What was Michael Jackson’s cause of death?

On one hand, Michael Jackson was the King of Pop. On the other, he was a controversial figure followed by severe accusations of pedophilia. In the end, Jackson’s cause of death turned out to be as cloudy as his life.

It’s hard to explain how influential Michael Jackson was. Those who didn’t live in the 1980s and 1990s can hardly grasp the impact he had, not only on the music industry, but also on pop culture as a whole. Jackson did more than charm the world with his pop hits but was constantly in the spotlight spreading words of peace and fraternity.

It’s no wonder the whole world was shocked to learn Jackson supposedly had inappropriate sexual relationships with two children. Jackson was investigated on two separate occasions for pedophilia, and both times the case was dismissed for lack of proof. Still, the investigations led to so much controversy that Jackson took some distance from his career in the 2000s.

Jackson died on June 25, 2009, at the age of 50, just as he was getting ready to return to the stage. The singer died from cardiac arrest caused by acute propofol intoxication, a powerful anesthetic. The dangerous medicine had been administrated by Jackson’s personal physician, Conrad Murray, who was put on a lengthy murder trial.

Was Michael Jackson murdered?

During Murray’s trial, the physician defended himself by explaining how Jackson suffered from a severe case of insomnia, which eventually led to the administration of propofol, a surgical anesthetic. Propofol is a drug used exclusively in hospitals and is not used to treat insomnia. Yet, Murray claimed Jackson pressured him to administrate the substance. Murray also told the judge and jury he made an effort to help Jackson overcome his addition to propofol, an argument that clashes directly with the high dosages Murray gave Jackson almost every night for two months before the King of Pop’s passing.

At the end of the trial, Murray was sentenced to involuntary manslaughter, which happens when the author of the crime didn’t have the intention of killing the victim. In other words, authorities concluded that Murray was responsible for the death of Michael Jackson since he agreed to administrate a dangerous drug without proper monitoring of his patient. He, however, didn’t intend for Jackson to have a cardiac arrest. Without intention, there can be no murder, which means Jackson died due to an unfortunate accident caused by his drug addiction and the irresponsible actions of a physician pressured by a powerful man.

The life and death of Michael Jackson will be explored in the upcoming biopic Michael, scheduled for release in the United States on April 18, 2025.