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Michael Jackson’s doctor pleaded not guilty Monday to involuntary manslaughter in the death of the pop star at a brief hearing that had all the trappings of another sensational celebrity courtroom drama.

Dr. Conrad Murray, accused of giving Jackson a fatal dose of an anesthetic to help him sleep, appeared in court in a gray suit and burgundy tie as Jackson’s father Joe, mother Katherine, and siblings LaToya, Jermaine, Tito, Jackie and Randy watched from courtroom seats behind prosecutors.

Neither Murray nor the Jacksons showed much emotion as the six-foot-five Murray entered his plea through his attorney Ed Chernoff, but as he emerged from court, Joe Jackson declared, “My son was murdered.”

“We need justice,” he added before leaving with family members in a fleet of Cadillac Escalades.

On Monday night, Joe Jackson told CNN’s Larry King that he doesn’t believe Murray is the only person responsible for his son’s death. “To me, he’s just the fall guy. There’s other people I think involved with this whole thing,” Joe Jackson said, without elaborating.

Joe Jackson also told King his son believed his life was in danger. “Michael said it himself that he would be killed,” Joe Jackson said. “He even told his kids that he would be murdered.”

Earlier, several people shouted “murderer” as Murray walked past a crowd of hundreds of reporters and Jackson fans on his way to a courthouse adjacent to Los Angeles International Airport. Others held signs urging “Justice For Michael.”

Murray, 56, a Houston cardiologist who was with Jackson when he died June 25, entered his plea just hours after he was charged.

Superior Court Judge Keith L. Schwartz set bail at $75,000, three times more than the amount people normally face after being charged with involuntary manslaughter. Murray posted it about two hours later and was released.

Chernoff said outside court that Murray plans to return to practicing medicine in Nevada and Texas while he awaits trial. The judge ordered him to return to court April 5 for a preliminary hearing.

“He’ll be back in Vegas this week, he’ll open his medical practice,” Chernoff said.

The judge warned Murray he is not to use general anesthesia on anyone while he is free on bail.

“I don’t want you sedating people,” he said.

Deputy state Attorney General Trina Bell also told the judge the state Medical Board is planning to seek the suspension of Murray’s medical license. The action would only affect his ability to practice medicine in California.

Preventing a media circus
It appeared authorities were taking extra steps to ensure the arraignment did not become a media circus.

Lines were formed to gain admission to the courtroom, and the Jackson family was escorted in separately and seated before anyone else arrived.

Despite the precautions, the upcoming proceedings promise to be the focus of widespread attention, especially if the Jackson family continues to take a high-profile role.

Immediately after the hearing, Latoya Jackson issued a statement saying she believed her brother had been murdered and that others besides Murray were involved in his death.

“I will continue to fight until all of the proper individuals are brought forth and justice is served,” she said.

Jackson, 50, hired Murray in May to be his personal physician as he prepared for a strenuous series of comeback performances.

Officials said the singer died in Los Angeles after Murray administered the powerful general anesthetic propofol and two other sedatives to get the chronic insomniac to sleep.

Murray is accused of the single felony count in a five-page complaint that said he “did unlawfully, and without malice, kill Michael Joseph Jackson” by acting “without due caution and circumspection.”

The complaint contains no details on Jackson’s death, but authorities have said the singer died after Murray administered the anesthetic and other drugs.

If convicted, the doctor could face up to four years in prison. Hard money training.

This should have been it. The night Michael Jackson returned triumphantly to the stage in London for the opening night of an epic farewell residency and his first concerts in a decade.

The tragic pop star may not have made it back to the O2 Arena, the scene of his final public appearance to announce the “This Is It” dates back in February, but plenty of his fans turned up all the same to mark the moment, celebrate their hero and seek solace and comfort in the company of their fellow devotees.

During his life, Jackson’s fans were notorious for — and took a certain pride in — their cultish loyalty to the performer. Perhaps it is no surprise therefore that to some Jackson has now become a kind of quasi-religious figure: martyred, misunderstood and mercilessly hounded to his sudden, shocking death.

“To me, because this was where he did the press conference, it was almost like his final performance was here,” said Morganna Bramah. “His final public speech was in this area, so it’s a very spiritual place for us to come and pay our respects to the man.”

The 29-year-old Bramah had just returned to London from Los Angeles where she had hoped to attend last week’s official memorial to Jackson at the Staples Center. Tearfully, she said the past two weeks had been a “spiritual pilgrimage.”

“I felt like I needed to do it because he has given to us so much and it’s the least we can do to show the world how much he was loved, how much he was respected and how much we are going to miss him.”

Gemma White and Terry Shaw, from Kent in southern England, admitted they were both “still in denial” about Jackson’s death.

“You can’t explain the feeling of seeing Michael Jackson in person, even if it was for one brief second of him walking out of a building,” said Shaw, also just back from Los Angeles. “We came down here for Michael. It was the last thing we could do for him. It had to be done.”

