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The Los Angeles coroner released a 51-page detailed autopsy report saying that Michael Jackson‘s death from “acute propofol intoxication” was a homicide, as reported by CNN. Doctor Conrad Murray has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the death. Murray is charged with involuntary manslaughter by acting “without malice” but also “without due caution and circumspection.” Murray told investigators that he gave Jackson propofol, a powerful anesthetic, to help him sleep.

According to CNN, an anesthesiology consultant, Dr. Selma Calmes, hired by the coroner to review the findings said that:

“there are NO reports of its use for insomnia relief, to my knowledge,” according to the report.

“The only reports of its use in homes are cases of fatal abuse (first reported in 1992), suicide, murder and accident,” Dr. Selma Calmes wrote.

“The standard of care for administering propofol was not met,” she wrote.

Jackson’s body was first examined by coroner investigators less than three hours after he was pronounced dead. According to the autopsy performed the morning after his death, Jackson weighed 136 pounds and was 69 inches tall.

Dr Calmes reported that:

“The levels of propofol found on toxicology exam are similar to those found during general anesthesia for major surgery.”

Dr. Calmes concluded that propofol was administered without the recommended equipment being present, including a “continuous pulse oxymeter, EKG and blood pressure cuff.”

Use of the anesthesia requires “full patient monitoring by a person trained in anesthesia,” she 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.

The consultant said supplemental oxygen “should always be delivered” when propofol is being administered.

The consultant’s report said the level of lorazepam, a powerful anti-anxiety agent found in Jackson’s body, “would have accentuated the respiratory and cardiovascular depression from propofol.”

According to Dr. Bruce Cranner, a New Orleans defense lawyer in medical cases, an involuntary manslaughter charge against a physician is a “very unusual thing to see.”

The CNN report has many additional details.

-Bill at

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