Michael Jackson’s cause of death explained and why it was ruled a homicide

People are still coming to terms with King of Pop’s sudden passing nearly 20 years later

Michael Jackson’s death shocked the globe after he suddenly died aged 50 in 2009, but what really happened to the King of Pop?

Jackson died at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center on June 25, 2009, two hours after he’d suffered a cardiac arrest at his home.

In the months leading up to his death, the ‘Beat It’ hitmaker was preparing for his This Is It concert residency in London, UK. It was due to start on July 13, but Jackson died two weeks before.

Following his shocking death, there were not one, but two autopsies carried out on the singer. His family carried out a private one after the first.

The primary report found that Jackson cause of death was acute propofol intoxication, NPR said at the time, which caused him to go into cardiac arrest.

Michael Jackson died at the age of 50 in 2009 (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Other drugs were also found to have contributed to his death as Jackson was given a cocktail of medications to help him sleep — something which healthcare professionals had been doing for some time in the lead up to his passing. Sedatives Lorazepam and Midazolam as well as Diazepam, Lidocaine and Ephedrine were also discovered in his system.

Apparently Jackson suffered with insomnia for years, but it began particularly problematic around the time he’d tour. On the night before his death he’d been rehearsing in Los Angeles.

Afterwards he struggled to sleep and reportedly requested in the early hours on June 25 that his doctor – Conrad Murray – gave him propofol.

Ultimately, because of the ‘polypharmacy’ of drugs in his system Jackson’s death was ruled as a homicide and Murray was found to be liable.

Conrad Murray went on to be charged with involuntary manslaughter (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

Murray was charged with involuntary manslaughter as he was the one to have administered the fatal dose of propofol. He went on to be sentenced in November 2011 to a maximum of four years behind bars and later released in October 2013.

Now Murray lives in Trinidad and Tobago where he opened his own medical institute in 2023. Prior to this, Murray practiced private medicine at a nursing home in Chaguanas, says PEOPLE.

Despite being convicted all those years ago, Murray has always maintained his innocence.

“I have lost a great deal,” he told Inside Edition in 2016. “I’ve lost everything. Everything I’ve amassed has been taken from me as a result of an unjust verdict. I am and I remain an innocent man.”