Michael Jackson doctor Conrad Murray: I’ve been made a scapegoat for singer’s death

 
'Scapegoa': Dr Conrad Murray Picture: AP
Picture: AP

The doctor who gave Michael Jackson the drugs that caused his death claims he is innocent and has been made a “scapegoat” on the eve of a £26 billion legal battle between the singer’s family and concert promoter AEG Live.

Speaking from his prison cell, in the first interview since he was found guilty of killing his superstar patient, Conrad Murray said he had been “in the wrong place at the wrong time”.

The disgraced cardiologist spoke out after jury selection began yesterday in Los Angeles in a legal action brought by Jackson’s mother Katherine and his children Prince, 16, Paris, 14, and 10-year-old Blanket accusing AEG of negligently hiring Murray.

Jackson died aged 50 at his Beverly Hills home in 2009. The 60-year-old doctor, serving four years for involuntary manslaughter, is appealing his 2011 conviction and wants to regain his medical licence. He told the CNN American news channel: “All I tried to do was to help a friend who I encountered in a devastated state.”

He went on: “I have taken the front of the storm for the entire life of a man 50 years old, who has had a monumentally destructive, painful life...

“All of the mishaps that he has encountered in life seem to trickle down on me and I think that is the definition of a scapegoat. Nobody has taken any responsibilities for anything that they may have done to this man but, because I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, then here I am.”

In a bizarre moment Murray burst into a rendition of the Nat King Cole song The Little Boy That Santa Claus Forgot, singing: “He’s the little boy that Santa Claus forgot/ And goodness knows, he did not want a lot/ He wrote a note to Santa for some crayons and a toy/ It broke his little heart when he found Santa hadn’t come.”

The disgraced doctor explained to bemused host Anderson Cooper: “That song tells my story, that’s how I grew up. I had no Christmases, I had no toys, I had nothing. I walked barefooted for years, but as I grew up, my heart has been whole and my heart says to help and all I want to do is to give.”

Murray, who described Jackson as a “great friend”, said he did not want to jeopardise his appeal by giving evidence in the new trial in which he has been named as a witness.

The Jackson family blames AEG for hiring Murray and allegedly pressurising the doctor to ensure the singer was fit enough to return to the stage.

Murray claimed he was not driven by money, even though he was paid £100,000 a month to treat Jackson. He is expected to be released in October after serving half of his sentence.

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