Conrad Murray: The Two Views Of The Doctor

In the rundown Houston suburb of Acres Homes, it is still hard to find anyone with a bad word about the man they call "Dr Conrad".

The Caribbean lilt, the gentle bedside manner, the willingness to hand out his personal mobile phone number and refusal to take payment have endeared him to the community.

They struggle to square the picture of the man who came to the aid of low income families with that painted in his trial for killing Michael Jackson .

Conrad Murray was portrayed in court as a greedy "enabler", shipping industrial quantities of powerful drugs across the US for \$150,000-a-month (£93,849), just to keep the "King of Pop" happy.

Supporters of Dr Murray still believe he did it out of his concern for the superstar and his desire to help.

Beatrice Fakhrian, a friend and regular golf partner of the doctor, told Sky News: "Dr Murray is a dedicated public servant and wherever his help is requested and much-needed, he will provide it - whoever it is who is asking."

Dr Murray, who got to know Jackson when treating the star's children in 2006, said he was trying to wean him off the powerful anaesthetic that killed him.

But critics of the doctor - including the Jackson family - say the lure was money.

It has been reported that Dr Murray was in financial trouble when he was offered the job as Jackson's personal doctor.

The luxury Las Vegas home he shared with his doctor wife and two teenage children had been remortgaged three times.

He apparently owed more than \$1.6m (£1m). The property was valued at \$1m (£625,000) and repossession proceedings had been started.

Dr Murray, who is believed to have four other children with various women, was also reported to be behind on child support payments.

At his office in Acres Homes, a stack of bills lie unopened on the door mat.

Friends say the doctor paid for his own travel from Las Vegas, often bringing members of his staff, and rarely charged full fees to the patients he saw.

It is a sharp contrast to the man who, the court was told, initially demanded \$5m (£3.12m) dollars to take the job as Jackson's personal doctor.

It was the star himself who told his manager to offer Dr Murray \$150,000-a-month (£93,849), a fact that convinced the doctor to take the job.

Dr Murray was born in Grenada and grew up in Trinidad before moving to the US to follow his father into medicine.

He qualified as a cardiologist in the early 1990s and it was in honour of his father that he opened the free clinic in Acres Homes.

One of his closest friends there once told me: "I don't know why he got involved with Michael Jackson. Dr Conrad is a good man. Michael Jackson was not.

"The whole of America knew that. He has been brought down because he wanted to help his friend."