Conrad Murray's trial/ Day 09-28-2011

Conrad Murray Trial – Day Two
Wednesday, September 28th, 2011


On the second day of trial, a concert promoter and producer on Michael Jackson’s ill-fated “This Is It” tour will return to the stand Wednesday to testify about the singer’s last days and the doctor charged with causing his death.

Paul Gongaware, co-chief executive of AEG Live, testified Tuesday that he negotiated the terms when Dr. Conrad Murray was hired to be Jackson’s personal physician during his London tour.

Jackson insisted on having his doctor of choice — Murray — and, gesturing to himself, said: “This is the machine, you have to take care of the machine,” Gongaware testified.

When he called Murray about the job, Gongaware recalled, Murray asked for a $5-million-a-year salary, saying he would need to close four clinics and lay off employees. “I told him there was no way that was going to happen,” he said.

Murray later took the job for at $150,000 per month.

Jackson was “totally engaged” in the production of the tour, initially saying he wanted to do 31 shows to top Prince’s 21 at London’s O2 arena, Gongaware said.
“He was very enthusiastic about this whole tour,” Gongaware testified Tuesday.

The early stages of Gongaware’s testimony came after an emotion-filled first day of trial. It included Murray breaking down at the defense table, Jackson’s mother weeping in the spectators’ gallery and Murray’s supporters convening a prayer circle on the courthouse grounds.

The first day also included Michael Jackson’s own voice echoing through a packed courtroom, low and woozy, and apparently heavily drugged.

“I want them to say, ‘I’ve never seen nothing like this in my life,’ ” he mumbled on the audio recording. ” ‘He’s the greatest entertainer of all time.’ ”

As Jackson spoke, his mother, Katherine Jackson, cried, her hand held by daughter La Toya.

The audio file recovered from Murray’s iPhone came as a surprise to trial watchers. Prosecutors had never played it publicly. But it promises to be a key element of their case — proof that Murray was aware of Jackson’s “state,” even as he continued ordering more drugs, said Deputy Dist. Atty. David Walgren.

“Michael Jackson literally put his life in the hands of Conrad Murray,” Walgren said, adding, “That misplaced trust cost Michael Jackson his life.”

The defense suggested that Jackson self-administered a lethal dose of the surgical anesthetic propofol — a drug the pop star called “milk” and used as a sleeping aid.

Murray’s attorney Ed Chernoff said scientific evidence would show that Jackson swallowed eight tablets of the sedative lorazepam — “enough to put six of you to sleep” — and then self-administered propofol while Murray was out of the room.

He called the combination of drugs “a perfect storm” and said no medical attention could have saved the singer.

“He died rapidly, so instantly he didn’t even have time to close his eyes,” Chernoff said.

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PEOPLE VS. DR. CONRAD MURRAY
AEG Attorney Testifies
Murray Demanded CPR Machine
Kathy Jorrie -- AEG Attorney Testifies
Updated 9/28/11 at 8:45 AM


AEG attorney Kathy Jorrie just took the stand... Jorrie was the one who drafted the contract between AEG, Dr. Murray, and Michael.

* Jorrie told prosecutors Dr. Murray had issues with a part of the contract, saying he wanted to get paid his monthly $150,000 fee even while "This Is It" was on break.
* Dr. Murray also requested a CPR machine in the contract. When Jorrie asked him why would he need a CPR machine... Murray told her that given MJ's age and the strenuous nature of the show he didn't want to take any chances.
* Jorrie says she spoke to Murray on June 24th. Murray told her he had seen Michael perform and that he was in "perfect health." This was a day before he died.
* She said the contract was NOT signed by all parties, and no payment was made to Murray by AEG.


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Jurors hear different views of Michael Jackson health
Wed Sep 28, 2011 2:38pm

By Alex Dobuzinskis

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Michael Jackson's doctor made repeated assurances about the "excellent condition" of the pop star in the weeks before his sudden death, jurors in the manslaughter trial of the physician were told on Wednesday.

Dr. Conrad Murray, on trial for causing the June 2009 death of the pop singer, also told an attorney working on Jackson's career comeback that the singer's medical records for the past five years "would be very tiny," one lawyer testified.

"Dr. Murray told me repeatedly that Michael Jackson was perfectly healthy, in excellent condition," Los Angeles lawyer Kathy Jorrie said on the witness stand in the second day of Murray's trial on a charge of involuntary manslaughter.

Murray's assurances to Jorrie, up until the eve of Jackson's death clashed with testimony on Tuesday from Kenny Ortega, the director of the planned "This Is It" concerts.

Ortega testified that less than a week before Jackson's death, the singer turned up at a rehearsal chilled, incoherent and psychologically troubled.

Jorrie was working in June on the contract between Murray, Jackson and concert promoter AEG Live -- the backer of 50 London concerts planned for 2009 that had been seen as the singer's comeback after years of career neglect.

Jackson, whose "Thriller" record remains the best-selling album of all time, was rehearsing for the concerts in the weeks before his death by drug overdose, principally the anesthetic propofol and sedatives.

Prosecutors have argued that Murray is responsible for Jackson's death by providing him the propofol as a sleep aid, which is not its normal use, and being negligent in his care.

Murray has admitted giving Jackson the surgical anesthetic propofol as a sleep aid but denied he is responsible for the death, which has been ruled a homicide.

In Tuesday's opening day statements, defense attorneys said Murray was trying to wean Jackson off his drug addictions, and they believe the singer caused his own death by self-administering excess propofol with sedatives.

Jorrie said that days before the singer's death she had asked Murray to help collect Jackson's medical records for the past five years for concert insurance purposes. Murray told her that because of Jackson's good health there were few incidents and that "his medical records would be very tiny."

