LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A top medical expert offered damaging testimony against Michael Jackson’s former doctor on Thursday, calling one defense theory a “crazy scenario” and offering a dramatic look at how the drug that killed the pop star could have been infused into his body.

The testimony of Dr. Steven Shafer, an expert on the drug propofol that is seen as the chief cause of the singer’s death, left defendant Dr. Conrad Murray looking exasperated as he sat in the courtroom.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Michael Jackson had more of the sedative lorazepam in his blood stream than his doctor admitted giving him on the day he died, a top anesthesiology expert testified on Thursday.

Dr. Steven Shafer, the last prosecution witness in the involuntary manslaughter trial of Dr. Conrad Murray, also said that propofol is not fatal when swallowed, undercutting a former, controversial defense theory.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Michael Jackson had more of the sedative lorazepam in his blood stream than his doctor admitted giving him on the day he died, a top anesthesiology expert testified on Thursday.

Dr. Steven Shafer, the last prosecution witness in the involuntary manslaughter trial of Dr. Conrad Murray, also said that propofol is not fatal when swallowed, undercutting a former, controversial defence theory.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Former New York Mets star Lenny Dykstra pleaded no contest on Wednesday to grand theft auto charges stemming from what prosecutors said was a scheme to lease cars using phony business and credit information.

Dykstra, 48, entered his plea, the equivalent of guilty in California, during a hearing in Los Angeles Superior Court. In addition to three counts of grand theft auto, he pleaded no contest to one count of filing false financial statements.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A medical expert testified on Wednesday that Michael Jackson’s doctor acted more like an employee than a physician by agreeing to give the pop star nightly doses of the potent anesthetic propofol to treat insomnia.

Dr. Steven Shafer, regarded as one of the leading researchers in the use of propofol, took the stand as the final prosecution witness in the involuntary manslaughter trial of Dr. Conrad Murray.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – An authority on the drug propofol testified at the trial of Michael Jackson’s doctor on Wednesday that he wants to dispel fears about the anesthetic that led to the pop star’s 2009 death.

Dr. Steven Shafer, regarded as one of the leading researchers in the use of propofol, said that propofol, which is normally used to sedate patients before surgery and not as a sleep aid as Jackson used it, had gotten a bad name since it was ruled the main cause of Jackson’s death.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A terminally ill prisoner whose 1963 murder of a policeman was chronicled in the book and film “The Onion Field” was denied compassionate release on Tuesday after he said he didn’t want to be freed, officials said.

The California Board of Parole Hearings said inmate Gregory Powell, 78 and suffering from cancer, is not willing to be released and the board considered that in its ruling to keep him in custody.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Prosecutors were close to wrapping up their case in the manslaughter trial of Michael Jackson’s doctor after a top state witness on Thursday slammed the physician’s treatment of the late pop star.

Prosecutors, who called their last witness on Thursday, claim that Dr. Conrad Murray was negligent in caring for Jackson and is responsible for his death, which medical examiners said resulted from an overdose of the powerful anesthetic propofol and sedatives.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A sleep medicine expert testified on Thursday that Michael Jackson’s reliance on the painkiller Demerol could have led to insomnia, but said the singer’s doctor still erred by giving him propofol to sleep.

Dr Conrad Murray is on trial for involuntary manslaughter in the “Thriller” singer’s 2009 death from an overdose of sedatives and the anesthetic propofol.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Dr Conrad Murray’s defense in the death of Michael Jackson suffered major blows on Wednesday when his attorneys dropped a claim that the singer swallowed a fatal dose of an anesthetic, and two doctors slammed his treatment standards.

As the prosecution neared the end of its case in the third week of the involuntary manslaughter trial, the two doctors testified that even if Jackson gave himself propofol, Murray would still be responsible for his death.