Press Trust of India
|
March 05, 2013 14:41 IST
(Los Angeles)
The e-mail suggests that Conrad Murray might have been pressured into using illegal means to force Michael Jackson for rehearsals
A "smoking gun" e-mail that
allegedly links concert promoter AEG Live to the 2009 death of
Michael Jackson was revealed this week as a judge unsealed
documents in the wrongful death lawsuit by Jackson's family.
The e-mail exchange between AEG Live co-CEO Paul
Gongaware and Jackson's This Is It show director Kenny
Ortega suggests that Murray might have been pressured into
using illegal means to force Jackson for rehearsals, according
to CNN.
Jackson died on June 25, 2009, just two weeks before his
50-date comeback concerts at the AEG-owned O2 Arena in London.
Expressing concerns over Jackson's missed rehearsal,
Gongaware's email read: "We want to remind (Murray) that it is
AEG, not MJ, who is paying his salary. We want to remind him
what is expected of him."
Jackson lawyers, calling it a "smoking gun" argue the
e-mail is evidence that AEG Live used Murray's fear of losing
his USD 150,000-a-month job as singer's personal physician to
pressure him to have Jackson ready for rehearsals despite his
fragile health. Murray was in financial trouble at that time.
Popstar's children Prince Michael, Paris and Blanket,
along with their grandmother Katherine, claim that AEG Live's
pressure on Murray led to Jackson's death due to an overdose
of anesthetic drug propofol.
Murray was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in
November 2011 and is serving a four-year prison sentence. He
has admitted to administering propofol to the singer to help
him rest. The doctor and Jackson's eldest son Prince, 16, are
on the witness list for a trial next month.
"Now that the court has ruled that there is evidence that
it was foreseeable that AEG's actions resulted in Michael
Jackson's death, the Jackson family feels vindicated from the
public smear campaign that AEG has waged against them," said
Jackson lawyer Kevin Boyle.
"The truth about what happened to Michael, which AEG has
tried to keep hidden from the public since the day Michael
died, is finally emerging. We look forward to the trial where
the rest of the story will come to light."
AEG Live claims that it has no liability in Jackson's
death because Murray was not its employee.
If found liable, it could cost AEG several billion
dollars.