Jorrie also testified that Murray wanted a CPR machine on site for the London shows citing Jackson's age, 50, and the "strenuous performances" he would be giving.

Wednesday's court session is also expected to see testimony from Jackson's personal assistant and other members of his staff who found the singer's lifeless body at his rented Los Angeles home on June 25.

Murray faces up to four years in prison if convicted. The trial is expected to last four to six weeks and is being shown live on U.S. television.

For a graphic view of the timeline and drugs involved in the Jackson trial, click here: link.reuters.com/kax93s


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Conrad Murray Trial, Day 2: Michael Jackson's Assistant Recalls Emergency Call From Doctor (Live Feed)


By Sharon Waxman at TheWrap
Wed Sep 28, 2011 7:45am EDT
Update, 11:34 a.m.: Williams testifies that Murray attempted to gain re-entry to Jackson's Holmby Hills home shortly after Jackson was pronounced dead at the hospital on June 25, 2009, supposedly to retrieve an ointment that would be embarrrasing to Jackson.

"We were making small talk about how horrible this is," Williams said. "[Murray] said, 'There's some cream in Michael's room or house that he wouldn't want the world to know about it, and he requested that I or someone else drive him back to the house so he could get th cream, so the world wouldn't know about it."

Williams testified that, after consulting with security guard Faheem Mohammad, they determined that he shouldn't be allowed back inside the house, and made an excuse as to why they couldn't bring him.

According to Williams, Murray then said that he was hungry and wanted to get something to eat, hinting at possibly getting a ride, but was again denied.

While on the stand, Williams characterized Murray's demeanor while Jackson was being loaded into the ambulance as "[f]rantic; I knew it was serious when i saw him."

Update 11:06 a.m.: Michael Jackson's personal assistant, Michael Williams, has taken the stand to testify about, among other things, the call he received from Dr. Conrad Murray on June 25, 2009, the day of Jackson's death.

According to WIlliams, he missed Murray's call at approximately 12:13 p.m. because he was in the shower, but heard the message when he got out of the shower minutes later.

"It was Dr. Murray; I can't quote it exactly, but it was, "Call me right away, call me right away, thank you," Williams testified.

When he called back, at about 12:15, Williams said, Murray replied, " 'Where are you?' And I said I'm downtown.' He said, 'Get here right away; Mr. Jackson had a bad reaction."

According to Williams, Murray said, "Get someone up here immediately."

At no point in the message or during the subsequent phone call did Murray ask Williams to call 911, Williams said.

While on the stand, Williams said that Jackson was "in very good spirits" on the evening before his death.

Update 10:05 a.m.: Cross-examined by defense attorney J. Michael Flanagan, Jorrie says that Murray characterized himself as Jackson's personal physician, and never claimed that he s the only physician providing treatment to Jackson. Asked if the intention of the contract was to hold Murray to a full-time commitment to Jackson's health, Jorrie said no, stating, "I don't believe he was prohibited by the contract by doing other things at all."

Update, 9:41 a.m.: Kathy Jorrie, attorney for concert promoter AEG Live, is on the stand for the prosecution. Jorrie testified that, while drawing up Murray's contract for the concerts at O2 arena, the doctor requested that a CPR machine be provided. This caused Jorrie to question Murray about why such a machine might be needed. Murray told her that, due to Jackson's age and the strenuous performances, it was a precaution.

"Dr. Murray repeatedly told me that [Michael Jackson is] in excellent condition," Jorrie testified.

Jorrie also testified that Murray's monthly fee for his services was $150,000 per month.

Previously...

The second day of the trial of Dr. Conrad Murray on manslaughter charges in the death of Michael Jackson gets underway on Wednesday, with new witnesses expected to provide fresh details in the case.

The pop singer’s personal assistant Michael Emir Williams is expected to testify today, as are the paramedics who arrived to the scene of his death.

In the courtroom on Tuesday as the trial opened, the jury was shown a never previously seen photo of Jackson’s corpse. They also heard a shocking audio file of Jackson, apparently drugged, that was taken from Murray’s iPhone.

Jackson’s voice echoed hauntingly through the packed courtroom:

"I want them to say, 'I've never seen nothing like this in my life,'" he mumbled. "He's the greatest entertainer of all time."

Deputy Dist. Atty. David Walgren told jurors on Tuesday that the audio file showed the physician had taped his patient "highly under the influence of unknown agents."

He called the clip "a taste" of the full recording jurors are to hear later.

Taking the stand for the second day in a row is “This Is It” producer, Paul Gongaware, who began testifying yesterday about the singer’s last days and his dealings with Dr Murray.

At the preliminary hearing in January, Williams had called the day that Jackson died “just a horrible, crazy experience.”

Jackson died on June 25, 2009 of acute propophyl intoxication. Murray is charged with involuntary manslaughter for having administered drugs illegally, and having allegedly abandoned basic principles of medical care.

The trial is being aired by live feed, tune in to TheWrap to follow the proceedings:

Live Video streaming by Ustream

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Conrad Murray: Jackson doctor makes frantic call, but not to 911
September 28, 2011 | 11:54 am


Dr. Conrad Murray's frantic phone call to Michael Jackson's personal assistant shortly after finding the singer unresponsive was played for jurors Wednesday morning.

"Call me right away please, call me right away, thank you," Murray said in the recording played during the testimony of the assistant, Michael Amir Williams. When he called Murray back a couple minutes later, the doctor said Jackson had a "bad reaction" and asked him to get to the house, Williams testified.

Live video: Full coverage of Conrad Murray's trial

"At no time during that call he asked you to call 911?" Deputy Dist. Atty. David Walgren asked.

