Conrad Murray, the former physician for Michael Jackson, claimed that the late pop icon had 19 fake identification cards to support his drug addiction.
Jackson died in June 2009 after suffering cardiac arrest related to his use of the anesthetic propofol, which Murray reportedly administered. Murray was sentenced to four years in prison after being convicted of involuntary manslaughter for Jackson’s death.
Murray spoke to TMZ for their upcoming documentary, “TMZ Investigates: Who Really Killed Michael Jackson,” and his claims have already gone viral, the New York Post reported. “Michael Jackson was a drug addict. He was a master of manipulation, because I was manipulated by Michael. I did not enable him at any time in his addiction. I cared about Michael too much. I loved Michael,” Murray said in a teaser for the show, shared on YouTube by Fox.
“Circumstances had been leading up to his death for years, and all of these different medical professionals had allowed Michael to dictate his own terms, get the medicines he wanted, when he wanted them, where he wanted them,” Los Angeles Police Department Det. Orlando Martinez says in the doc, according to the Post. “All of them are the reason why he’s dead today.”
Jackson had been using propofol in Gatorade-sized bottles as a makeshift sleep medicine, according to the Post. He had also been inhaling 300 milligrams of Demerol at a time, according to medical doctor and addiction specialist Dr. Drew Pinsky, as well as a range of other drugs over many years, the Post continued.
It would appear that a majority of Jackson’s later drug dependency was enabled by famed Hollywood dermatologist Arnold Klein, who died in 2015, according to the outlet. Klein’s assistant and Jackson’s ex-wife, Debbie Rowe, said that Klein was known for being unethical in his attempt to woo Hollywood celebrities into his offices, the Post noted.
Klein also kept a wealth of fraudulent documents on Jackson, helping hide the 19 fake identities he used to dispense prescription drugs for the “Thriller” singer, the Post continued. (RELATED: REPORT: Police Say Actress Anne Heche Was Under Influence Of Cocaine At Time Of Fiery Car Crash)
“The way that Michael went about getting all these drugs was doctor shopping. He had multiple, different doctors that he was involved with and he would go to ‘Doctor A’ and ask for a sedative, and then he would go to ‘Doctor B’ and may ask for the same one,” Jackson’s plastic surgeon, Dr. Harry Glassman claimed, according to the Post. “Michael is responsible, to a great extent, for his own demise, but he certainly had a lot of help from the medical community.”
“TMZ Investigates: Who Really Killed Michael Jackson” premieres on Fox on Sept. 6. You can watch the full clip from Murray here: