Michael Jackson's Doc Conrad Murray Says 'Truth Will Prevail' in First Public Statement

Aug. 18, 2009— -- "I have told the truth and the truth will prevail," said Dr. Conrad Murray, Michael Jackson's personal physician and the focus of a manslaughter investigation, in his first public statement since Jackson died on June 25.

In a video statement posted to YouTube, Murray, who is believed to have injected Jackson with the powerful anesthetic propofol prior to his death and then left him unattended, thanked his friends and patients for their letters and messages of support.

"I want to thank all of my patients and friends who have sent such kind e-mails, letters and messages to let me know of your support and prayers for me and my family. Because of all that is going on, I am afraid to return phone calls or use my e-mail. Therefore I recorded this video to let all of you know that I have been receiving your messages. I have not been able to thank you personally, which as you know is not normal for me. Your messages give me strength and courage and keep me going. They mean the world to me," he said.

Murray, whose home and offices in Texas and Las Vegas were raided by local police and federal investigators last month, said he had "done all I could do" and hoped his honesty with investigators would "prevail."

"Please don't worry, as long as I keep God in my heart and you in my life I will be fine. I have done all I could do. I told the truth and I have faith the truth will prevail. God bless you and thank you," he said in the one-minute video.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Jackson family said the singer will be buried on his birthday, Aug. 29, at Glendale Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, Calif. The announcement that Jackson will finally be laid to rest ends weeks of speculation about when and where his funeral would be held.

But speculation continues to mount, about whether or not prosecutors will be able to build a successful case against Murray or Jackson's other physicians, who are alleged to have supplied the singer with a cocktail of drugs.

Dr. Murray remains at the center of the ongoing LAPD investigation into the death of Michael Jackson, an inquiry that appears to focus in part on alleged enabling doctors, who may have fed Jackson's desires for painkillers.

They're known as "Doc Hollywoods:" physicians who freely prescribe drugs to celebrities, only to find themselves and their patients in trouble.

"He was getting a number of different prescriptions under a number of different names," said Deepak Chopra, physician, author, and friend of Michael Jackson. "This is a common thing amongst celebrity addicts... because they demand what they want and there are certain kinds of doctors who will give it to them...and they did what he asked them to, what he demanded of them."

Michael Jackson's search for powerful drugs led him to ask Deepak Chopra for a prescription. Chopra says he turned him down flat. He also claims Jackson knew other ways to get the drugs he so desperately wanted.

"One way that these doctors are found is that they're concierge doctors in hotels," said Chopra, "so you can find them in hotels in New York, Las Vegas, and Miami and Los Angeles. He used to call them 'designer doctors'... Another way to find these doctors is through the rumor mill. Many celebrities are seeing the same people, so you know who it is."