"No sir," he responded.

Williams testified that he called security personnel at the house and asked them to see what was going on. By the time Williams arrived at the Holmby Hills mansion from his downtown L.A. apartment, Jackson was being brought out on a gurney, he said.

Murray seemed frantic, he recalled. "I knew it was serious," Williams said.


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Michael Jackson's Personal Assistant Recounts Murray Phone Call
Officials with AEG Live describe Michael Jackson in the days before his death
By Jonathan Lloyd | Wednesday, Sep 28, 2011


Michael Jackson's personal assistant testified Wednesday about a 35-second phone conversation he had with the superstar's personal physician on the day Jackson died.

Live Video: Will Be Availble When Court Resumes

Michael Amir Williams, who began work as Jackson's assistant in mid-2007, was asked about a phone call he received from a "frantic" Murray as Jackson was dying in the bedroom of a rented Holmby Hill mansion.

Williams first received a voicemail from Murray at 12:13 p.m., then called him back two minutes later, he testified. Williams was in downtown Los Angeles at the time, about 30 to 40 minutes from the Carolwood Drive mansion.

"He said, 'Get here right away, Mr. Jackson had a bad reaction. Get somebody up here immediately,''' Williams said.

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Williams told a security guard, Alberto Alvarez, to go to Jackson's bedroom.

"I told him, 'I don't know what's going on, but you have to go inside the house,'" said Williams. "I remember him walking, and I said, 'Are you there, yet.' He said, 'No.' I said, 'Well run, hurry.'"

Williams later arrived at the mansion to see Jackson being loaded into an ambulance. The first thing he asked about was the location of Jackson's children, who were soon brought to a car that would follow the ambulance to the hospital, Williams said.

"It was real frantic," Williams said. "I got there and saw the gurney coming down the stairs. I remember seeing (Murray) talking to medics."

He was asked to describe Dr. Murray's physical condition.

"Frantic," Williams responded.

Williams was expected to resume testimony after a lunch break Wednesday in Murray's involuntary manslaughter trial.

Jackson sister LaToya Jackson tweeted during the lunch break, "It's so excruciating to relive the moments when Mike pasted (sic). It's even hard to pretend to be strong for my mother."


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Conrad Murray: Jackson doctor makes frantic call, but not to 911
September 28, 2011

Dr. Conrad Murray's frantic phone call to Michael Jackson's personal assistant shortly after finding the singer unresponsive was played for jurors Wednesday morning.

"Call me right away please, call me right away, thank you," Murray said in the recording played during the testimony of the assistant, Michael Amir Williams. When he called Murray back a couple minutes later, the doctor said Jackson had a "bad reaction" and asked him to get to the house, Williams testified.

Live video: Full coverage of Conrad Murray's trial

"At no time during that call he asked you to call 911?" Deputy Dist. Atty. David Walgren asked.

"No sir," he responded.

Williams testified that he called security personnel at the house and asked them to see what was going on. By the time Williams arrived at the Holmby Hills mansion from his downtown L.A. apartment, Jackson was being brought out on a gurney, he said.

Murray seemed frantic, he recalled. "I knew it was serious," Williams said.

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Conrad Murray Trial, Day 2: Assistant Says Doctor Tried to Get Back Into MJ's House (Live Feed)

By Sharon Waxman at TheWrap
Wed Sep 28, 2011 11:41am EDT
Update, 2:15 p.m.: Michael Jackson's former security chief, Faheem Muhammad, has taken the stand. He says that Jackson seemed fine during his concert rehearsal the night before he died: "It was excellent, it was high-energy."

Muhammad further testified that he entered Jackson's home and went upstairs into his bedroom on the afternoon of the singer's death, and saw Jackson's feet hanging off of the bed, toward the foot of the bed. He testified that Murray asked him and Jackson's logistics director, Alberto Alvarez, if they knew CPR, at which point Alvarez went to help Murray try to revive Jackson.

However, it might have been too late; asked if it looked like Jackson was already dead, Muhammad replied, "Yes."

Muhammad further testified that he noticed an IV stand in Jackson's bedroom when he was up there. He also backed up the testimony from Jackson's personal assistant, Michael Williams, that Murray wanted to return to Jackson's home shortly after the singer was pronounced dead.

During cross-examination, Muhanmad said that he had accompanied Jackson to the office of Dr. Arnold Klein's office many times, and often he would emerge from Klein's office seeming tipsy or intoxicated. According to Muhammad, Jackson's visits to Klein ranged from daily, to once every few days. Muhammad said that Jackson told him he went to see Klein because he had "a skin disease."

Update, 11:34 a.m.: Michael Jackson's former personal assistant, Michael Williams, testifies that Dr. Conrad Murray attempted to gain re-entry to Jackson's Holmby Hills home shortly after Jackson was pronounced dead at the hospital on June 25, 2009, supposedly to retrieve an ointment that would be embarrassing to Jackson.

"We were making small talk about how horrible this is," Williams said. "[Murray] said, 'There's some cream in Michael's room or house that he wouldn't want the world to know about it, and he requested that I or someone else drive him back to the house so he could get the cream, so the world wouldn't know about it."

Williams testified that, after consulting with security guard Faheem Mohammad, they determined that he shouldn't be allowed back inside the house, and made an excuse as to why they couldn't bring him.

According to Williams, Murray then said that he was hungry and wanted to get something to eat, hinting at possibly getting a ride, but was again denied.

While on the stand, Williams characterized Murray's demeanor while Jackson was being loaded into the ambulance as "[f]rantic; I knew it was serious when I saw him."

