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Included in the grounds for appeal, Murray contends that he did not receive a fair trial, citing:

Improper exclusion of defense evidence and witnesses that resulted in violating the defendant’s State and constitutional rights to due process, to present a defense and to the effective assistance of counsel.

Murray, who is asking to be released without bail less than a year into his 4 year sentence, says that, if released, he will live with his child’s mother, Nicole Alvarez – and would be willing to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet.

In an attempt to gain a sympathetic ruling, Murray’s lawyer, Ed Chernoff, revealed that he is being held in a “maximum security” area, where he is housed in solitary confinement and transported around jail with his hands chained to his waist. Not mentioned by the attorney, was Murray’s widely-reported suicide attempt and his stay under suicide watch soon after he began serving his sentence.

Using Murray’s phone records, testimony from police and Murray’s current and former girlfriends to create a detailed timeline, prosecutors were able to prove that Murray was on the phone throughout the morning of Jackson’s death on June 25, 2009. Jackson’s former bodyguard, Alberto Alvarez, testified that the doctor instructed him to place medicine vials in bags before calling 911 on that fatal day.

Detective Orlando Martinez testified that Murray described a nearly 10-hour ordeal of trying to get Jackson to sleep, allegedly giving him a valium pill and two other sedatives intravenously before yielding to the singer’s demands for propofol.

Jackson called the powerful drug his “milk,” and coroner’s investigators discovered several vials of it in a bag labeled “Baby Essentials” in his closet. Dr. Christopher Rogers, chief of forensic medicine for the Los Angeles County coroner, is convinced that medical malpractice played a large — if not malicious — role in Jackson’s death:

Jackson had a strong heart and was mostly healthy. The care was substandard [and] there were several actions that should have been taken.

With the circumstances surrounding Jackson’s death continuing to be suspicious, support and funds are severely limited, according to Chernoff:

[Murray] has exhausted virtually all of his available resources.

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Alejandra was able to cash in on Randy’s unpaid child support payments to the tune of  more than $600,000, because Randy failed to pay $1,200 a month for years.

In response, Randy is suing because, he claims, they — along with Michael Jackson — had an agreement, where if Alejandra agreed to live in the Jackson family compound, Randy would be free of child support.

TMZ reports:

Randy says the Jackson family provided Alejandra with food, utilities, maids, cooks, security guards, telephones, gardeners, maintenance, use of numerous expensive cars, etc. Randy says, in short, she’s gotten way more than the $600k he owes her.

Alejandra has been quite a thorn in the Jackson family’s side. Besides having two children each with both Randy and Jermaine, back in 2010, Alejandra sought a legal team to force family matriarch Katherine Jackson to pay for her and her children after Katherine ordered her out fo the family compound that year. At the time, Alejandra’s son reportedly tormented Michael’s son Blanket with a stun gun, so Katherine decided it was time for Alejandra and her family to move and relocated her to a condo.

Can anybody say, “Triflin’?

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The request for payments from Conrad Murray was withdrawn Wednesday during a brief court hearing, just days before a judge was scheduled to consider how much the former cardiologist should pay to members of Jackson’s family or his estate.

Deputy District Attorney David Walgren told the judge handling the case that he was withdrawing the restitution request after speaking with Jackson’s mother, Katherine, and attorney for his father, Joseph. Walgren also consulted with an attorney for the singer’s estate and a court-appointed attorney representing the interests of Jackson’s three children, a transcript of the proceedings shows.

Murray remains in jail after being convicted in November of involuntary manslaughter. He was sentenced to serve four years in jail, but his incarceration will be cut in half due to overcrowding and California’s budget crunch.

Jackson’s estate estimated the singer would have earned at least $100 million if he had performed his “This Is It” concerts planned for London’s O2 arena. Murray might have also been found liable for Jackson’s funeral expenses, which totaled more than $1.8 million. Murray’s attorneys said he had nowhere near the money to pay either amount, and he filed paperwork last month indicating he is indigent.

Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor ruled that the family was waiving its right to restitution permanently, although two separate cases pending in a Los Angeles civil court seek damages for the King of Pop’s June 2009 death. Katherine Jackson is suing concert giant AEG Live, which was promoting Jackson’s planned series of comeback concerts, claiming they failed to properly supervise Murray.

Joseph Jackson is suing AEG Live, alleging negligence by the entertainment promoter in his son’s death, and he is suing Murray for wrongful death in the case.

Murray’s attorney, J. Michael Flanagan, said he was pleased to have the restitution issue resolved. Flanagan said during Wednesday’s hearing that he intends to seek bail for Murray while he appeals his conviction, according to the transcript, but he was told to put the request in writing.

The fate of Joseph Jackson’s civil case remains unclear. A California bar court in Los Angeles recommended Friday that the Jackson family patriarch’s attorney, Brian Oxman, be barred from practicing law because of conduct on other, unrelated cases. Oxman filed Joseph Jackson’s lawsuit in federal court on the one-year anniversary of the singer’s death, but a judge later ruled it should be heard in state court. Oxman is the only attorney who has been listed on the case so far and has been a vocal antagonist against Murray and AEG Live.

Reached by phone, Oxman declined to comment on the recommendation, which still must be approved by the California Supreme Court.

The disciplinary court found that Oxman and his wife, who is also his law partner, mixed clients’ and personal funds in an effort to evade creditors and sanctions imposed against Oxman. He had been disciplined previously, which the court cited among its reasons for seeking the revocation of his law license.

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The good doctor had patients, such as Michael Jackson and Liz Taylor, that were the absolute envy of many in his profession. But how times have changed.  Due to his legal and financial troubles, Dr. Klein has reportedly resorted to auctioning off memorabilia from those very same patients who helped put him on the map.

Bonhams & Butterfields, one of the most prestigious auction houses in the world, is offering hundreds of items from Dr. Klein’s collection, including a “Princess Leia” wig that Carrie Fisher wore to a party (worth $200), the hat that covered Michael Jackson’s head when he left a hospital burn unit (worth $10,000), and an invitation to Elizabeth Taylor’s eighth wedding (worth $350).

Before his mishaps, Dr. Klein, 66, lived like his A-list clientele.  The doctor’s office was a place of pomp and circumstance with such pricey touches as $1 million art from Andy Warhol.  Dr. Klein lived lavishly in three multimillion-dollar homes that were more like palaces, with each painstakingly decorated with the finest furnishings and artwork valued at $7.2 million.  He hobknobbed with the best of them, took lavishly decadent vacations, got chauffered around in his fleet of creme-de-la-creme vehicles, and had his meals prepared by personal top chefs.  At his peak, Dr. Klein made as much as $25,000 per day, which came mostly from cosmetic procedures, such as botox and lip augmentations.

But by the time Jackson passed away in 2009, Dr. Klein’s practice had already begun to dissolve due to allegations that he had made the pop king dependent on the drug demerol.  Dr. Klein also went public with Jackson’s medical information and sex life, which should have been kept confidential.  As a result of all of the hoopla surrounding Dr. Klein’s unprofessional public displays, his clientele began to fall by the wayside and he soon found himself being hounded by creditors.  The Los Angeles Times even recently reported that actress Carrie Fisher, one of his few remaining true blues, had to loan Dr. Klein $150,000 so that he could hire a bankruptcy attorney.

Now, all of Dr. Klein’s homes are being sold off, and according to his bankruptcy filing, he owes $12 million in debts. The Bonhams & Butterfields auction of the  “Collection of Dr. Arnold Klein”  will take place on January 23 in Los Angeles.

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The changes approved by Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff mean attorney John Branca and music executive John McClain will no longer pay the costs from their share of the estate.

