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Michael Jackson's former doctor has been charged with involuntary manslaughter by prosecutors in Los Angeles today. Dr Conrad Murray is expected to deny the charges in court. He faces up to four years in prison if convicted.

The King of Pop died at his home last June at the age of 50, his death was ruled as homicide, mainly caused by the anesthetic Propofol. A cocktail of drugs - including sedatives Midazolam and Diazepam, the painkiller Lidocaine and the stimulant Ephedrine - were also detected in his body, a coroner confirmed.

The statement came after several days of negotiations, where Dr Murray's lawyers tried to arrange for him to surrender to prosecutors in an attempt to avoid him being handcuffed and arrested.

Speaking before the charges were filed, the physician's defense lawyer, Ed Chernoff, said the doctor was prepared for the legal battle ahead. "We'll make bail, we'll plead not guilty and we'll fight like hell," he said.

Originally from Grenada, Dr Murray moved to the US and trained as a doctor. In 2000, he opened his own practice in Las Vegas, expanding with a second clinic in Houston in 2006. However, he encountered financial difficulties and reports suggest he filed for bankruptcy in 2002 while living in California.

Jackson hired Murray on a salary of more than $150,000 a month in May 2009. Yes, you read that right, it's not a typo -  $150,000 a MONTH. Money can and does buy you whatever and/or whomever you want! Unfortunately for Michael, he didn't get the best for his money.

Where the addiction all started for Michael Jackson...

His hair catches on fire on Take 6 of the commercial shoot. It is said that this was the beginning of his pain pill addiction.

The end of the footage where he is surrounded by people who are assisting him, his singed, bald head and disillusionment are sad, so sad.

Two nights before his sudden and tragic death, here is a final dress rehearsal at the Staples Center...

For what it's worth, and who knows if we will ever truly know, here is an article by Ian Halperin in England's Mail:

'I'm better off dead. I'm done': Michael Jackson's fateful prediction just a week before his death.

Whatever  the final autopsy results reveal, it was greed that killed Michael Jackson. Had he not been driven – by a cabal of bankers, agents, doctors and advisers – to commit to the gruelling 50 concerts in London’s O2 Arena, I believe he would still be alive today.

During the last weeks and months of his life, Jackson made desperate attempts to prepare for the concert series scheduled for next month – a series that would have earned millions for the singer and his entourage, but which he could never have completed, not mentally, and not physically.

Ailing: Michael Jackson may have worn a mask in public to protect his diseased lungs

Michael knew it and his advisers knew it. Anyone who caught even a fleeting glimpse of the frail old man hiding beneath the costumes and cosmetics would have understood that the London tour was madness. For Michael Jackson, it was fatal.

I had more than a glimpse of the real Michael; as an award-winning freelance journalist and film-maker, I spent more than five years inside his ‘camp’.

Many in his entourage spoke frankly to me – and that made it possible for me to write authoritatively last December that Michael had six months to live, a claim that, at the time, his official spokesman, Dr Tohme Tohme, called a ‘complete fabrication’. The singer, he told the world, was in ‘fine health’. Six months and one day later, Jackson was dead.

Some liked to snigger at his public image, and it is true that flamboyant clothes and bizarre make-up made for a comic grotesque; yet without them, his appearance was distressing; with skin blemishes, thinning hair and discoloured fingernails.

I had established beyond doubt, for example, that Jackson relied on an extensive collection of wigs to hide his greying hair. Shorn of their luxuriance, the Peter Pan of Neverland cut a skeletal figure.

Wow, yesterday it was news of Ed McMahon and now today two more stars pass - Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson.

It's sad that such a talent has moved on to the other side with so many unanswered questions. My thoughts go out to his three children and family. What an amazing entertainer, he will be missed!

Michael Jackson, the show-stopping singer whose best-selling albums -- including "Off the Wall," "Thriller" and "Bad" -- and electrifying stage presence made him one of the most popular artists of all time, died Thursday, CNN has confirmed.

OK, call me crazy, but this is pretty amazing! If you haven't heard the latest news on the King of Pop Michael Jackson then here it is for you:

Initially he was going to do 10 shows in London this summer and they went like free beer at a football game.... FAST. Then yesterday they released tickets for a unbelievable extension of more shows. So now all 50, yes that's right 50, of Jackson's shows at London's O2 Arena have completely sold out in several hours! Some are going for sale on eBay for as much as $14,000!

It is reported he will make between $50-70 million off these shows alone. That's not including merchandising either. I wonder if they will be selling that Jesus Juice he talked about?

I'll watch the mayhem and crazy from over here and keep my pleasant memories of him safe within.