Williams went on to testify that, in the months prior to Jackson's death, it was common to see oxygen tanks in the house, and that the tanks would be picked up from a facility and brought to the house at Murray's request.

On cross-examination, Williams admitted to the defense that he had declined to initially tell police about Murray's attempt to gain re-entry into Jackson's home.

Update 11:06 a.m.: Michael Jackson's personal assistant, Michael Williams, has taken the stand to testify about, among other things, the call he received from Dr. Conrad Murray on June 25, 2009, the day of Jackson's death.

According to WIlliams, he missed Murray's call at approximately 12:13 p.m. because he was in the shower, but heard the message when he got out of the shower minutes later.

"It was Dr. Murray; I can't quote it exactly, but it was, "Call me right away, call me right away, thank you," Williams testified.

When he called back, at about 12:15, Williams said, Murray replied, " 'Where are you?' And I said I'm downtown.' He said, 'Get here right away; Mr. Jackson had a bad reaction."

According to Williams, Murray said, "Get someone up here immediately."

At no point in the message or during the subsequent phone call did Murray ask Williams to call 911, Williams said.

While on the stand, Williams said that Jackson was "in very good spirits" on the evening before his death.

Update 10:05 a.m.: Cross-examined by defense attorney J. Michael Flanagan, Jorrie says that Murray characterized himself as Jackson's personal physician, and never claimed that he s the only physician providing treatment to Jackson. Asked if the intention of the contract was to hold Murray to a full-time commitment to Jackson's health, Jorrie said no, stating, "I don't believe he was prohibited by the contract by doing other things at all."

Update, 9:41 a.m.: Kathy Jorrie, attorney for concert promoter AEG Live, is on the stand for the prosecution. Jorrie testified that, while drawing up Murray's contract for the concerts at O2 arena, the doctor requested that a CPR machine be provided. This caused Jorrie to question Murray about why such a machine might be needed. Murray told her that, due to Jackson's age and the strenuous performances, it was a precaution.

"Dr. Murray repeatedly told me that [Michael Jackson is] in excellent condition," Jorrie testified.

Jorrie also testified that Murray's monthly fee for his services was $150,000 per month.

Previously...

The second day of the trial of Dr. Conrad Murray on manslaughter charges in the death of Michael Jackson gets underway on Wednesday, with new witnesses expected to provide fresh details in the case.

The pop singer’s personal assistant Michael Emir Williams is expected to testify today, as are the paramedics who arrived to the scene of his death.

In the courtroom on Tuesday as the trial opened, the jury was shown a never previously seen photo of Jackson’s corpse. They also heard a shocking audio file of Jackson, apparently drugged, that was taken from Murray’s iPhone.

Jackson’s voice echoed hauntingly through the packed courtroom:

"I want them to say, 'I've never seen nothing like this in my life,'" he mumbled. "He's the greatest entertainer of all time."

Deputy Dist. Atty. David Walgren told jurors on Tuesday that the audio file showed the physician had taped his patient "highly under the influence of unknown agents."

He called the clip "a taste" of the full recording jurors are to hear later.

Taking the stand for the second day in a row is “This Is It” producer, Paul Gongaware, who began testifying yesterday about the singer’s last days and his dealings with Dr Murray.

At the preliminary hearing in January, Williams had called the day that Jackson died “just a horrible, crazy experience.”

Jackson died on June 25, 2009 of acute propophyl intoxication. Murray is charged with involuntary manslaughter for having administered drugs illegally, and having allegedly abandoned basic principles of medical care.

The trial is being aired by live feed, tune in to TheWrap to follow the proceedings:

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Michael Jackson's Security Guard Describes Scene in Mansion
Wednesday's testimony included Jackson's personal assistant recounting the tense moments before he arrived at the Holmby Hills mansion

By Jonathan Lloyd

Michael Jackson's security guard testified Wednesday that he saw Dr. Conrad Murray trying to revive Jackson in a bedroom of a Holmby Hills mansion as the pop star's two older children were present before asking whether anyone knew CPR.

Special Section: The Conrad Murray Trial

Faheem Muhammed, head of Jackson's security detail, took the stand Wednesday afternoon in Murray's involuntary manslaughter trial. He was among the first to arrive in the bedroom on the day Jackson died.

Muhammed removed the children, Paris and Prince, from the room and returned to assist another guard.

"Paris was on the ground, balled up, crying,'' Muhammed said.

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Prince "had a shocked look," he added.

He returned to the second-floor bedroom and that's when Murray asked whether anyone knew CPR, Muhammed testified.

He later accompanied the children and Jackson's personal assistant, who also testified Wednesday to the hospital. They went to a private room as they waited for word about Jackson.

"There was a lot going on, with his family arriving and people trying to sneak in," Muhammad said

Muhammed also testified that Murray asked him for a ride from the hospital after they learned of Jackson's death. The doctor made a similar request of Jackson's personal assistant at the hospital, according to testimony earlier Wednesday.

Assistant Testifies About Call, Encounter With Murray

Michael Amir Williams, who began work as Jackson's assistant in mid-2007, was asked about a phone call he received from a "frantic" Murray as Jackson was dying in the bedroom. Williams was in downtown Los Angeles at the time, about 30 to 40 minutes from the Carolwood Drive mansion.

"He said, 'Get here right away, Mr. Jackson had a bad reaction. Get somebody up here immediately,''' Williams said.

Williams told a security guard, Alberto Alvarez, to go to Jackson's bedroom.

"I told him, 'I don't know what's going on, but you have to go inside the house,'" said Williams. "I remember him walking, and I said, 'Are you there, yet.' He said, 'No.' I said, 'Well run, hurry.'"

