Michael Jackson's doctor wanted to seek his day in court Friday by surrendering before being charged in the singer's death, but prosecutors upstaged the plan by announcing that no case would be filed until next week.
District attorney's spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons released the plan less than two hours before Dr. Conrad Murray and his attorneys were going to show up at an airport-area courthouse in an effort to force the prosecution's hand while avoiding having the physician arrested and handcufffed.
Gibbons' statement did not mention Murray, but said information on charges will be released after the case is filed on Monday.
Murray's attorneys have said they expect the Texas cardiologist to be charged with involuntary manslaughter for administering drugs to Jackson before his death on June 25. It was not immediately clear if Murray would return to Houston, where he has a practice, or remain in Los Angeles through the weekend.
The legal gamesmanship over Murray's surrender followed several days of negotiations in which his lawyers tried to arrange with prosecutors for the doctor to surrender for booking and arraignment.
Those plans were derailed by haggling between prosecutors and law enforcement officials over whether the physician should be arrested or allowed to turn himself in.
Murray became the focus of the probe into Jackson's death shortly after he called paramedics on June 25 to report that the singer wasn't breathing. Murray told police he gave the
Jackson a powerful anesthetic and other sedatives that were blamed on his death.
The doctor maintains nothing he gave Jackson should have killed him but sees a charge as inevitable.