The men had been paying fees for entertainment legal counsel provided by members of Branca’s firm, and McClain had been incurring expenses for the use of a recording studio founded by Marvin Gaye.

Those expenses significantly diminished their 10 percent share of Jackson’s post-death earnings.

Branca and McClain have been collecting closer to 7 percent of the estate earnings since it became a “massive entertainment business enterprise,” court filings state.

Estate attorneys sought the change, saying the executors spend more time than they anticipated on Jackson’s affairs. The men have overseen numerous Jackson-themed projects, including the licensing of music, video games and a touring Cirque du Soleil show that will eventually become a Las Vegas fixture.

The men agreed in February 2010 to accept 10 percent of the gross entertainment-related earnings of the estate, minus money generated by Jackson’s 50 percent interest in the Sony-ATV music catalog and earnings from “This Is It,” a film compiled from the singer’s final rehearsals.

The exclusions are huge revenue generators for the estate – the Sony-ATV catalog includes publishing rights to music by The Beatles, Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan and other stars. The executors also have been excluded an interest in Jackson’s music, which has sold briskly since his death on June 25, 2009, at age 50.

Since then, the estate has earned more than $310 million.

The percentage covers Branca’s work on the estate and McClain’s producing services.

Under the deal approved Monday, Branca’s firm Ziffren Brittenham LLP will now receive 3 percent of entertainment-related income generated by Jackson’s estate in 2011 and future years.

Estate attorney Howard Weitzman said the firm was performing work that would cost more than $2 million a year if it was being handled by another firm, and court filings state that a traditional entertainment estate would include additional managers and attorneys who would receive up to 30 percent of the estate’s overall revenue.

There was no estimate for how much McClain’s billings might be. He bought and restored Gaye’s former Los Angeles studio in 1997, christening it Marvin’s Room, and Jackson and other top singers have recorded music there.

The estate benefits Jackson’s mother, Katherine, and the singer’s three children, Prince, Paris and Blanket, who received an initial $30 million payment earlier this year.

Attorneys for Katherine Jackson and the children had no objection to the changes approved by Beckloff. Meg Lodise, who represents the children’s interest, said, “It is quite clear that what they’re proposing is going to be fair to the estate.”

Weitzman told Beckloff that the estate has recently resolved creditors’ claims worth at least $11 million and is working to resolve any other valid outstanding debts. Jackson died with an estimated $400 million in debts, but renewed interest in his music and career have fattened the estate’s accounts, which listed $90 million in cash on hand according to a September court filing.

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Among the highlights: A kitchen chalkboard where Jackson’s children wrote “I love daddy,” which sold for $5,000, and an armoire upon which Jackson wrote a message to himself on the mirror that fetched $25,750.

The auction also included furniture, artwork and other items from the rented mansion at 100 North Carolwood Drive, where Jackson lived as he prepared for a series of comeback concerts in London before his death in June, 2009.

The headboard from the bed where Jackson died at age 50 was removed from the auction at the family’s request, but the rug that was beneath the bed sold for $15,360. The estimate had been $400 to $600.

Julien’s Auctions re-created the mansion inside its Beverly Hills showroom and invited fans to fill the space where the bed would have been with a tribute to the late King of Pop. Julien promised to deliver all of the tribute items to Jackson’s children and family matriarch Katherine Jackson.

“Michael Jackson has the greatest fans in the world. I can see why he lived for them,” Julien said. “They came out every day this week to bring gifts. It’s unlike anything we’ve ever seen as it relates to a celebrity and their fans.”

Julien’s Auctions has conducted auctions for dozens of celebrities, including Cher, Barbra Streisand, William Shatner and Slash.

Jackson commissioned the company to sell the contents of his Neverland Ranch before the auction was called off in early 2009. Julien’s also sold Jackson’s famous “Thriller” jacket for $1.8 million earlier this year.

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Paris talks to Ellen about the loss of her father, how she felt about wearing masks as a toddler, and memorable advice her father gave her.

When Ellen asked the teen to recall any memorable advice Paris’ famous father gave her, she revealed Jackson’s haunting words, “‘If I die tomorrow, always remember what I told you.’ and I took his advice,” said Paris. “And I remember everything that he told me.”

Read more at AOL.com

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While they may be mini-celebs with multimillion-dollar trust funds reportedly waiting for them when they turn 30 – their father’s estate earned $445 million in the past two years alone, according to Forbes – the kids are leading relatively normal lives.

The children do indeed sound like average kids. Michael Jackson’s mom Katherine holds the fort down at 81 years of age!  Prince and Paris attend a private school and are enjoying the social side of life.  Blanket, described as “shy” is home schooled and  has taken to cooking. Only time will tell but things sound like they are off to a great start.

What are your thoughts on the future of Michael Jackson’s kids? What would you want them to know the most about their dad? Post your ideas below.  See the entire story in People magazine.

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Dr. Conrad Murray was sentenced Tuesday, three weeks after a jury convicted the cardiologist of involuntary manslaughter. The judge chastised him for a “horrific violation of trust” in caring for Jackson.

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Prosecutors had urged the judge to sentence the doctor to the maximum, arguing his treatment of Jackson with a powerful anesthetic ended the life of the King of Pop and left his three children without a father.

Attorneys for the 58-year-old Murray argued that probation was a more appropriate sentence, given his lack of a criminal history and the fact he will lose his medical license.

Murray could serve half of the four years because of overcrowding in California jails.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

Michael Jackson’s family told a judge Tuesday that they were not seeking revenge but want the doctor who killed the superstar to receive a stiff sentence that serves as a warning to opportunistic doctors.

“The Bible reminds us that men cannot do justice, they can only seek justice,” the family said in a statement read by attorney Brian Panish. “That is all we can ask as a family, and that is all we ask for here.”

The statement went on to say, “We are not here to seek revenge. There is nothing you can do today that will bring Michael back.”

Panish did not specifically request the maximum term of four years in jail for Murray but said the cardiologist should be punished in a way that reminds physicians that they cannot sell their services to the highest bidder.

Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor was expected to sentence Murray later in the day after hearing from lawyers on both sides of the case.

Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter after a six-week trial that presented the most detailed account yet of Jackson’s final hours but left many questions about Murray’s treatment of the superstar with an operating-room anesthetic as he battled chronic insomnia.

Prosecutors want Pastor to sentence Murray to a maximum four-year term that likely would be cut at least in half due to jail overcrowding. Defense attorneys want probation for the cardiologist, saying he will lose his ability to practice medicine and likely face a lifetime of ostracism.

Several members of Jackson’s family, including mother Katherine and siblings LaToya, Jermaine, Randy and Rebbie, attended the sentencing.

Deputy District Attorney David Walgren also asked Pastor to consider statements Jackson’s mother, Katherine, made to probation officials who prepared a report for the sentencing.

He said Katherine Jackson said she thinks about her son every morning and that his children also think about their father daily.

“`Their world collapsed when he left,’” Walgren quoted Katherine Jackson as telling probation officials.

Lead defense attorney Ed Chernoff highlighted the accomplishments of Murray.

“I do wonder though to what extent the court considers the entirety of a man’s book of life, as opposed to one chapter,” he told the judge.

The doctor decided not to directly address the court.

Chernoff again attacked Michael Jackson, as he and his team frequently did during the doctor’s trial.

“Michael Jackson was a drug seeker,” Chernoff said.

Jackson’s death in June 2009 stunned the world, as did the ensuing investigation that led to Murray being charged in February 2010.

Murray told detectives he had been giving the singer nightly doses of propofol to help him sleep as he prepared for a series of comeback concerts. Propofol is supposed to be used in hospital settings and has never been approved for sleep treatments, yet Murray acknowledged giving it to Jackson then leaving the room on the day the singer died.