Williams later arrived at the mansion to see Jackson being loaded into an ambulance. The first thing he asked about was the location of Jackson's children, who were soon brought to a car that would follow the ambulance to the hospital, Williams said.

"It was real frantic," Williams said. "I got there and saw the gurney coming down the stairs. I remember seeing (Murray) talking to medics."

He was asked to describe Dr. Murray's physical condition.

"Frantic," Williams responded.

He then rode to the hospital with Jackson's three children -- Prince, Paris and Blanket -- and their nanny. Once he arrived at UCLA Medical Center, hospital staff took them to a private room. After learning that Jackson had been pronounced dead, he said Murray approached him in a hallway.

"We were making small talk about how horrible this is, and he said, 'There's some cream in Michael's room that he wouldn't want the world to know about,'" said Williams. "He requested that I give him a ride back to the house so the world wouldn't know about the cream."

Williams denied Murray's request and said he concocted a story about police taking his keys.

It was the second day of emotional testimony in the case. Jackson sister LaToya Jackson tweeted during the lunch break, "It's so excruciating to relive the moments when Mike pasted (sic). It's even hard to pretend to be strong for my mother.".

AEG Reps Testify About Rehearsals

Earlier Wednesday, an attorney for the company that promoted Michael Jackson's concerts testified that Murray asked for life-saving equipment just days before the King of Pop's death in June 2009.

Attorney Kathy Jorrie said the doctor told her not to worry about the superstar's health. This was after Murray had asked for a CPR machine in case one wasn't available at the site of Jackson's upcoming comeback concerts, London's O2 arena, Jorrie said.

"Dr. Murray told me Michael Jackson was perfectly healthy, in excellent condition,'' Jorrie said.

The second day of testimony started with an executive with AEG Live who described the 50-year-old pop star as appearing strong and energetic two days before his death. Jackson appeared engaged and energetic at his final two rehearsals, AEG Live exec Paul Gongaware said.

AEG Live promoted Jackson's "This Is It" comeback concerts. Gongaware and another concert executive were the first two prosecution witnesses called in the trial, which is expected to last about four to six weeks.

Prosecutors wanted to show that Jackson and Murray were both engaged in preparations for the London concerts. Under cross-examination, Gongaware said the concert promotions compnay is being sued by Jackson's mother for negligent supervision of Murray when he worked with Jackson.

Fans of Jackson and supporters of Dr. Murray gathered early Wednesday outside the downtown LA courthouse. Murray is accused of administering the anesthetic propofol, then failing to properly monitor Jackson before his June 2009 death.

But defense attorneys argued Tuesday that Jackson caused his own death by self-administering drugs that created a "perfect storm" inside his body.

Trial Begins With Stunning Images, Jackson's Voice

During Tuesday's opening statements, prosecutors presented a recording of Jackson from Murray's phone on which a rambling Jackson can be heard talking about his upcoming concerts and his desire to amaze his fans. And, as Jackson's family watched, prosecutors showed an image of Jackson's body on a hospital gurney.

The word "Homicide" was printed above the image.

"We have to be phenomenal,'' Jackson, whose speech was slow and slurred, said on the recording that investigators retrieved from Murray's phone. "When people leave this show, when people leave my show, I want them to say, 'I've never seen nothing like this in my life. Go. Go. I've never seen nothing like this. Go. It's amazing. He's the greatest entertainer in the world.'"

The prosecution was attempting to show that Murray should have realized there was something seriously wrong with Jackson. Deputy District Attorney David Walgren described Jackson as highly under the influence in the recording.

"That is what Conrad Murray is seeing and observing," said Walgren. "What does he do? On May 12, he orders another shipment of propofol."

In a tweet after Day 1 of the trial, Jackson's brother Jermaine said, "Today has been very distressing for all of us, and I'd like to thank you for your prayers at this horrible time. I would also like to remind some in the media that the voice recording of Michael does not show/prove he was "an addict" -- and this leap to agree with the defense is unfair and inaccurate. The prosecution said my brother "was under the influence of UNKNOWN agents" at the time of that recording by Murray."

"I defended him throughout his criminal trial, and I never heard him speak that way," said attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr., who won Jackson's acquittal in his 2005 molestation case.

Defense attorney Ed Chernoff also pointed out Jackson's drive to please his fans, but said it was that ambition that ultimately prompted him to give himself a fatal dose of medication. The defense claimed Jackson's doctor was trying to wean him off propofol.

"Michael Jackson started begging,'' Chernoff said. "When Michael Jackson told Dr. Murray, 'I have to sleep. They will cancel my performance,' he meant it."

Jackson's mother, Katherine, dabbed her eyes when prosecutors played video of her son rehearsing "Earth Song" at Staples Center in downtown LA. The prosecution's first witness, concert exec Kenny Ortega, testified that he was concerned about Jackson's health and thought he required serious help.

"He was like a lost boy,'' Ortega wrote in an email to promoters five days before Jackson's death. "There may still be a
chance he can rise to the occasion if we get him the help he needs."

But Murray told him not to play amateur doctor or psychologist, Ortega told the jury.

* Williams told Ed Chernoff he never told police about Murray's odd request until two months after Michael's death.
* Williams told Chernoff Dr. Murray never asked him to call 9-1-1.
* Williams testified that he had seen Michael speak "slower" after coming out of Dr. Arnold Klein's office -- where the defense says Michael got hooked on Demerol.

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PEOPLE VS. DR. CONRAD MURRAY
MJ's Personal Assistant:

Murray Left Panicked Voicemail
Michael Amir Williams -- MJ's Personal Assistant Testifies
Updated 9/28/11 at 10:33 AM


Michael Jackson's personal assistant Michael Amir Williams just took the stand -- and prosecutors played a panicked voicemail Dr. Conrad Murray left on Williams' phone the day MJ died.

