Conrad Murray freed on $75,000 bail after pleading not guilty to involuntary manslaughter

Michael Jackson's doctor, Conrad Murray, was charged with involuntary manslaughter in Los Angeles yesterday in relation to the singer's death last year from a cocktail of drugs.

Murray, aged 57, pleaded not guilty just hours after being charged, and was released on bail of $75,000 (£48,000), and is due to reappear before the court on 5 April. The charge carries a jail term of four years.

The doctor has been under investigation almost since the singer's body was found at his home in Los Angeles in June last year.

Some Jackson fans shouted "murderer" as Murray entered the courthouse.

The doctor was appointed by Jackson appointed the doctor in May on a promise of $150,000 a month to help the singer through a series of comeback shows in London. Murray prescribed drugs to help the singer sleep, but insists there was nothing illegal in this.

The single charge against him claims he administered the powerful general anaesthetic propofol and two other sedatives "without due caution and circumspection" and "did unlawfully, and without malice, kill Michael Joseph Jackson".

Murray flew from his home in Houston to Los Angeles last week for negotiations between prosecutors and his lawyers on his surrender.

A coroner's report in August said Jackson had died from a cocktail of drugs, including propofol, which Murray has admitted administering. Propofol is often used as an anaesthetic in surgery, but was used on Jackson to help him sleep. The doctor administered the drug on the morning Jackson died, and then left the room. On his return, the singer had died.

The case will centre in the main on the use of propofol to help Jackson sleep, but also how long Murray stayed by his side immediately afterwards, while the drug took effect. Murray said he had left Jackson for two minutes to go to the bathroom.

Legal specialists said it could be a complicated and protracted case, with medical experts called by both sides to discuss the ethics of administering propofol.

Jackson's parents, Kathryn and Joe, were in court yesterday, along with his siblings LaToya, Jermaine, Tito, Jackie and Randy. Brian Oxman, Joe Jackson's lawyer, said some family members were disappointed that the doctor was charged only with involuntary manslaughter.

The Los Angeles district attorney's office said the deputy district attorney, David Walgreen, who is handling the attempt to extradite Roman Polanski in a child-sex case, will try the case. The district attorney's office credited the Los Angeles police and coroner's office for building the case against Murray. "Both agencies worked diligently and exhaustively to collect the evidence leading to the filing of the case," a statement said.

Bottles of propofol were in Murray's medicine bag and on the bedside table of Jackson's home.

Murray was employed by Jackson as he prepared for a series of 50 concerts aimed at reviving his career. The singer's career had been in steady decline after a series of allegations of child molestation that led to his arrest in 2003.

Jackson left an estate worth hundreds of millions and his death saw a new burst in sales of the star's music. A documentary film, Michael Jackson's This Is It, compiled from footage from rehearsals, earned nearly $260m.

Houston cardiologist Conrad Murray would face up to four years in prison if convicted

Michael Jackson's doctor has tonight been charged with involuntary manslaughter over the pop singer's death.

Dr Conrad Murray, a Houston cardiologist, was with Jackson when the star died on 25 June last year. He faces up to four years in prison if convicted.

Murray's lawyer, Ed Chernoff, says Murray will plead not guilty.

Jackson hired Murray to be his personal physician as he prepared for a strenuous series of comeback performances in London.

Officials say the singer died in Los Angeles after Murray administered the powerful general anaesthetic propofol and two other sedatives to try to help Jackson, a chronic insomniac, to get to sleep.

Murray tonight pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Murray's lawyer, Ed Chernoff, says the doctor has been at the centre of an ongoing dispute between the LA police and the district attorney's office

Officials have announced they will file a criminal case against Michael Jackson's former doctor later today, the BBC reports. Dr Conrad Murray faces charges in connection with Jackson's death last June, which coroners ruled as homicide.

According to Murray's lawyer, Ed Chernoff, the doctor has been at the centre of an ongoing dispute between the Los Angeles police department and district attorney's office. The DA wanted Murray to surrender himself before appearing in court, but the LAPD was allegedly hoping to arrest Murray and lead the handcuffed accused in front of TV cameras.

Murray did fly from Houston to Los Angeles with the intention of turning himself in, Chernoff said. But when Murray arrived – preparing to post the standard $25,000 bail for an involuntary manslaughter charge – officials couldn't decide if it was what they wanted. By posting bail, Murray would be free pending a formal arraignment, whereas by waiting for official charges, as expected later today, police would take Murray into custody and transport him themselves to a courthouse.

Chernoff claims the authorities asked Murray to turn himself in but not post bail. "I told them there is no way that I'm going to let my client sit in jail so you can have your show and parade him into court in handcuffs," Chernoff told the Los Angeles Times. "To us this is showmanship," agreed spokeswoman Miranda Sevcik.

Murray and his team are now waiting for today's announcement, expected to be a charge of involuntary manslaughter. Involuntary manslaughter has taken place when a death is the indirect result of negligence or recklessness. It carries a maximum sentence of four years in prison.

Michael Jackson hired Murray earlier in the year, during preparation for the singer's scheduled comeback concerts in London. Murray has told investigators he was treating Jackson for insomnia, often using Propofol, a powerful anaesthetic.

Jackson died at home on 25 June, after Murray had administered a cocktail of sedatives, including Propofol, Midazolam, Diazepam and the painkiller Lidocaine. Murray maintains that he did not prescribe anything that should have killed the singer, denying any criminal wrongdoing.

The criminal case will likely hinge on the timeline of events that morning, including cell phone records that suggest Murray spent 45 minutes on the phone after administering the drugs.

Dr Conrad Murray prepared to hand himself in and appear before judge, according to his lawyer

Michael Jackson's doctor is to be charged with involuntary manslaughter, according to reports.

Dr Conrad Murray, whom Jackson hired as his personal physician ahead of his planned comeback performances in London, is in Los Angeles and prepared to turn himself in, according to his lawyer.

Murray and his lawyer, Edward Chernoff, have travelled to the city from Houston, Texas, where Murray practises.

"If they tell him to surrender in 10 minutes he'll go surrender," said Chernoff. "He's never hidden, he's always been available."

If Murray is charged a judge will hear evidence from witnesses in a public hearing before deciding if he should go on trial.

Jackson's death at age 50 on 25 June 2009 was deemed homicide by the Los Angeles county coroner the following August. The coroner found he was poisoned by an overdose of the anaesthetic propofol, an addictive intravenous drug typically used in a clinical setting, not in the home.

The singer's body was found to contain a cocktail of other drugs including lorazepam and Valium. Murray has maintained he gave Jackson nothing that should have killed him.

To bring a manslaughter charge prosecutors must show there was a reckless action that created a risk of death or great bodily injury.

Last month a law enforcement source told the Associated Press that prosecutors were seeking a grand jury indictment – where a panel meets behind closed doors to hear evidence and decides whether a suspect should go to trial.

The latest reports suggest prosecutors will file a criminal complaint, meaning a judge will decide whether a trial should go ahead.

A spokeswoman for the Los Angeles district attorney's office told the BBC that so far nothing had been filed against Murray.