Murray declined to testify during his trial but did opt to participate in a documentary in which he said he didn’t consider himself guilty of any crime and blamed Jackson for entrapping him into administering the propofol doses. His attorneys contended throughout the case that Jackson must have given himself the fatal dose when Murray left the singer’s bedside.

In their sentencing memorandum, prosecutors cited Murray’s statements to advocate that he receive the maximum term. They also want him to pay restitution to the singer’s three children – Prince, Paris and Blanket.

It’s unlikely that Murray can pay any sizable sum, including the $1.8 million cost of his funeral. He was deeply in debt when he agreed to serve as Jackson’s personal physician for $150,000 a month, and the singer died before Murray received any money.

Prosecutors said the relationship of Jackson and Murray was corrupted by greed. Murray left his practices to serve as Jackson’s doctor and look out for his well-being, but instead acted as an employee catering to the singer’s desire to receive propofol to put him to sleep, prosecutors said.

“The defendant has displayed a complete lack of remorse for causing Michael Jackson’s death,” prosecutors wrote in a filing last week. “Even worse than failing to accept even the slightest level of responsibility, (Murray) has placed blame on everyone else, including the one person no longer here to defend himself, Michael Jackson.”

Murray’s attorneys are relying largely on 34 letters from relatives, friends and former patients to portray Murray in a softer light and win a lighter sentence. The letters and defense filings describe Murray’s compassion as a doctor, including accepting lower payments from his mostly poor patients.

“There is no question that the death of his patient, Mr. Jackson, was unintentional and an enormous tragedy for everyone affected,” defense attorneys wrote in their sentencing memo. “Dr. Murray has been described as a changed, grief-stricken man, who walks around under a pall of sadness since the loss of his patient, Mr. Jackson.”

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Murray, found guilty of administering a fatal dose of the drug propofol to Jackson in 2009, faces up to four years in state prison.

The prosecution also recommended that Murray be ordered to pay restitution to Jackson’s children and pay requisite fines, which totals nearly $102 million…

Read more abc7.com.

“I would hate to put blame on Michael as an individual,” Dr. Conrad Murray told the “Today” show in the interview done days before the doctor’s conviction.

“I only wish maybe in our dealings with each other he would have been more forthcoming and honest.to tell me these things about himself,” he said.

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Interviewer Savannah Guthrie asked: “Do you think he lied to you?”

“Definitely,” Murray said.

“About what?” she asked.

“Certainly he was deceptive by not showing me his whole medical history, doctors he was seeing, treatments that he might have been receiving.” Murray answered.

“Did you really not know he had an addiction problem?” Guthrie asked.

“Absolutely not,” said Murray. “Did not have a clue.”

Murray was convicted Monday of involuntary manslaughter for supplying the insomnia-plagued Jackson with the powerful operating-room anesthetic propofol to help him sleep as he rehearsed for his big comeback.

During the interview, Murray was shown video of bottles of medications from other physicians arrayed on Jackson’s bedside table, suggesting Murray’s suspicions should have been raised.

“I cannot prevent Michael from seeing other doctors for whatever reason,” the doctor said.

“You must have realized the reason he hired you was to give him this drug, propofol,” Guthrie said.

“No, not at all,” Murray replied. “I met Michael with propofol. This was not something I introduced to Michael.”

Experts testified at Murray’s trial that propofol should not have been administered in Jackson’s home, but the doctor disagreed.

Murray revealed Jackson was under the influence of propofol during a recording found on the doctor’s cell phone. Murray said the recording, in which the heavily drugged Jackson talked in a slurred voice about his goal of building a major children’s hospital, was made by accident.

Murray, 58, described Jackson as “a desperate man, desperate” during his final hours.

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Hundreds of tearful fans left cards, flowers, balloons and handwritten notes in front of the three-story home resembling a French chateau, while dozens of reporters jumped at any development in the death investigation. Anyone coming in or out of the property was bombarded with questions.

Now, as Dr. Conrad Murray sits in a jail cell awaiting sentencing for involuntary manslaughter in Jackson’s death, the contents of the home – including the queen-size bed where Jackson took his last breath – sit neatly on display, just as they were, awaiting the auction block.

“We want to preserve the history of these items,” said celebrity auctioneer Darren Julien, president of Julien’s Auctions, which next month will sell the various antique furnishings, paintings and sculptures that surrounded the King of Pop in his final days.

Located on a leafy corner in the posh Holmby Hills neighborhood, the Carolwood home where Jackson lived from December 2008 until his death is separately up for sale. The house and its furnishings were leased to Jackson while he and his family lived there.

A note from one of the children remains on a chalkboard inside the home’s sprawling kitchen, where three barstools were lined up against the center island – a perfect breakfast spot for the kids. “I (heart) Daddy. SMILE, it’s for free,” the chalk note reads in childlike scrawl. The chalkboard will be sold as-is, and is expected to fetch more than $400.

At the very moment on Monday that Murray was hearing his guilty verdict, reporters were eerily taking a private preview tour of the three-story home where the pop star lived and died.

The bedroom shown in evidence photos at Murray’s criminal trial was actually considered a “medication room” by the Jackson team. Murray was convicted of supplying an insomnia-plagued Jackson with the powerful operating-room anesthetic propofol to help him sleep as he rehearsed for a series of comeback concerts in London.

The room looked perfect, like a hotel room awaiting its first guest. There was no sign that anyone had struggled there with insomnia or drug addiction, certainly no sign that anyone had died.

Jackson maintained an adjacent bedroom that he regarded as his inner sanctum – a private place only for him.

It is in this second bedroom that the pop star wrote a message to himself on the mirror of an antique armoire. “TRAIN, perfection, March April. FULL OUT May,” it reads. Jackson was to begin his London concert run in July.

His private bedroom included a bathroom larger than most living rooms and two massive walk-in closets.

Among the items for sale in the medication room, where evidence was collected for Murray’s trial, are upholstered chairs smudged with Jackson’s makeup and Jackson’s death bed, which looks out to an expansive backyard surrounded by tall trees. The yard is anchored by a large swimming pool and a pool house, where the singer’s son Prince carved his name on a beeswax candle.

The medication room, on the top floor, leads to another walk-in closet and bathroom, where Jackson’s makeup still remains on a small silk-covered stool beneath the vanity.

Curving staircases on each side of the mansion’s most famous room lead down to the kitchen and the elegant foyer, where a grand piano sits topped with crystal candlesticks.

Katherine Jackson’s attorney, Perry Sanders Jr., said he is aware of the Carolwood auction and has “done everything we can to ascertain that items from this address are not being auctioned using Michael’s name and likeness to enhance the items’ value.”

Photos of the house and the items available for sale are featured in a limited-edition auction catalog, which is being sold for $100. But the catalog and auction are discreetly titled “100 North Carolwood Drive” and the words “Michael Jackson” do not appear anywhere in the catalog.

The home and its decor are reminiscent of Neverland Ranch, Jackson’s famous estate near Santa Barbara, said Martin J. Nolan, executive director of Julien’s Auctions.

“He loved it because it was like Neverland,” Nolan said. “It was a very happy place where he spent his final days.”

Julien’s Auctions sold collectibles from the Neverland Ranch in April of 2009.

Like Neverland, the Carolwood house features its own movie theater – this one outfitted entirely in burgundy velvet with loveseat-style sofas and a fresco of a cloud-dotted sky on the ceiling.

