Michael Jackson's different sides on show in wrongful death trial

Two sides of Michael Jackson a loving son and devoted father, as well as a financially struggling artist grappling with addiction to prescription drugs were unveiled in a Los Angeles courtroom Monday during the opening statements of a wrongful death trial concerning his 2009 death.

The 12 jurors in the high-profile civil case were shown a brief tour of the King of Pop's life through family photos and performance videos and, not much later, documents outlining down his money troubles and detailing his ill health.

• Timeline: Michael Jackson's career, recent developments with his estate

Both sides concluded opening statements Monday. Testimonybegins Tuesday.

A year after Jackson's June 2009 death due to an overdose of the surgical anesthetic propofolhis mother Katharinefiled the wrongful death suit against AEG Live,alleging that the international promoter failed to properly investigate the doctorentrusted with her son's care ahead ofhis plannedcomeback concert series This Is It.

Jackson never signed Conrad Murray's contract

The former physician, Conrad Murray, is currently in prison after being convicted of involuntary manslaughter.Jackson died before signing Murray's $150,000 US a month contract to serve as his doctor.

"They didn't care who got lost in the wash," the plaintiff's lawyer Brian Panish told the jury on Monday. "The show must go on," he repeated, allegedly describing AEG's attitude.

Panish charged that AEG ignored Jackson's known heath and prescription drug addiction problems, as well as failed to conduct proper background checks on Murray.

Meanwhile, defence attorney Marvin S. Putnam said the company couldn't have known that Jackson was using propofol and doctor-patient confidentiality prevented Murray from disclosing the information.

"The public Michael Jackson was very different from the private Michael Jackson," Putnam said, adding that it was Jackson who demanded the treatment from Murray and the singer was ultimately responsible for his own death. "This case is about personal choices," Putnam said.

"There's no question that Michael Jackson's death was a terrible tragedy. I believe the evidence will show it was not a tragedy of AEG Live's making."

Jackson's mother, brother Randy and sister Rebbie sat in the front row of the courtroomfor Monday'ssession, while a handful of fanswere gathered outside.

Katherine Jackson could be called to testify, as could the singer's eldestchildren, Prince and Paris, and Murray himself.

Paramedic testifies

With the start of testimony on Tuesday, the panel was transported by paramedic Richard Senneff into the singer's bedroom, a place he kept locked and where his propofol treatments were administered out of sight of everyone but Murray.

Senneff, a paramedic and firefighter for nearly 28 years, told the panel about responding to Jackson's bedroom on June 25, 2009, and finding an unusual scene. He described a Murray's frazzled efforts to revive Jackson.

"He was pale, he was sweaty," the paramedic said of Murray. "He was very busy."

He said Jackson appeared to be terminally ill.

"To me, he looked like someone who was at the end stage of a long disease process," Senneff said, adding that Murray told him that he was treating Jackson for dehydration.

Senneff told the panel he found an IV pole, oxygen tanks and a nightstand with several medicine bottles.

Just as he has previously testified in Murray's criminal trial, the paramedic told the panel that Murray never mentioned propofol, the hospital-grade anesthetic that killed the singer.

Jackson's blue hands, feet and lips, and the singer's dry eyes all signalled to Senneff that the singer was dead and hadn't been breathing for a long time.

The case is expected to last three months.