went to sleep, he left his bedside for only two minutes to go to the bathroom, only to return to find the singer not breathing. He scrambled to revive him but delayed calling 911, ringing Jackson's personal assistant instead. The star was eventually rushed to the UCLA Medical Center but was pronounced dead at 2:26 pm. Murray's defense lawyers have claimed that Jackson was a desperate addict who could have given himself an extra dose of propofol while the doctor was out of the room. But in a surprise move Wednesday they dropped a claim that Jackson could have drunk the propofol, while leaving open the possibility he could have injected it via an intravenous (IV) tube inserted into his leg.