Built in 2000 and designed by architect Richard Landry, the house at 100 North Carolwood is dominated by 18th and 19th century French decor. The walls are lined with various watercolor and acrylic paintings and sculptures fill nooks in the den and family rooms

Although up for sale, the 54,885-square-foot home will not be auctioned. The house has six bedrooms and 10 fireplaces. It also has a wine cellar, fitness center and formal dining and sitting rooms. The price was not disclosed but similar homes in the area are listed at $18 million and up.

Highlights from the furnishings sale will be on view at a free exhibition at Julien’s Auctions in Beverly Hills, Calif., beginning Dec. 12. The auction is set for Dec. 17.

Celebrity home tours still regularly pass by the property. On the day of Murray’s conviction, a tour guide could be heard telling passengers, “This is the home of Michael Jackson, where he passed away.”

The siblings said that Michael’s security would not allow them to see him and that they were unable to reach him by phone in an interview with The (Sydney) Daily Telegraph.

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The New York Post reports:

“We tried many, many times — interventions and everything else. We couldn’t get to him. He had a fortress around him.

“It’s a sad, ugly scene with people like that, when they see you coming they run the other way. People want to continue staying on that payroll. They don’t want you to rock the boat.”

Michael’s elder brother Tito, 58, said he got into physical fights with his brother’s security team who blocked him from seeing the star.

Read More At The New York Post

Tito and Rebbie Jackson said Tuesday the family was aware of Michael’s drug problem.

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Tito Jackson says his late brother’s security team acted as if he was the U.S. president and kept his family away. He says he got into physical fights with security personnel and was sometimes barred from his brother’s gated property.

The two Jacksons are in London to promote Wednesday’s premiere of a documentary about his life.

Their mother Katherine Jackson canceled her trip to London to attend the final days of the Los Angeles trial of Dr. Conrad Murray, accused of manslaughter in the pop star’s death.

Kathy Jorrie, who works for concert giant AEG Live, testified at the involuntary manslaughter trial of Dr. Conrad Murray that she questioned some of the doctor’s requests, which also included the possibility of hiring a second doctor to assist him.

“Dr. Murray told me Michael Jackson was perfectly healthy, in excellent condition,” Jorrie testified.

She said Murray told her not to worry about Jackson’s condition.

“He’s great,” she recounted the doctor telling her in a conversation the day before Jackson’s death.

Murray asked for a CPR machine in case one wasn’t available at the concert venue at London’s O2 arena, Jorrie explained.

Prosecutors allege Murray caused Jackson’s death by providing him with a lethal dose of the anesthetic propofol and other sedatives without the proper lifesaving equipment or skills.

Other testimony came from Jackson’s former personal assistant, Michael Amir Williams, who recounted a 35-second phone conversation with Murray on the day Jackson died.

“He said `Get here right away, Mr. Jackson had a bad reaction. Get somebody up here immediately,’” Williams told the jury.

He said the doctor never told him to call 911 or described Jackson’s condition.

Williams said he arrived at Jackson’s mansion just as the singer was being loaded into an ambulance. He saw Murray, who he described as “frantic.”

Earlier in the day, a promoter told jurors that Jackson appeared strong during one of the final rehearsals for the highly anticipated comeback concerts.

Paul Gongaware, an executive for AEG Live, said Jackson seemed engaged and energetic during the rehearsal just two days before he died.

Prosecutors called Gongaware to demonstrate the importance of the concerts and in an apparent attempt to show that both the singer and his physician were deeply engaged in preparations for the show before Jackson died on June 25, 2009.

Gongaware also testified that he saw Murray at one of Jackson’s rehearsals after people affiliated with the planned concerts complained that the singer had been missing some of the sessions.

Prosecutors wrapped up their direct questioning of Gongaware before defense attorney Ed Chernoff briefly questioned the executive.

Under the cross-examination, Gongaware acknowledged AEG is being sued by Jackson’s mother for negligent supervision of Murray when he worked with Jackson.

Jorrie also testified about drafting a contract for Murray to work as Jackson’s personal physician.

At one point in negotiations, Murray requested his contract be modified to allow him to hire another physician in case he was tired or unavailable while Jackson was performing in London, she testified.

“He wanted to make sure that there was somebody else available to be of assistance,” Jorrie said.

In opening statements Tuesday, Deputy District Attorney David Walgren said Murray delayed summoning emergency crews and lied to doctors and medics when he failed to reveal he had been giving Jackson the medications to try to help the entertainer sleep.

Chernoff claimed Jackson gave himself a fatal dose of medication in a desperate attempt to get some sleep.

He said Murray had been trying to wean Jackson off propofol, but the entertainer kept requesting it on the day he died.

“Michael Jackson started begging,” Chernoff said. “When Michael Jackson told Dr. Murray, `I have to sleep. They will cancel my performance,’ he meant it.”

Prosecutors rejected Murray’s version and told jurors the Houston-based cardiologist also had a tremendous stake in Jackson appearing in the concerts.

The doctor had initially asked to be paid $5 million a year for working with Jackson, but Gongaware said he immediately rejected the proposal. Instead, Murray accepted an offer to become Jackson’s doctor for $150,000 a month – a sum he was never paid because his contract hadn’t been signed before Jackson’s death.

Murray has pleaded not guilty. If convicted, he could face up to four years in prison and have to relinquish his medical license.

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Muhammad also said Murray was sweating and very nervous as he worked to resuscitate Jackson while another bodyguard dialed 911.

Jackson’s personal assistant Michael Amir Williams told jurors earlier that he received the doctor’s first distress call, but that Murray only described a “bad reaction” and never asked him to call 911.

Read more at the New York Daily News.

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She suspects a conspiracy behind his demise, a plot by his business advisers and doctors to work him to death with the “This Is It” concerts and then profit off his estate. She calls Dr. Conrad Murray, who’s facing trial for manslaughter in Jackson’s death, the “fall guy.”

She also offers insights into their relationship and how he cared for his three children, Paris, Prince and Blanket.

On her theory of what happened the night he died: “I believe that when Michael walked in that house that night, whatever it was that greeted him, he knew that his end was upon him. And as soon as he had passed, some of the very people he had expressed suspicions about now controlled his estate.”

Read more at Elev8.

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The book is coming out right when Michael Jackson is back in the news due to the trial of his doctor, Conrad Murray.

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The Huffington Post reports:

Fed up with the rumors and mystery surrounding Michael’s life and death, Jackson decided to pen a heartfelt book, “You Are Not Alone, Michael: Through a Brother’s Eyes.” Partly a look at their family’s early years in Gary, Ind., and the phenomenal success of The Jackson 5, the memoir also delves into Michael’s final days and all the questions surrounding his death.

“You Are Not Alone” doesn’t hold back, with mentions of Michael’s chimpanzee Bubbles, the child abuse allegations against Michael, and the singer’s marriage to Lisa Marie Presley all thrown into the mix. The book comes as Michael’s personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, goes on trial Tuesday in Los Angeles for the involuntary manslaughter of Michael Jackson.

Read More At The Huffington Post

Murray is charged with causing Michael Jackson’s death by administering an overdose of a surgical anesthetic, and Prince was called to Michael Jackson’s room during the overdose.

Michael Jackson Saw Salvation In Dangerous “Milk” Drug

MJ Child Molestation Claims, Financial Woes Barred From Trial

The New York Post reports:

Prince Jackson, 14, who witnessed the scene in the bedroom where the pop legend died, said he did not want to testify in the trial but would if needed, to get justice for his father, TMZ reported.

Sources close to the teenager told the website he was “nervous” and worried that he might “mess up” if prosecutors called him to give evidence.

Read More At The New York Post

Jackson’s child-molestation case and his debt will not be mentioned during the case, amongst other details and testimonies by people close to Jackson,  reports TheDailyBeast.com.

