Michael Jackson's Killer? OD, AAD or AIDS? by David Comfort
Michael Jackson's Killer: OD, AAD, or AIDS?
Family friend, Stacy Brown, told Jackson biographer, Ian Halperin, that in 2001 Janet, Tito, and Randy staged a drug intervention on their famous brother. He sent them away saying, "I'll be dead in a year anyway." Was Michael aware of having a terminal disease even then? At that time, the star was indeed in desperate physical condition and taking many prescription drugs - not only pain killers, tranquilizers, and sedatives, but powerful antibiotic and anti-inflammatory cocktails. He had cancelled appearances due to "back problems," "exhaustion," and bouts with the "flu." In his last years, Elvis - the father-in-law whom he never met -- had done the same. Both the King of Rock and the King of Pop had been diagnosed with Lupus, noted for such symptoms and many far more debilitating ones. Jackson also suffered from AAD -- Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency, a rare lung ailment, with emphysema-like symptoms. He was injected with pulmonary protein from human blood, a treatment usually successful, but not with him. In addition to the flu-like symptoms, he was now often bed and wheelchair bound, suffering from vision loss, weight loss, hyperventilation, nausea, insomnia, mental disorientation. Some of these are symptoms of Lupus, some of AAD. But all are the symptoms of advanced AIDS. Queen's Freddy Mercury suffered from the same ailments at the end of his life. The day before he died in 1991, Mercury confirmed long-standing rumors that he had AIDS and was homosexual. This is not to say that Michael Jackson did in fact have AIDS. Only that his symptoms closely corresponded with those of the disease, and that a medical forensic expert would be negligent to not consider the possibility. HIV, as is well known, is most commonly contracted sexually or through transfusion of infected blood. Given his prolific surgical history, Jackson likely received a transfusion at some time. But that he was infected in this manner seems less likely than the alternative. "He was also playing a truly dangerous game," continues biographer, Ian Halperin (Unmasked: The Final Years of Michael Jackson). "It is clear to me that Michael was homosexual and that his taste was for young men, albeit not as young as Jordan Chandler or Gavin Arvizo [the boys Jackson was accused of molesting].... In the course of my investigations, I spoke to two of his gay lovers, one a Hollywood waiter, the other an aspiring actor." Halperin goes on to say that the waiter remained friends with Jackson until the end, and that the actor provided photographs and a witness. The biographer adds: "When Jackson lived in Las Vegas, one of his closest aides told me how he would sneak off to a 'grungy, rat-infested' motel - often dressed as a woman to disguise his identity -'to meet a male construction worker he had fallen in love with.'" Though, with Elton John and others, Michael was an AIDS activist, he of course never outted himself or revealed the truth of his own condition had he indeed been HIV positive. This is regrettable since such an admission, though damaging to his reputation in homophobic circles, would have provided an immeasuraable boost to awareness and treatment of the tragic condition.
Whatever Michael Jackson's disease was, it seems indisputable that it caused him excruciating pain, both physical and psychological. Thus in his final years he was ingesting Demerol, Dilaudid Vistaril, Xanax, Zoloft, Prosac, Proilosec, and Ritalin on a daily basis and at a monthly cost of $48,000. In his last days, he begged his nurse for an IV of Diprivan used in general anesthesia for major surgery. Such a superhuman habit was rivaled by only Elvis himself. Like his father-in-law, too, Michael carried his narcotics in a huge suitcase filled with pre-loaded syringes and IV bags. In spite of his consumption, he, like Elvis, suffered from insomnia and, when he managed to briefly fall asleep, he had nightmares of being murdered. Jackson completed several hospital detoxes but afterwards soon fell off the wagon again. So, too, had Elvis, John Lennon, Janis Joplin, Jerry Garcia, and Kurt Cobain. Family and friends tried to get Hendrix and Morrison to detox, but failed. Of all the stars, Jackson and Elvis were the only prescription junkies. Both had coast-to-coast providers and had the prescriptions made out in the names of employees. Elvis's main supplier was Dr. George Nichopoulos, aka "Needle Nick." Nick prescribed 10,000 sedatives, amphetamines, and narcotics to his patient in the last eight months of his life. Several years before, when the doctor threatened to cut off his supply, the King shot him. After Elvis's fatal OD, Dr. Nichopoulos was tried for second-degree murder and acquitted, but lost his medical license. Unsatisfied, Elvis's father, Vernon, tried to have him assassinated in a football stadium. Michael's own last personal physician was Dr. Conrad Murray. Like Dr. Nick, he tried to administer CPR to his patient. Murray's explanation for waiting a half hour to call an ambulance was that he couldn't find a corded phone and didn't know the address of the house he had been living in with his patient for two weeks. Similar delays in calling the authorities occurred at the death scenes of other stars; in all these cases, narcotics were removed from the premises. The LAPD reportedly removed prescription drugs from the trunk of Dr. Murray's car. His Houston-based lawyer states that Dr. Murray never injected Michael Jackson with Demerol as has been alleged, nor had he ever prescribed him narcotics. The coroner discovered pill residue in the star's stomach and countless injection sites all over the body. Four were fresh injections to the heart. According to ABC news, in 2002 Murray's Houston medical clinic was closed for being what authorities called a 'pill mill." In any case, the fundamental question remains: What was the real cause of Michael Jackson's death? Pending further autopsy and toxicology results, the original stated cause goes unchallenged: Cardiac arrest. But what caused this? An overdose of Demerol or Diprivan, as alleged by many? But, even if so, why were such narcotics and anesthetics being administered? The question brings us full circle back to the original mystery. The kind of mystery beneath which lies not just one cause, but many and not all of them physical. And, in the end, as with the other legendary stars, though we may one day discover how the King of Pop died, it is unlikely that we will ever understand why.
