The jury in the trial of Michael Jackson's doctor Conrad Murray was tasked Thursday with considering its verdict, after prosecution and defense lawyers presented their closing arguments.
The seven-man, five-woman jury will begin deliberations Friday morning after the nearly six-week trial of Murray, accused of involuntary manslaughter over the star's 2009 death, said Judge Michael Pastor.
"You are beginning deliberations tomorrow morning, when it is convenient for you," Pastor told the jurors, who have heard weeks of testimony, much of it heavily implicating Murray over Jackson's death.
The case's final phase was launched after deputy district attorney David Walgren and Murray's lawyer Ed Chernoff gave their closing statements to the LA Superior Court, where the trial started on September 27.
In a powerful summary, Walgren said the 58-year-old medic caused the star's death through negligence and greed, depriving his children of their father and the world of a "genius."
Presenting what he called an "overwhelming case" against Murray at the climax of his manslaughter trial, Walgren said the medic invented elaborate lies to cover his tracks.
Chernoff then took the floor and told the jury that Murray was "a little fish in a big dirty pond," alleging that key witnesses in the case conspired to agree a story about the circumstances at the house where Jackson died.
{{/usCountry}}Chernoff then took the floor and told the jury that Murray was "a little fish in a big dirty pond," alleging that key witnesses in the case conspired to agree a story about the circumstances at the house where Jackson died.
{{/usCountry}}Murray faces up to four years in jail and could lose the right to practise medicine if convicted over Jackson's death from an overdose of the anesthetic propofol, combined with other sedatives administered to help the singer sleep.