There will be no intensive digging into Jackson’s past financial woes, as that would be a “salacious … battle of the accountants,” according to the judge. The jury will not get to see estate documents showing the entertainer was more than $400 million in debt when he died, nor the multimillion-dollar contract Jackson signed with AEG–Concerts West for a series of up to 50 comeback concerts in London.

Read more at TheDailyBeast.com

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Michael Jackson Saw Salvation In Dangerous “Milk” Drug

Jackson saw the anesthetic known as propofol as his salvation. On June 25, 2009, it became the King of Pop’s death potion.

How he overdosed in his mansion on a drug intended for hospital use is at the center of the manslaughter trial this week of the doctor he hired to be his highly paid personal physician for the “This is It” tour.

Testimony about the drug is expected to dominate the trial of Dr. Conrad Murray, a Houston cardiologist who has pleaded not guilty to a charge of involuntary manslaughter in Los Angeles Superior Court.

The prosecution claims Murray was grossly negligent in giving Jackson propofol at home without proper lifesaving equipment available and then left the room long enough to find his patient not breathing when he returned.

His defense team claims the singer, desperate for sleep, swallowed an additional dose of the drug when his doctor was out of the room.

Getting to the truth of it will come down to sometimes technical testimony from an array of medical experts, pathologists and even the police officers and paramedics who inspected Murray’s equipment in the bedroom where Jackson went into cardiac arrest.

The defense theory, based on evidence that a trace amount of propofol – .13 milligrams – was found in Jackson’s stomach, may be a hard sell.

The drug is administered intravenously, usually during surgery. Scientific witnesses may be asked to explain how it could have gotten into his stomach. Some doctors say ingesting it orally is almost unheard of.

“It’s an odd, on-the-edge defense theory,” said Dr. Gil Tepper, chief of staff at Miracle Mile Medical Center in Los Angeles. “It would not put you to sleep and it would move through the system very rapidly, causing awful diarrhea.”

There are few authoritative studies and few statistics on deaths caused by the drug. It remains uncertain if the judge will allow a Chilean doctor’s study of students who voluntarily drank the drug or a study of pigs who received it rectally.

The prosecution has a key expert witness, as well as forensic experts from the Los Angeles County coroner’s office who are considered at the top of the field.

The defense boasts an advantage in one of its lawyers, J. Michael Flanagan, who says he is the only California attorney ever to try a propofol death case.

Flanagan represented one of a pair of nurses charged with killing a cancer patient who died after propofol was allegedly given without proper authorization by an anesthesiologist. Flanagan’s client was acquitted and the other nurse pleaded no contest to a lesser charge.

Abuse of the drug is said to occur among medical professionals but rarely among patients.

In anesthesia, propofol is known as something of a wonder drug. Tepper said it’s ideal for short term procedures such as colonoscopies or cataract surgery. Patients report feeling energized when they come out of it and there is no grogginess.

“But it’s absolutely not recommended as a sleep aid,” said Tepper. “You would never reach restful sleep and you would have to have constant monitoring.”

In a hospital setting, Tepper said the doctor would have heart and blood oxygenation monitors as well as surgical equipment to do intubation if the patient stops breathing. Witnesses have said no such equipment was in Jackson’s bedroom.

“It’s a very dangerous drug,” said Dr. Mark Schlesinger, head of anesthesiology at Hackensack University Medical Hospital in New Jersey, who said he has administered it thousands of times in his 25-year career. “The difference between unconsciousness and no longer breathing is a very slim margin of safety.”

In the hands of a trained anesthesiologist, he added: “It’s a wonderful drug and a very safe drug. It’s not the drug that kills somebody. It’s the way it is used.”

Murray was not the first doctor to give Jackson the drug as a sleep aid, although others have not been publicly named.

Jackson’s reliance on propofol was first disclosed to The Associated Press days after Jackson’s death. Cherilyn Lee, a nurse nutritionist who treated Jackson with vitamins, said he pleaded unsuccessfully with her to get the drug he knew as Diprivan. He said his doctor told him it was safe and he described falling asleep as soon as the drug dripped from an IV into his vein.

“I said, `Michael, the only problem with you taking this medication,’ and I had a chill in my body and tears in my eyes … , “`You’re going to take it and you’re not going to wake up.’”

Lee, who said she treated him from January to April 2009, is on the trial witness list. She said she never saw Jackson use other drugs.

“He wasn’t looking to get high or feel good and sedated from drugs,” she said. “This was a person who was not on drugs. This was a person who was seeking help, desperately, to get some sleep, to get some rest.”

Murray, who had been consulted by Jackson in his Las Vegas office, was promised $150,000 a month when he signed on as Jackson’s personal physician six weeks before he died. He closed the doors of his offices there and in Houston to devote himself to the singer.

An autopsy report showed that Jackson was generally healthy, indicating his key problem was insomnia. Murray has told police he administered other drugs known as benzodiazepines, which are also used as sleep aids. But when they did not work, Jackson demanded propofol.

Murray told police he was trying to wean him from the drug and gave him a minimal dosage, then left the room for five minutes to use the bathroom. However, cell phone records suggest he was making phone calls for a longer time. His actions after he found Jackson not breathing are also central to the case.

In the two years since Jackson died, doctors have been known to refer to propofol as “The Michael Jackson drug.” Some fear a backlash for its use.

Dr. Lawrence Koblinksy, head of forensic science at John Jay College in New York, said the situation of a famous man demanding propofol is an anomaly and should not cast doubt on its effectiveness in hospitals.

“If you have a drug that is wonderful, just because a celebrity dies doesn’t mean you take it off the market,” he said.

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Jermaine was quoted as saying that a private jet financed by a friend was on standby to whisk his late brother to the Gulf emirate if the 2005 court case ended with a conviction.

Bahrain does not have an extradition treaty with the U.S.

Jermaine says his brother did not know about the escape plan but Michael would have “done it in a heartbeat” because “why should he go to jail for something he didn’t do?”

The singer was found not guilty on all charges.

He later spent a year in the emirate as a guest of a son of Bahrain’s king.

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“Staging the concert during his manslaughter trial isn’t the right time,” Gary Taylor, owner of the 80,000-member Jackson fan club MJJ Community, tells Billboard.com.

Michael Forever: The Tribute Concert, set to take place Oct. 8 in Wales’, has raised the family’s and fans’ concerns when organizers began collecting donations for charities during ticket sales. Chris Hunt, the British film producer who is an organizer for the event declined to say precisely how much of the proceeds would go to charity.

The lack of a concrete commitment to the charities has troubled some fans. Ticket buyers were asked when they registered online to give an amount to charity above the ticket price, which ranges from $90 to $300, leading some fan organizations to wonder if the event was a for-profit concert in disguise.

Read more at NYTimes.com

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Fans of the late-great Michael Jackson said they couldn’t resist the opportunity to visit the singer’s childhood home in Gary, Indiana.

“We were exploring the area and decided to come here,” Rotoloni said.

The local friends, including Joe Dallmann, who now lives in California, were fans as youngsters of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” album released in the mid-1980s.

“The ‘Thriller’ album did it. … I had the silver gloves and the life-size poster of Michael. I had everything,” said Jennifer Holt, of DeMotte.

Read more at NWTimes

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GARY, Ind. — Michael Jackson’s children and father visited the late pop star’s boyhood home in Gary, Ind., as the town celebrated what would have been his 53rd birthday.

Hundreds of fans took part in activities outside the house in Jackson Street over the weekend ahead of Jackson’s birthday on Monday.

Thirteen-year-old Paris Jackson told WLS-TV that she enjoyed seeing so many fans at the house when she and her brothers, 14-year-old Prince and 9-year-old Blanket, visited on Saturday.

