|
By Jill Serjeant
|
 Judge Michael Pastor. (REUTERS/Kevork Djansezian/Pool) |
LOS ANGELES - A judge on Monday rejected a request for additional tests on a bottle of the anesthetic propofol deemed responsible for Michael Jackson's death.
Attorneys for Dr. Conrad Murray, who was convicted on Nov. 1 of involuntary manslaughter in the 2009 death of the singer, asked for tests on the vial of propofol that was found in Jackson's bedroom on the morning he died.
But judge Michael Pastor said Murray's defence team had months to ask for the tests and should have done so during the six week trial. Jackson, 50, was ruled to have died on June 25, 2009 from a propofol overdose and a combination of sedatives.
"You're not involved in fishing, you're involved in foraging," Pastor told the lawyers on Monday.
Murray admitted giving Jackson a dose of propofol -- normally used to sedate patients before surgery -- as a sleep aid. But his attorneys argued during the Los Angeles trial that Jackson gave himself an extra fatal dose when Murray was out of the room.
Defence attorneys said on Monday they wanted the new tests to confirm or disprove the prosecution theory that Murray hooked Jackson up to a IV drip of propofol and left the room.
|
Murray is in jail awaiting sentencing on Nov. 29 and could face up to four years in prison.