* Williams said MJ was in good spirits on the evening of June 24, 2009... his last rehearsal. He said the rehearsal was "amazing."
* The following day, Williams received a panicked message from Murray at 12:13 pm saying, "call me right away." When he called back, Murray told him MJ had a "bad reaction" ... and to "get somebody here immediately."
* When he got there, the first thing he saw was MJ being brought out in a gurney. He said Murray seemed "frantic."
* Williams said after he learned of Michael's death, Murray came up to him and said there was "some cream Michael wouldn't want the world to know about." Murray asked him to drive him to the home so he could retrieve the "cream."
* After checking with MJ's head of security, Faheem Muhammad, the two decided not to let Murray back into the house...
* Williams said it was "normal" to have oxygen tanks in MJ's house.


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PEOPLE VS. DR. CONRAD MURRAY
MJ's Bodyguard
Prince & Paris Saw Everything
Faheem Muhammad -- Michael Jackson's Bodyguard Testifies
Updated 9/28/11 at 2:05 PM


Michael Jackson's head of security, Faheem Muhammad, claims Prince and Paris witnessed Conrad Murray desperately trying to resuscitate their father the morning he died, and had to be removed from the scene.

Muhammad testified Paris was "on the ground, balled up crying," and Prince "was shocked and slowly crying."

Muhammad claims Jackson appeared to be dead when he arrived at the scene -- and when he noticed Prince and Paris in the doorway, he took them downstairs.

Muhammad says that's when he heard Murray asking if anyone knew CPR -- and his fellow bodyguard Alberto Alvarez rushed to help.

Once MJ was pronounced dead, MJ's assistant Michael Amir Williams relayed to him Murray's request to go back and retrieve the "cream" -- and that's when they both agreed not to let Murray back in the house.

Muhammad also claimed MJ visited Dr. Arnold Klein's office several times a week and often came out "a bit tipsy" -- but never explained why. According to Muhammad, MJ once said to him, "You must think I'm crazy for going to Dr. Klein's everyday."

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Witness: Jackson's children reacted in horror

'Paris was on the ground balled-up crying and Prince' was in shock, ex-security chief testifies

Witnesses on day two of the Michael Jackson death trial on Wednesday told of a panic-stricken doctor and the pop star's children crying in disbelief with their father lying unresponsive on his bedroom floor, mouth agape and eyes wide open.
Faheem Muhammad, the ex-chief of Jackson's security team, testified that Jackson's oldest children reacted in horror when they saw their father's lifeless body.
Other witnesses said Dr. Conrad Murray, who is charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death, telephoned the singer's assistant before calling an ambulance and may have sought to hide evidence of drug use.
Prosecutors claim Murray not only caused Jackson's death by giving him the powerful anesthetic propofol as a sleep aid, along with other sedatives but that the physician also was negligent in his care of the "Thriller" singer and failed to get timely medical assistance.


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Conrad Murray waged coverup of Jackson health, witnesses say
September 28, 2011


Michael Jackson’s personal physician waged a coverup regarding the singer’s health in the weeks leading up to, and the minutes following, his death, according to testimony on the second day of Dr. Conrad Murray's manslaughter trial.

Before the singer’s death, Murray assured concert promoters that Jackson was in perfect health when, in fact, he was dependent on nightly doses of a dangerous surgical anesthetic to sleep, witnesses said in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom Wednesday.

And after Jackson stopped breathing, Murray told the singer's personal assistant Jackson had “a bad reaction” and never asked for 911 to be called, the assistant told jurors.

"Call me right away, please, call me right away, thank you," Murray said in the recording played during the testimony of the assistant, Michael Amir Williams.

Full coverage of Conrad Murray's trial

When he called Murray back a couple of minutes later, the doctor said Jackson had a "bad reaction" and asked him to go to the house, Williams testified.

"At no time during that call he asked you to call 911?" Deputy Dist. Atty. David Walgren asked.
"No sir," he responded.

Williams testified that he called security personnel at the house and asked them to see what was going on.

By the time Williams arrived at the Holmby Hills mansion from his downtown L.A. apartment, Jackson was being brought out on a gurney, he said.

Murray seemed frantic, he recalled.

"I knew it was serious," Williams said.

After Jackson was pronounced dead, Murray asked Williams to drive him from the hospital back to the singer's mansion to retrieve something, Williams testified.

Murray said he needed to get "some cream that Michael wouldn't want the world to know about," Williams said.

Williams said he found the request so odd that he lied to the doctor, saying police had taken his car keys, and told a security guard of his plans to deceive Murray to avoid taking him back.

Williams then called security personnel at the home and told them not to allow anyone into the home, "just for the simple fact that Dr. Murray asked to go back," Williams testified.

Before Williams took the stand Wednesday morning, an attorney for the company producing Jackson's comeback shows testified that Murray had asked for a CPR machine and a second physician as part of his contract to care for the pop singer.

When AEG Live attorney Kathy Jorrie remarked that resuscitation equipment was already likely to be at the London venue where Jackson was to perform, Murray said he “wouldn’t want to take a chance,” she testified.

Murray said “he will be putting on an extraordinary performance,” she recalled. “Because of that, given his age and the strenuous performance he was putting on, he needed to be sure if something went wrong, he [would have] a CPR machine.”

He also said he needed a second doctor in case he was tired or unavailable, she testified.

When she asked for Murray’s help in collecting Jackson's medical records from the last five years for insurance purposes, Murray said he had been the singer’s personal physician for three years, but the volume of records would be “very tiny” because of how stellar the singer's health was, Jorrie testified.