The Post-Tribune of Merrillville reports that Jackson’s father Joe attended activities at the home on Sunday.

The Jackson family moved from Indiana to California in 1969 after the Jackson 5 struck it big. Jackson died in June 2009.

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Attorney J. Michael Flanagan said the televised, involuntary manslaughter trial of Dr. Conrad Murray could be prejudiced by “final arguments” being delivered daily on TV by Grace and other commentators.

“How many final arguments will we have to hear in this case?” Flanagan asked.

At a pretrial hearing, the lawyer referred to “the recent case in Florida” and told the judge Murray’s trial was expected to get even wider coverage. He said telling jurors not to watch TV would be insufficient.

When Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor asked if Flanagan would want jurors sequestered around the clock during the trial, the lawyer responded, “Every time Nancy Grace is on TV.”

“We would like a decision made on the evidence that appears in this courtroom rather than commentary on the Nancy Grace show,” he said.

Grace responded at the end of her show on CNN, saying “the doctor … wants the jury sequestered from me, from us, claiming watching Nancy Grace will prevent a fair trial, then the jury will be biased, so I guess that makes us the good guy.”

Pastor said the courts, with a severe budget crisis, can’t afford to put up jurors at a hotel, and he thinks it’s unnecessary. He also said it would be burdensome to jurors.

Pastor did say he would sequester the panel during the day, requiring them to eat meals together in the jury room rather than wander around the civic center.

The judge also said he would be instructing jurors not to pay attention to publicity about the trial.

Marcellus McRae, a former federal prosecutor and Los Angeles lawyer who teaches trial advocacy at Harvard and Loyola law schools, said the Anthony acquittal may undermine the defense argument.

“In the wake of the Casey Anthony verdict, Dr. Murray’s attorneys will have an uphill battle in trying to persuade the court that any amount of media coverage will prejudice their ability to vigorously defend the case or the outcome,” said McRae.

Flanagan explained the difference between the two trials outside court.

“Casey Anthony was not a public figure before her case,” he said, noting that Jackson’s superstar status means TV stations have enormous amounts of footage of him to use during the trial – things that will not be admitted in evidence.

Murray has pleaded not guilty to causing Jackson’s death on June 25, 2009, with an overdose of propofol and other sedatives.

The judge said the trial will begin on Sept. 8 with prospective jurors being given questionnaires. Opening statements are expected in late September

Meanwhile, Pastor agreed to travel across town to Sony Pictures Studios to view 16 hours of raw footage from Jackson’s rehearsal movie “This Is It,” which lawyers want to use as evidence. Prosecutors and defense attorneys spent two weeks examining more than 100 hours of video and have submitted requests for excerpts. The prosecution wants 12 hours; the defense seeks four hours of video.

Flanagan acknowledged outside court that the defense didn’t find what they had hoped for – footage of Jackson appearing ill or impaired before his death.

Asked what conclusion could be reached from viewing the Jackson rehearsals, he said, “He is very talented. Even on his bad days, he’s good.”

“We believe his health is somewhat compromised, but he’s not displaying it,” said Flanagan. He said the only implication of problems might be days when Jackson was absent from rehearsals.

He now believes that showing footage from the film is irrelevant to the trial.

“I really think it’s a big waste of time,” he said.

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Darren Julien, president and CEO of Julien’s Auctions in Beverly Hills, says the jacket was purchased Sunday by Milton Verret, a commodities trader from Austin, Texas.

The jacket is one of two Jackson wore during the filming of the 1983 “Thriller” video. Jackson wears the jacket in a scene with a troupe of zombies who rise from their graves and break into a dance routine.

Verret says the jacket will be sent on tour and used as a fundraising tool for children’s charities.

A portion of the sale price will go to the Shambala Preserve, a big cat sanctuary caring for two tigers Jackson one owned.

NEW YORK — Michael Jackson spent the last months of his life frightened and on edge, convinced that he would be killed by people wanting to get access to his valuable music catalog, according to his sister, LaToya Jackson.

Jackson makes the claims in her new book, “Starting Over,” which also chronicles her own troubles, including an abusive marriage to her late ex-manager/husband, Jack Gordon.

Jackson says that she and her brother went through similar experiences of being controlled and manipulated by shadowy figures that cut them off from their family.

“The difference is, I was eventually able to get away and start over; Michael can’t start over,” she said.

Saturday will mark the two-year anniversary of the King of Pop’s death at age 50. Dr. Conrad Murray is charged with involuntary manslaughter, accused of giving him an overdose of the anesthetic propofol and other sedatives. He has pleaded not guilty; the trial is set for September.

However, Jackson’s sister called Murray “the fall guy.” She said there were other people who needed to be investigated and described Jackson’s death as part of a wide conspiracy. Jackson was the co-owner of the lucrative Sony/ATV catalog, the copyright holder of the Beatles’ and other artists’ songs, and his older sister contends he was murdered for control of it.

“This is definitely something that was premeditated, that they had planned to do, and they planned to take my brother out, and my brother knew it, and that’s why my brother told me repeatedly, repeatedly and repeatedly, that this was going to happen to him,” she said in an interview Wednesday. “He explained to me, ‘It’s because of my catalog.’”

Jackson had harsh words for John Branca, the co-executor of Jackson’s estate, accusing him of being more interested in his own interests than those of the beneficiaries of the estate– Jackson’s mother, his three children and charitable causes.

“They care about what they can do and what they can get their hands on, and no one in the family has anything to do with the estate,” she said. “At this point, blatantly said, John Branca right now is Michael Jackson.”

In response to Jackson’s statements, the estate issued this statement: “After numerous hearings and after reviewing evidence contained in countless filings and exhibits, three California courts have decided John Branca and John McClain are the rightful and lawful executors of Michael Jackson’s Estate just as Michael specified in his will.

“Mr. Branca and Mr. McClain have turned the estate around financially for the benefit of Michael’s children and mother, protected the intellectual property and music catalog assets Michael accumulated during his lifetime as well as carried out their mandate to shelter and preserve funds for his children until they reach certain ages as adults. Their performance as the executors of Michael’s estate is a matter of extensive public record and speaks for itself.”

Jackson’s three children — Prince Michael, Paris and Blanket — are being cared for by Jackson’s mother, Katherine. Unlike when they were in their father’s care, they no longer shield their faces with masks and have entered private school: “They are adjusting very well,” Jackson said.

Jackson, who has appeared on “Celebrity Apprentice” and “Dancing With the Stars” since her brother’s death, was once estranged from her brother and the rest of her family. She even went so far as to support charges that Jackson was a child molester when he was first accused of the crime in 1993 (he was not charged in that case and was acquitted of similar charges in 2005).

But she said she was then under the control of her ex-husband, who forced her to say negative things about her brother. She said Gordon beat her on a regular basis and threatened the lives of her family; she eventually broke away from him with the intervention of her brother Randy, according to the book.

Jackson, who now calls Michael “godlike,” said the day she spoke out against her brother was the worst day of her life. However, she said Jackson forgave her.

“He said, ‘LaToya … I know your heart, and I know you would never do anything like that, and I know he forced you and made you to do that,” she said. “He says, ‘I love you, and I will always love you.’”

Jackson said she’s gratified that Jackson’s once tarnished image has been rehabilitated after his death.

“I think it’s wonderful that people remember him in a wonderful light,” she said.

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Throughout his career, MJ captivated onlookers worldwide not only with his music, but with behavior that only grew stranger and more unseemly as time went on. In remembrance of the legend we lost two years ago Saturday, here are ten of the most shocking moments – good, bad, and odd – in Jackson’s life:

Moonwalk (1983)
Jackson debuted the dance move that would become his signature during a performance of Billie Jean at the Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever television special. While the moonwalk may seem intimately familiar to us today (who out there hasn’t tried it at least once?), to the audience of 47 million watching the show that night in 1983, it was pure magic.

