Michael Jackson’s doctor last night appeared in a Los Angeles court charged over the pop star’s death.
Dr Conrad Murray (56) , a Houston cardiologist who was with Jackson when he died last year, pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter when he appeared at Los Angeles Superior Court.
He was heckled by Jackson fans chanting "murderer" as he entered the courthouse. Once in court, he faced members of Jackson's family, including mother Katherine and brother Jermaine.
The doctor remained impassive during the proceedings. The judge told him not to leave the country and not to give any patient anaesthetics. He posted bail of $75,000 and was allowed to leave.
To reach a guilty verdict for involuntary manslaughter - meaning Dr Murray killed Jackson but he did so without malice - jurors must believe that whatever the doctor did to Jackson went beyond an accident and was criminally negligent.
Dr Murray faces up to four years in prison if convicted. He is still allowed to practice medicine, although prosecutors filed a motion to revoke his license.
Dr Murray was hired in May 2009 to care for Jackson as he prepared for a series of comeback concerts aimed at reviving a career sidelined by the singer's 2005 trial and acquittal on charges of molesting a 13-year-old boy.
The doctor has been the focus of a police inquiry for months since the Los Angeles coroner's office ruled that Jackson's death on June 25th was a homicide.
Coroners said Jackson's death was caused by propofol and the sedative lorazepam. Painkillers, sedatives and a stimulant also were found in his body.
Dr Murray has admitted giving the 50-year-old singer propofol to help him sleep, and authorities found bottles of the anaesthetic in his doctor's bag and on the bedside table of Jackson's home, according to court records unsealed last year.
The doctor and his lawyers have insisted he did nothing wrong. Dr Murray has told investigators he was not the first doctor to give Jackson propofol, according to court records.
"This has been a nightmare for him for many different reasons. One of the reasons is he lost a friend" in Jackson, Dr Murray's attorney Ed Chernoff told reporters outside the courthouse.
Outside court, Katherine Jackson said Dr Murray is "a monster," and Brian Oxman, lawyer for Joe Jackson, called the charge "a slap on the wrist."