Did Michael Jackson sleep with eyes open?

Late pop legend Michael Jackson slept with his eyes open, a court is to be told.

The dead star's ex-wives and lovers are to be called to testify to confirm the latest astonishing fact about his private life, as their evidence will be used by defence lawyers representing Conrad Murray as he fights a homicide charge, reports newsoftheworld.co.uk.

Murray aims to prove how difficult it was to tell whether Jackson was asleep or awake.

Debbie Rowe, mother of the King of Pop's eldest kids Prince and Paris, Lisa-Marie Presley and nanny Grace Rwaramba, who he called his "wife", will be quizzed at Murray's trial this year.

Jackson, 50, died from "acute Propofol intoxication" June 25 last year. Murray, 56, is charged with manslaughter over claims he injected the singer with a fatal dose of the anaesthetic.

The cardiologist's defence team have evidence the seasoned drug user often appeared awake when asleep.

They say he would have his eyes open and his pupils would be dilated when he was on Propofol.

"Conrad Murray's future is at stake here and we will do all we can to prove that he did not deliver a fatal overdose to Jackson. We are going to call the significant others in Jackson's life to talk about his long-term drug use and behaviour," said a defence source.

"We've found he would appear dopey and sleep with his eyes open when he had taken meds. We want the women closest to him to verify this. We'll also ask his doctors about how he slept after being knocked out. This could be a key part in the defence... This wasn't a case of a doctor giving a fatal dose to a clean patient. Jackson had a long history of extensive drug use," the source added.

Murray's lawyer Ed Chernoff confirmed they will quiz family members about Jackson's secret life. His defence will claim Jackson killed himself accidentally by self-injecting a fatal dose of the anaesthetic. They say poor health after years of drug abuse prompted a heart attack.