Pepsi commercial fire accident (1984)
Pyrotechnics accidentally set Jackson’s hair ablaze on the set of a commercial for Pepsi. He was rushed to the hospital and treated for second-degree burns to his scalp, and would eventually become dependent on painkillers as a result of his injuries. Click below to watch video of the incident:

“Thriller” video (1983)
When the 13-minute video for Jackson’s song “Thriller” was released on December 2, 1983, it changed the concept of music videos forever. With its complete storyline, innovative make-up and costumes, and unforgettable choreography, “Thriller” elevated what had initially been an afterthought in the music business into an art form. Watch the video:

Check out our gallery of photos from Michael’s life:

Child molestation accusations (1993)
13-year-old Jordan Chandler said that Jackson had sexually abused him during Chandler’s visits to Neverland. During the investigation Jackson was subjected to a 25-minute strip search, but ultimately no charges were ever filed. He consistently proclaimed his innocence of the allegations, and eventually settled out of court with the Chandler family for an undisclosed sum. Watch Jackson’s statement to the public about the accusations:

Marriage to Lisa Marie Presley (1994)
The King of Pop kept his marriage to rock & roll royalty under wraps for nearly two months after the ceremony. Once he and Lisa Marie, daughter of Elvis Presley, came forward with the truth, many in the press dismissed the unlikely pairing as a sham to deflect attention from Jackson’s legal troubles. In response to their detractors, the couple stunned the audience of that year’s MTV Video Music Awards with an awkward on-stage smooch. Check out the video:

Marriage to Debbie Rowe (1996)
Both the public and the press found it quite surprising when Jackson turned up married to Rowe, who was his dermatologist’s nurse. He and Rowe went on to have two children, whose appearances also proved shocking: many have noted that Prince and Paris Jackson appear to have no African-American ancestry, calling into question their paternity. Jackson and Rowe divorced in 1999.

Dangles newborn son over a balcony (2002)
Shortly after son Prince Michael “Blanket” Jackson II was born, Jackson was staying at the Hotel Adlon in Berlin, Germany where fans somehow discovered his presence. He greeted them from the balcony of his suite, then dangled baby Blanket over the railing for a few seconds. The incident was met with widespread outrage but, as usual, Jackson saw nothing wrong with his behavior.

Admits to sharing bed with children (2003)
In an interview with British journalist Martin Bashir, Jackson openly discussed his sharing a bed with numerous children who had visited his home over the years as if it was the most natural idea in the world, calling it “a beautiful thing.” As an incredulous Bashir looked on, Jackson dismissed any notion that this behavior was inappropriate for a man in his 40s.

People of the State of California v. Michael Joseph Jackson sexual abuse trial (2005)
Jackson was charged with molesting a 13-year-old boy, giving him alcohol, and conspiring to hold the boy and his family captive at Neverland Ranch. Jackson again asserted his innocence, saying the family had attempted to extort money from him. He was acquitted of all charges. Watch Jackson speak out in his own defense prior to the trial:

Death (2009)
Perhaps the most shocking Michael Jackson moment of all came June 25, 2009, when the singer was pronounced dead as a result of cardiac arrest. While he had been out of the spotlight for many years, Jackson was poised to begin a comeback tour that very summer, and his death came as a painful surprise to fans and family alike. The world truly lost one of its brightest stars. Watch video below of Michael’s brother Jermaine announcing the sad news:

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The book is scheduled to go on sale next week, two years after the pop star’s death of a sedative overdose. Dr. Conrad Murray has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter, and trial is set for September.

La Toya Jackson says her brother often predicted he would be killed over his estate and music publishing catalog.

She also says she learned a lot about Michael’s well-being in the days before his death. His daughter Paris told her that “Daddy was always cold” and that “he would always cry.”

La Toya Jackson writes that she confronted Dr. Conrad Murray in the hospital shortly after her brother was pronounced dead to find out what happened and that he gave her only “evasion and excuses.”

She also writes that she searched Jackson’s bedroom and found it “torn to pieces,” with furniture overturned and items scattered about. They included notes she believes were written by Michael indicating that he needed his father Joseph’s help to get “these people out of my life” and that he “only agreed to 10 shows.”

When he died on June 25, 2009, Jackson was a few weeks away from kicking off a string of 50 shows at The O2 Arena in London. Originally only 10 concerts were announced, but tickets sold out in less than an hour and 40 more shows were added.

La Toya Jackson writes that she heard from other people in Michael’s life who were suspicious of his final days, including friends and fans.

She won’t be the last of her family to share their story. Brother Jermaine Jackson has a book coming out in September.

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — The jacket Michael Jackson wore in his “Thriller” video is hitting the auction block.

Auction administrator Darren Julien says the red and black leather jacket is “the most recognized and significant piece of pop culture” to come up for sale, and he expects it to fetch at least $200,000 at the Music Icons auction on June 25 and 26 at Julien’s Auctions in Beverly Hills.

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Jackson autographed the jacket as a gift to his longtime costume designers, Dennis Tompkins and Michael Bush. He wanted them to use the small calfskin jacket as a template for his future concert fashions. A portion of the proceeds from its sale will benefit the Shambala Preserve, where Jackson’s two Bengal tigers, Thriller and Sabu, have been living since the pop star left his Neverland ranch in 2006.

Other Jackson items up for sale include the wig he wore when he announced his ill-fated “This Is It” concert series in London, a fedora and spangled glove he wore on stage, his shirt from the “Scream” video and the battered mailbox from the Carolwood Drive estate where Jackson died at age 50 in 2009.

The Music Icons sale also includes one of Eric Clapton’s guitars, Frank Sinatra’s patent leather boots and 1986 Jaguar, handwritten lyrics and a leather jacket from Johnny Cash, jackets and a guitar from Elvis Presley, a signed harmonica from Bob Dylan and nearly 600 other pieces of music memorabilia from Bruce Springsteen, Madonna, The Beatles and others.

The collection will be on view free to the public from June 13 to 25 at Julien’s Auctions Gallery in Beverly Hills.

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The mother of deceased pop star Michael Jackson, Katherine Jackson, appeared on The Today Show with Matt Lauer and spoke about the Dr. Conrad Murray trial and her involvement in the case.

Jackson’s mother has been at every court hearing.

“I just felt I had to be there,” she said. “I was with him everyday when his last trial was. I just wouldn’t feel right if I wasn’t there.”

Mrs. Jackson also mentioned Michael’s past child molestation case and explained the falsity of it saying, “As far as Michael being a child molester, that’s the biggest lie ever been told.”

Read more at TheGrio

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They say this would contradict defense claims that Jackson took his own life.

Prosecutors also want to use limited autopsy photos of Jackson to prove that although thin, he was in excellent health. They say the photos would not be gruesome. Defense lawyers say the photos would inflame the jury’s emotions.

Murray has pleaded not guilty. Jury selection resumes May 4 and motions are to be argued Thursday.

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One conversation with a cocktail waitress he met at a Houston restaurant lasted 11 minutes and apparently ended when Murray realized Jackson wasn’t breathing, prosecutors said. Murray also was accused of receiving calls and texting with two other women he had met at Las Vegas strip clubs.

“He was receiving personal phone calls during the hours when he was supposed to be completely focused on the care of Mr. Jackson,” prosecutors said in the documents.

Prosecutors are trying to persuade a judge to allow the testimony during Murray’s upcoming involuntary manslaughter trial.

