Carolwood Estate — Where Michael Jackson Died, Holmby Hills

Michael Jackson died on June 25, 2009, at the rented mansion at 100 North Carolwood Drive in Holmby Hills, an ultra-wealthy enclave of Los Angeles. His personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, had been administering propofol — a powerful anaesthetic — as a sleep aid, and Jackson went into cardiac arrest. Murray failed to call 911 for an extended period; when paramedics finally arrived, Jackson was unresponsive. He was taken to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 2:26 pm. He was 50 years old. Murray was subsequently convicted of involuntary manslaughter.

Jackson had been renting the Carolwood estate while rehearsing for the This Is It concert residency at London's O2 Arena — 50 shows that had sold out in minutes and were to be his return to live performance after a decade away. The rehearsal footage, released as a documentary after his death, showed Jackson in remarkable form — sharp, commanding, and fully engaged with the material. The gap between what that footage promised and what happened on Carolwood Drive is one of the great tragedies in pop history.

The Carolwood Drive mansion is a private residence in one of Los Angeles's most exclusive neighbourhoods — Holmby Hills sits between Bel-Air and Beverly Hills. It is not accessible to the public. Jackson is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glenwood Hills, where fans regularly gather. His Neverland Ranch in Los Olivos, Santa Barbara County — the property he called home for decades — is the more significant pilgrimage site for devoted fans.