5 February 2010 04:53 am Views - 5704
Plans have been canceled for Dr. Conrad Murray, Michael Jackson's personal physician, to surrender to authorities Friday on charges relating to the pop star's death, law enforcement sources said.
Negotiations between prosecutors and Murray's lawyers broke down Thursday evening, law enforcement sources with detailed knowledge of the talks told Beth Karas of "In Session," of CNN sister network truTV.
"I don't know what part of negotiations could have broken down, in light of the fact that we've placed ourselves in the hands of law enforcement to surrender at any time," said Ed Chernoff, Murray's lawyer.
A criminal complaint against Murray will not be filed Friday, but will be "in the near future," the sources said.
A surrender -- in which a defendant turns himself at a police station for booking -- is not now expected, the sources said.
Chernoff wants to avoid having his client handcuffed and publicly paraded in front of reporters before he appears for arraignment, but chances of such an arrangement now appear dead.
The lawyer said earlier Thursday that he and Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney David Walgren "share the goal of the efficient administration of this process."
"An arrest of Dr. Murray would be a waste of money, time and resources," Chernoff said. "We've always made it clear: You tell us where; we'll be there. I'm sure something can be arranged."
The doctor traveled to Los Angeles last week from his home in Houston, Texas, in anticipation of possible charges.
Murray was hired as Jackson's personal physician last spring as the entertainer prepared for his comeback concerts in London, England.
The doctor told Los Angeles police investigators that he was with Jackson through the early morning hours of June 25 in an effort to help the pop star fall asleep, according to a police affidavit.
He administered sleep aids, and after Jackson finally began sleeping in the late morning hours, Murray said, he left the bedroom for "about two minutes maximum," the affidavit said.
"Upon his return, Murray noticed that Jackson was no longer breathing," it said.
The doctor stayed with Jackson as an ambulance rushed him from his $100,000-a-month rented mansion in Holmby Hills to UCLA Medical Center.
Efforts at CPR proved fruitless, and Jackson was pronounced dead at 2:26 p.m.
The Los Angeles County coroner ruled Jackson's death a homicide resulting from a combination of drugs, primarily propofol and lorazepam.
The coroner's statement said Jackson died from "acute propofol intoxication," but there were "other conditions contributing to death: benzodiazepine effect." Lorazepam and two other drugs Murray said he used are benzodiazepines.
The doctor told investigators he had given Jackson three anti-anxiety drugs to help him sleep in the hours before he stopped breathing, a police affidavit said.
Murray had been treating Jackson for insomnia for six weeks at the time of the singer's death. The doctor told investigators he gave Jackson 50 milligrams of propofol, the generic name for Diprivan, diluted with the anesthetic lidocaine every night via an intravenous drip.
The doctor told police he was worried that Jackson was becoming addicted to the drug and tried to wean him off it.
During the two nights before Jackson's death, Murray said, he put together combinations of other drugs that succeeded in helping Jackson sleep.
(CNN)