Murray also violated doctor-patient confidentiality by trying to impress the women with the fact that he was treating Jackson, deputy district attorneys David Walgren and Deborah Brazil said in their motion.

Murray also was accused of disclosing confidential information to the women while withholding it from authorities at the time of Jackson’s death on June 25, 2009.

Article continues after gallery:

Murray has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter. He is accused of gross negligence for administering the anesthetic propofol and other sedatives to Jackson before he died.

The trial is likely to focus on his competence based partially on his reactions after Jackson stopped breathing.

Testimony at a preliminary hearing earlier this year showed that Murray never told paramedics or hospital personnel that he had given Jackson propofol or other sedatives.

Defense attorneys have moved to bar evidence involving “sexually scandalous information,” including Murray’s patronage of strip clubs.

“This evidence has no rational bearing on any issue in this matter and is presented merely to harass and discredit Dr. Murray,” a defense motion stated.

Among other things, prosecutors want to show jurors Murray’s receipt for $1,100 from a strip club in Las Vegas where he met dancer Michelle Bella. They said Bella would testify that Murray wrote his cellphone number on the receipt.

The motion said Bridgette Morgan, who had met Murray in 2003 at another club in Las Vegas, would testify they dated until 2005 but stayed in touch.

They said she would testify she had lunch with Murray three weeks before Jackson’s death, and the doctor confided he was working with the singer.

She said he also offered to buy her a plane ticket for her birthday, and on the day of Jackson’s death she called Murray to follow up on the offer.

The motion said the timing of the calls showed that Murray “put no limitations as to the time period when his acquaintances could call him.”

Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor has set a hearing on all pending motions for April 21. Jury selection resumes May 4.

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Defense lawyers previously suggested the pop star might have self-administered an overdose of the anesthetic propofol while Murray was away from his side.

While seeking access to Jackson’s financial records, Chernoff added Wednesday that Jackson was in anguish over his financial situation and faced ruin if he failed to perform during the upcoming tour.

“The crux of the defense is going to be that Michael Jackson engaged in a desperate act and took desperate measures that caused his death,” Chernoff told Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor. “We believe at the time Michael Jackson died he was a desperate man in relation to his financial affairs.”

Article continues after gallery:

Chernoff said Jackson had leveraged his main asset, the music catalog that includes the work of the Beatles, and that even if he completed the tour, he would remain in financial distress.

Attorney Howard Weitzman, who represents the estate of Jackson, disagreed.

“Is the theory that Michael Jackson committed suicide, took his own life?” Weitzman asked. “I don’t think that’s a salable theory.”

Defense lawyers have never used the word suicide and implied Jackson’s death was accidental but self-inflicted. At a preliminary hearing for Murray. Jackson was quoted by a witness as saying if he didn’t sleep he would have to cancel the tour.

Weitzman said the tour would have put Jackson in a different position and allowed him to refinance loans and take other key financial steps.

Deputy District Attorney David Walgren accused Chernoff of trying to distract from the main issue of the trial – whether Murray acted with gross negligence when he gave Jackson propofol and other sedatives on the day he died.

“This is an irrelevant sideshow designed to take issues away from the jury and smear Michael Jackson,” Walgren said. “It has nothing to do with the case on which Dr. Murray is being prosecuted. ”

Murray has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter.

Chernoff’s attempt to see Jackson’s financial records was blocked by Judge Pastor, who said he would not allow such a “deep sea fishing” expedition.

“I’m not going to turn an involuntary manslaughter trial into some kind of an escapade in analysis of the finances in Michael Jackson’s entire life,” Pastor said.

However, Pastor did order Weitzman to confer with defense counsel on financial records that are already available in the public record.

In another ruling, the judge ordered a lawyer for Dr. Arnold Klein, Jackson’s dermatologist, to turn over medical records. But the judge ordered that the documents be kept secret by anyone who sees them.

The defense seeks to prove that Klein gave Jackson the anesthetic Demerol in the weeks before his death and that he became addicted to it..

Lawyers were ordered to return Thursday to continue screening prospective jurors through written questionnaires. Jury selection is scheduled to move into open court on May 4. Opening statements are expected on May 9.

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10. Axel Foley Checks Into Beverly Hills Hotel

Eddie showed his natural born, charm, hustle and humor by conning the Beverly Hills Palm Hotel with a nice story about Michael Jackson.

9. Eddie Talks About The First Black President (Delirious). Eddie predicted the large amount off assassination threats that the first Black president would get pretty accurately.

8. Eddie Plays African To Dan Ackroyd’s Rasta In Trading Places
All I have to say is Boo-bwele-Boo-bwele-Boo-bwele-ah-HA..

7. Eddie Murphy is Mr. Robinson On SNL.

Great Mr. Rogers in the hood parody

6. Eddie Murphy Recalls The Ice Cream Man In Delirious

The Ice Cream Man Is Coming!!!

5. Eddie Murphy Does Ebony And Ivory As Stevie Wonder As Sinatra

You are blind as a bat and I have sight

4. Eddie Murphy Talks About His Wife Umfufu In Raw.

Tad bit politically incorrect but hilarious none the less.

3. Eddie Murphy At The Redneck Bar In 48 Hours

Classic

2. Eddie Murphy Breaks Down Family Cookouts In Raw

Uncle Gus is off the hook

1. Eddie Murphy At The Coming To America Barbershop

Mama name him Clay…I’m a call him Clay

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Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor says he is extremely distressed by the lack of information that defense attorneys have given to prosecutors in advance of a trial slated to begin March 24.

Defense attorney J. Michael Flanagan says attorneys are still preparing their case and expect to continue their investigation even after trial starts.

That stunned Pastor, who says he may delay the trial or fine attorneys who aren’t complying with rules requiring them to give potential evidence to prosecutors 30 days before trial.

Dr. Conrad Murray has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter.

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The report also states Jackson’s estate spent $159 million between the singer’s June 2009 death and the end of 2010, with some of the money used for his funeral, burial and to buy the Jackson family’s home in the San Fernando Valley north of Los Angeles.

According to the filing, many of Jackson’s debts, including his interests in a music catalog that features works by The Beatles and other top-earning musicians, have been restructured.

While Jackson’s attorneys have resolved numerous debts and lawsuits, several cases are still unresolved, including disputes over Jackson’s “Thriller” music video.

Since soon after the pop singer’s death at age 50, attorneys began working on deals to begin to restore luster to Jackson’s legacy, which had been tarnished even though he was acquitted of child molestation charges.

Projects have included the release of “This Is It,” a film using rehearsal footage from Jackson’s planned series of comeback shows; new music and video games; and the rerelease of the singer’s autobiography.

An audit of the singer’s earnings for already released music is under way and could yield more profits, the filings state.

Experts say Jackson’s estate earnings are likely to rival those of another music superstar, Elvis Presley.

Most of the earnings benefit Jackson’s three young children and his mother, Katherine, who is their guardian. Renovations on her home, valued at more than $4.1 million, are ongoing.

A judge will review the financial report, which is the first complete accounting of the King of Pop’s financial affairs after his death. That hearing is scheduled for May 5.

Jackson’s estate attorneys say the judge should expect to retain oversight of the estate for at least another year after that.

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The theater announced Wednesday that the songwriter of hits like “I Just Called to Say I Love You” and “Isn’t She Lovely?” will be inducted into the Apollo Legends Hall of Fame on June 13.

Past inductees have included Michael Jackson, Ella Fitzgerald and Aretha Franklin.

Wonder got his start at the Apollo in Harlem in 1962 when he was 12. He was known as “Little Stevie Wonder.” A multi-instrumentalist, he also was called a “wonder child.”

The June gala will include a concert and awards ceremony.

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