Earlier, Jorrie said Murray called her twice as she drafted his $150,000-a-month contract with Jackson 10 days before Jackson died, asking for a "number of revisions."

Murray was to be paid retroactively beginning in May 2009 and through March 2010, Jorrie said.

Murray did not want to be required to refund any portion of his monthly payment if Jackson changed his mind or canceled the tour, she said.

During the contract negotiations and drafting, Murray repeatedly offered that Jackson was "perfectly healthy" and in "excellent condition," she testified.

Jorrie's testimony came after AEG Live executive Paul Gongaware testified that he was on the lookout for any drug use by Jackson because he was concerned about how it would affect the "This Is It" tour.

Murray is charged with involuntary manslaughter and administering the fatal dose of the surgical anesthetic propofol that caused Jackson's death.

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Sep 28 2011 8:14 PM EDT 7,242

Michael Jackson Doctor Left 'Panicked' Voicemail After Death
In addition to assistant's testimony, bodyguard claims MJ's kids were in the room when he died.
By Gil Kaufman, with additional reporting by Kara Warner


Day two of testimony in the manslaughter trial of former Michael Jackson doctor Conrad Murray featured more damning revelations from MJ's personal assistant and head of security, as well as employees of AEG Live, the firm that was promoting the singer's 50-show This Is It attempted comeback tour.

Among the revelations Wednesday (September 28), an attorney for AEG Live, Kathy Jorrie, described the contract she wrote up between AEG, Murray and Jackson. The document specified that Murray was to be paid a $150,000-a-month retainer, even when This Is It was on hiatus, and that the cardiologist requested a CPR machine for Jackson during the run of the shows in London.

As for why he needed a machine used for resuscitation, TMZ reported that Murray claimed he didn't want to take chances given MJ's age (50) and the strenuous nature of the show. Jorrie also said that in a conversation with Murray on June 24, 2009 — the day before Jackson's death — the doctor said he'd seen his client perform and that he appeared to be in "perfect" health.

She also confirmed that the contract — drafted 10 days before Jackson's death — had never been signed by any of the parties and that it contained revisions requested by Murray, including retroactive pay dating back to May 2009 through March 2010 and a clause exempting him from refunding any of his monthly retainer if Jackson changed his mind or canceled the tour.

In an effort to lay out the timeline of events on the day of Jackson's death, prosecutors called the pop icon's personal assistant, Michael Amir Williams, who discussed a panicked voicemail he received from Murray. After watching an "amazing" rehearsal the night before, Williams said he picked up an urgent voicemail from Murray the next day at 12:13 p.m. asking him to call back right away to discuss a "bad reaction" MJ had.

When Williams arrived at Jackson's rented Beverly Hills estate, the first thing he saw was his boss on a gurney and a "frantic-looking Murray, who, after Jackson was pronounced dead, confided to Williams that there was some "cream Michael wouldn't want the world to know about" at the house. Williams drove Murray back to the mansion to retrieve the "cream," and after checking with Jackson's head of security, they let the doctor back into the house.

AEG Live co-CEO Paul Gongaware was back on the stand again Wednesday, testifying that Murray had initially asked for the exorbitant sum of $5 million per year to take care of Jackson. When the singer insisted that he wanted Murray to take care of him, he instructed Gongaware to call back and offer $150,000 a month.

The final witness to testify Wednesday was Jackson's head of security, Faheem Muhammad, who described arriving on the scene to see Murray frantically trying to resuscitate the fallen pop star, while two of Jackson's children, Paris and Prince, looked on. Muhammad said Jackson appeared to be dead when he arrived and that when he noticed the children in the room, he took them downstairs. Muhammad added that he heard Murray asking if anyone knew CPR, which prompted fellow bodyguard Alberto Alvarez to try to help.

On Tuesday, the opening day of the trial, in addition to disturbing photos of Jackson and a voicemail in which the singer's speech was slurred and garbled, the jury heard from longtime friend and choreographer Kenny Ortega, who said he could tell something was not right with Jackson.

Murray has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and administering the fatal dose of the surgical anesthetic propofol that caused Jackson's death and faces four years in prison and the loss of his medical license if found guilty.

Defense attorney Ed Chernoff told the jury Tuesday that Jackson caused his own death by swallowing eight 2-milligram pills of the anti-anxiety drug Lorazepam, as well as injecting himself with a dose of propofol that instantly killed him. Testimony in the trial continues Thursday.


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Doctor Said Jackson Was in ‘Perfect Health,’ Witness Says
By IAN LOVETT and TIMOTHY WILLIAMS
Published: September 28, 2011

LOS ANGELES — Prosecution witnesses testified Wednesday at the trial of Dr. Conrad Murray, Michael Jackson’s personal physician, that Dr. Murray had insisted that the singer was in “perfect health” in the days before Mr. Jackson’s death and had originally sought $5 million for his services during a series of concerts.


Kathy Jorrie, a lawyer for the entertainment group producing the “This Is It” concerts that Mr. Jackson was rehearsing for when he died in June 2009, testified that despite Dr. Murray’s assurances, his contract included a provision for a CPR machine in case Mr. Jackson needed to be resuscitated.

“Dr. Murray told me repeatedly that Mr. Jackson was in perfect health,” Ms. Jorrie testified in Los Angeles County Superior Court. But the doctor told her that given Mr. Jackson’s age — he was 50 — and the “strenuous performance” he would be putting on, the doctor “needed to be sure that if something went wrong he would be able to have the CPR machine,” she said.

