Michael Jackson's sudden death on June 25, 2009, left the world in shock. Since then, two major conspiracy theories have emerged surrounding the circumstances of his passing. One theory suggests that he was murdered. The other conspiracy theory is that Michael committed suicide. The media played a significant role in spreading both conspiracies. After Michael Jackson's passing, he became the subject of many conversations.

      The first conspiracy theory that is widely speculated is that Michael Jackson was murdered. Michael’s sister La Toya was very vocal in her belief that her brother was murdered. In the book 83 Minutes, it was said that “La Toya was certain her brother was murdered” and that she felt he was “worth more dead than alive” (Richards and Langthorne). But, while there is no “definitive evidence or smoking gun to suggest anything sinister happened”, Michael’s sister was firm in her belief (1).

      Given what Michael’s sister said, she suggested that his wealth may have been a motive for murder (1). Could someone have been after his fortune? Is it possible that a family member, or even his children's mother, Debbie Rowe, might have been involved in a plan to harm him? Shortly after his death it was written, “Documents obtained by the Associated Press showed that Jackson had $567.6m (£344.7m) in assets, including Neverland and rights to songs by the Beatles, leaving him with a net worth of $236.6m” (MacAskill). This does not seem credible, as there is no evidence to support this theory.

      Part of this conspiracy theory is that Conrad Murray is who murdered Michael. Murray was his private doctor who administered highly addictive pain killers and sleep medication to him. Did he give him too much on purpose? In a news article, it was written, “A jury concluded after a two-month trial that Murray’s negligence led to Jackson’s death from an overdose of the surgical anesthetic propofol” (Duke). In the article, Medical Manslaughter, it was written, “On November 29, 2011 Dr Conrad Murray was sentenced to four years in prison after being convicted of the involuntary manslaughter of Michael Jackson” (Lyons). But was this intentional on Murray's part? Did he purposefully overdose Michael Jackson to gain more from his estate? Considering the evidence, if murder was indeed the cause of death, this angle of the theory seems to be the most credible and practical.

      Another theory surrounding Michael's death is the possibility that he took his own life. Michael’s life was filled with overwhelming challenges. From career struggles and alleged child abuse allegations to media and family pressure, all these factors contributed to his sense of being overwhelmed. He left the media spotlight for a while, but before his death he had been planning a career comeback and a return to the public eye. In a book written about Michael’s death, it was questioned, “was the pressure all too much? Was Michael pushing himself too hard, pressuring himself too much and becoming increasingly terrified that his performances could not live up to the glory days?” (Herbert).  Could this have pushed him over the limit to do harm to himself? This theory seems unlikely, though, given his deep passion for performing.

      Could he have committed suicide due to the child sexual abuse allegations against him? Did the intense public scrutiny lead to severe mental health issues for him? “Child molestation accusations were raised in 1993 and 2003” (McDonell-Parry). This haunted Michael because he spoke so highly of children. Given these accusations, Michael had to defend himself. As described in Henning’s book, Michael said “I would slit my own wrists before I hurt a child” (Henning). This suggests that Michael was in a lot of emotional pain and might have taken extreme measures to numb it. However, this theory doesn't hold up, as there were no marks or physical evidence to suggest that he had caused self-harm.