Michael Jackson's Killer: OD, AAD, or AIDS?
Family friend, Stacy Brown, told Jackson biographer, Ian Halperin, that in 2001 Janet, Tito, and Randy staged a drug intervention on their famous brother. He sent them away saying, "I'll be dead in a year anyway." Was Michael aware of having a terminal disease even then? At that time, the star was indeed in desperate physical condition and taking many prescription drugs - not only pain killers, tranquilizers, and sedatives, but powerful antibiotic and anti-inflammatory cocktails. He had cancelled appearances due to "back problems," "exhaustion," and bouts with the "flu." In his last years, Elvis - the father-in-law whom he never met -- had done the same. Both the King of Rock and the King of Pop had been diagnosed with Lupus, noted for such symptoms and many far more debilitating ones. Jackson also suffered from AAD -- Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency, a rare lung ailment, with emphysema-like symptoms. He was injected with pulmonary protein from human blood, a treatment usually successful, but not with him. In addition to the flu-like symptoms, he was now often bed and wheelchair bound, suffering from vision loss, weight loss, hyperventilation, nausea, insomnia, mental disorientation. Some of these are symptoms of Lupus, some of AAD. But all are the symptoms of advanced AIDS. Queen's Freddy Mercury suffered from the same ailments at the end of his life. The day before he died in 1991, Mercury confirmed long-standing rumors that he had AIDS and was homosexual. This is not to say that Michael Jackson did in fact have AIDS. Only that his symptoms closely corresponded with those of the disease, and that a medical forensic expert would be negligent to not consider the possibility. HIV, as is well known, is most commonly contracted sexually or through transfusion of infected blood. Given his prolific surgical history, Jackson likely received a transfusion at some time. But that he was infected in this manner seems less likely than the alternative. "He was also playing a truly dangerous game," continues biographer, Ian Halperin (Unmasked: The Final Years of Michael Jackson). "It is clear to me that Michael was homosexual and that his taste was for young men, albeit not as young as Jordan Chandler or Gavin Arvizo [the boys Jackson was accused of molesting].... In the course of my investigations, I spoke to two of his gay lovers, one a Hollywood waiter, the other an aspiring actor." Halperin goes on to say that the waiter remained friends with Jackson until the end, and that the actor provided photographs and a witness. The biographer adds: "When Jackson lived in Las Vegas, one of his closest aides told me how he would sneak off to a 'grungy, rat-infested' motel - often dressed as a woman to disguise his identity -'to meet a male construction worker he had fallen in love with.'" Though, with Elton John and others, Michael was an AIDS activist, he of course never outted himself or revealed the truth of his own condition had he indeed been HIV positive. This is regrettable since such an admission, though damaging to his reputation in homophobic circles, would have provided an immeasuraable boost to awareness and treatment of the tragic condition.
Whatever Michael Jackson's disease was, it seems indisputable that it caused him excruciating pain, both physical and psychological. Thus in his final years he was ingesting Demerol, Dilaudid Vistaril, Xanax, Zoloft, Prosac, Proilosec, and Ritalin on a daily basis and at a monthly cost of $48,000. In his last days, he begged his nurse for an IV of Diprivan used in general anesthesia for major surgery. Such a superhuman habit was rivaled by only Elvis himself. Like his father-in-law, too, Michael carried his narcotics in a huge suitcase filled with pre-loaded syringes and IV bags. In spite of his consumption, he, like Elvis, suffered from insomnia and, when he managed to briefly fall asleep, he had nightmares of being murdered. Jackson completed several hospital detoxes but afterwards soon fell off the wagon again. So, too, had Elvis, John Lennon, Janis Joplin, Jerry Garcia, and Kurt Cobain. Family and friends tried to get Hendrix and Morrison to detox, but failed. Of all the stars, Jackson and Elvis were the only prescription junkies. Both had coast-to-coast providers and had the prescriptions made out in the names of employees. Elvis's main supplier was Dr. George Nichopoulos, aka "Needle Nick." Nick prescribed 10,000 sedatives, amphetamines, and narcotics to his patient in the last eight months of his life. Several years before, when the doctor threatened to cut off his supply, the King shot him. After Elvis's fatal OD, Dr. Nichopoulos was tried for second-degree murder and acquitted, but lost his medical license. Unsatisfied, Elvis's father, Vernon, tried to have him assassinated in a football stadium. Michael's own last personal physician was Dr. Conrad Murray. Like Dr. Nick, he tried to administer CPR to his patient. Murray's explanation for waiting a half hour to call an ambulance was that he couldn't find a corded phone and didn't know the address of the house he had been living in with his patient for two weeks. Similar delays in calling the authorities occurred at the death scenes of other stars; in all these cases, narcotics were removed from the premises. The LAPD reportedly removed prescription drugs from the trunk of Dr. Murray's car. His Houston-based lawyer states that Dr. Murray never injected Michael Jackson with Demerol as has been alleged, nor had he ever prescribed him narcotics. The coroner discovered pill residue in the star's stomach and countless injection sites all over the body. Four were fresh injections to the heart. According to ABC news, in 2002 Murray's Houston medical clinic was closed for being what authorities called a 'pill mill." In any case, the fundamental question remains: What was the real cause of Michael Jackson's death? Pending further autopsy and toxicology results, the original stated cause goes unchallenged: Cardiac arrest. But what caused this? An overdose of Demerol or Diprivan, as alleged by many? But, even if so, why were such narcotics and anesthetics being administered? The question brings us full circle back to the original mystery. The kind of mystery beneath which lies not just one cause, but many and not all of them physical. And, in the end, as with the other legendary stars, though we may one day discover how the King of Pop died, it is unlikely that we will ever understand why.
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