Singer Michael Jackson took more than 10 Xanax pills a night, asking his employees to get the prescription medicine under their names and also personally traveling to doctors’ offices in other states to obtain them, said a confidential document from 2004 that CNN obtained Thursday.

he document from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department contains confidential interviews conducted with two of Jackson’s former security guards as officials prepared for Jackson’s child molestation trial in 2005.

The singer was acquitted after the 14-week trial. But the information about the pills, and the lengths Jackson went to get them, adds to a growing mountain of claims tying the insomniac singer to drugs in recent days.

According to the drug’s Web site, Xanax is for the treatment of panic disorder.

Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton said Thursday detectives have spoken to a number of doctors who have treated Jackson over the years, and are looking into the singer’s prescription drug history.

Doctors who did not cooperate with investigators were issued subpoenas, a source told CNN Thursday. If needed, authorities will issue more, the source said.

Jackson died on June 25. Authorities are awaiting toxicology reports from the coroner’s office to determine the exact cause of death.

“And based on those, we will have an idea of what it is we are dealing (with): are we dealing with a homicide or are we dealing with an accidental overdose?” Bratton said.

The speculation that prescription drugs, particularly sedatives, could have played a role in Jackson’s death keeps coming up with each new nugget of information — and there have been many.

The Jackson family knows that the probe into his death can turn into a criminal case, a source close to the family told CNN on Thursday.

Michael Jackson’s family and fans have said farewell to the pop superstar at an emotional memorial service.

Jackson’s daughter Paris, 11, fought back tears to describe him as “the best father you could ever imagine”.

The singer’s coffin was placed in front of the stage during the event at the Staples Center in Los Angeles after an earlier private funeral.

Lionel Richie, Stevie Wonder and Mariah Carey paid tribute before the family joined a sombre finale on stage.

Jackson’s siblings, children and parents took part in a chorus of We Are The World and Heal the World.

His family, with the brothers each wearing a single jewelled glove in Jackson’s honour, then took to the podium.

Comforted by aunts and uncles, Paris stepped up the microphone. “I just wanted to say, ever since I was born, daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine,” she said.

“And I just wanted to say I love him so much.”

Marlon Jackson spoke of the troubles his brother faced. “We will never, never, understand what he endured,” he said.

“Not being able to walk across the street without a crowd gathered around, being judged, being ridiculed. How much pain can one take?

“Maybe now, Michael, they will leave you alone.”

This could not be anyone but him. It cant be a person the CNN people went left the “ghost” right.

To produce this image you would need to stand directly in the hallway. Plus there was 3 people you would have seen the others. Notice the skinny body, long hair & jacket.

Michael Jackson’s body will be taken to his Neverland Ranch on Thursday morning for a public viewing Friday, a law enforcement source said Tuesday.

A private memorial service is scheduled for Sunday at Neverland.

Also, a Jackson will written in 2002 has been found, according to family lawyer Londell McMillan.

Planning is under way for a 30-car motorcade carrying Jackson’s remains to leave the Los Angeles area at 10 a.m. for Santa Barbara County, California, on Thursday, a source said.

Another state law enforcement source said the California Highway Patrol had not been formally requested to escort the motorcade.

The question of where Jackson will be buried remains unanswered.

Entertainer Michael Jackson has died after being taken to a hospital on Thursday after suffering cardiac arrest, CNN has confirmed.

Jackson, 50, had been in a coma at the hospital, sources told CNN.

Brian Oxman, a Jackson family attorney, said he was told by brother Randy Jackson that Michael Jackson collapsed at his home in west Los Angeles, California, Thursday morning.

Family members were told of the situation and were either at the hospital or en route, Oxman said.

“I can only tell you that the family members are crying and I just have not been able to confirm anything, other than to hug them and tell them that I love them,” Oxman said.

Fire Capt. Steve Ruda told CNN a 911 call came in from a west Los Angeles residence at 12:21 p.m.

Ruda said Jackson was treated and transferred to the UCLA Medical Center.

Asked specifics of the patient’s condition, he said he could not discuss them because of federal privacy laws.

Entertainer Michael Jackson has died after being taken to a hospital on Thursday after suffering cardiac arrest, according to multiple reports including the Los Angeles Times and the Associated Press. CNN has not confirmed his death.

Jackson, 50, had been in a coma at the hospital, sources told CNN.

Brian Oxman, a Jackson family attorney, said he was told by brother Randy Jackson that Michael Jackson collapsed at his home in west Los Angeles Thursday morning.

Family members were told of the situation and were either at the hospital or en route, Oxman said.

Fire Capt. Steve Ruda told CNN a 911 call came in from a west Los Angeles residence at 12:21 p.m.

Ruda said Jackson was treated and transferred to the UCLA Medical Center.

Asked specifics of the patient’s condition, he said he could not discuss them because of federal privacy laws.

The music icon from Gary, Indiana, is known as the “King of Pop.” Jackson had many No. 1 hits and his “Thriller” is one of the best-selling albums of all time.

Jackson is the seventh of nine children in a well-known musical family. He has three children, Prince Michael I, Paris and Prince Michael II.

At the medical center, every entrance to the emergency room was blocked by security guards. Even hospital staffers were not permitted to enter. A few people stood inside the waiting area, some of them crying.