Mr. Jackson died on June 25, 2009, after Dr. Murray, who was at Mr. Jackson’s rented mansion in Holmby Hills, gave him a dose of propofol, a surgical anesthetic that the singer relied on to help combat insomnia. Dr. Murray is charged with involuntary manslaughter, and if convicted, he faces up to four years in prison. While prosecutors say Dr. Murray was grossly negligent in administering the drug and then in failing to monitor Mr. Jackson’s vital signs properly, among other shortcomings, defense lawyers say Mr. Jackson self-administered the fatal dose after Dr. Murray had left the room.

That dose of propofol, combined with loraxepam pills Mr. Jackson had taken earlier in the day, created a “perfect storm in his body,” Ed Chernoff, one of Dr. Murray’s lawyers, said during Tuesday’s opening arguments.

In other testimony on Wednesday, Michael Amir Williams, Mr. Jackson’s personal assistant, recounted the day he died. Mr. Williams described his phone call with Dr. Murray, in which the doctor told him that Mr. Jackson had “had a bad reaction.”

Mr. Williams also detailed a conversation at the hospital after Mr. Jackson had been pronounced dead, in which Dr. Murray said there was “some cream in Michael’s room or house that he wouldn’t want the world to know about” and asked Mr. Williams to drive him back to the house to get it. Mr. Williams said he refused. The prosecution has accused Dr. Murray of trying to hide evidence after Mr. Jackson’s death.

Earlier on Wednesday, Paul Gongaware, a producer for the concerts, completed his testimony from Tuesday. He said Dr. Murray had eventually accepted a fee of $150,000 a month for his services during the tour. Mr. Gongaware said the doctor’s request for $5 million had been out of the ordinary for a personal physician, calling it “way too high.”

During the trial’s opening statements on Tuesday, prosecutors said Dr. Murray, 58, had been more concerned with his compensation than with Mr. Jackson’s health.

Later that day, disturbing sounds and images of Mr. Jackson during his final months inundated the courtroom, including images from his final rehearsals for the series of sold-out London concerts and an eerie audio recording made about six weeks before his death in which his words were slurred and he spoke barely above a whisper. The jury was shown a photograph of his body on a gurney with “homicide” written above it.

David Walgren, a deputy prosecutor, said in his opening statement that the recording, made from a phone call that Mr. Jackson made to Dr. Murray and retrieved from Dr. Murray’s cellphone, clearly showed not only that Mr. Jackson was under the influence of some drug, but also that Dr. Murray nevertheless continued to provide him with vast quantities of a variety of drugs.

“It was Dr. Murray’s repeated incompetent and unskilled acts that led to Mr. Jackson’s death,” Mr. Walgren told the jury. “Murray’s primary use of his medical training and his licensure was to give Mr. Jackson access to unlimited supplies of propofol, propofol that he administered with complete disregard for Michael Jackson’s safety and Michael Jackson’s life.”

Prosecutors said that on the day of Mr. Jackson’s death, the doctor was talking on his cellphone instead of monitoring Mr. Jackson, and that after he realized something was amiss, he delayed calling 911.

Dr. Murray’s actions while administering the propofol and during the ensuing hour or so are at the heart of the trial, but much of the testimony during the case is likely to be taken up by competing versions of the potential dangers associated with propofol, which is most commonly administered intravenously, and not usually used outside medical facilities.

Mr. Chernoff argued Tuesday that the drug could be administered safely at low levels.

The trial’s first witness, Kenny Ortega, a choreographer for the “This Is It” concerts, testified Tuesday that he had expressed concerns about Mr. Jackson’s health to Dr. Murray days before the singer’s death, calling him “not right.”

But he said Dr. Murray had insisted that Mr. Jackson was physically and emotionally capable of performing the series of 50 concerts.

The trial prompted a carnival-like atmosphere outside the courthouse, with a huge encampment of news media watching as shouting crowds — some dressed as Mr. Jackson look-alikes — voiced their hope that his death would be avenged, while a few expressed support for the doctor.


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Paramedics, chef, guard testify next in trial of Michael Jackson's doctor

By Alan Duke, CNN
September 29, 2011 -- Updated 0932 GMT (1732 HKT)


Los Angeles (CNN) -- Two paramedics who responded to a delayed call for help at Michael Jackson's house, the singer's chef and his head of security are lined up to testify for the prosecution Thursday in the trial of Jackson's doctor.
Lawyers for Dr. Conrad Murray must counter descriptions of their client as a cardiologist who couldn't perform basic cardiopulmonary resuscitation techniques and someone who was more concerned with hiding evidence than saving his patient.
Thursday is the third day of testimony in Murray's involuntary manslaughter trial in connection with Jackson's June 25, 2009 death.
Deputy District Attorney David Walgren blamed Murray for Jackson's death, saying he abandoned "all principles of medical care" when he used the surgical anesthetic propofol to put Jackson to sleep every night for more than two months.
Jackson's health 'over-exaggerated?' Michael Jackson's future plans revealed Jackson family 'reliving a nightmare'
The coroner ruled that Jackson's death was the result of "acute propofol intoxication" in combination with sedatives.
Defense lawyer Ed Chernoff contended that Jackson, desperate for sleep, caused his own death by taking a handful of sedatives and self-administering propofol while the doctor was out of the room.
One defense strategy is to point the finger at another doctor and Jackson as having a large role in his death, while arguing Murray was blind to what they were doing.
Michael Jackson slurred his speech after visits to Beverly Hills dermatologist Dr. Arnold Klein, trips that became "very regular" for the pop star in the weeks before his death, Jackson's personal assistant testified Wednesday.
Murray's lawyers contend that Klein addicted the singer to Demerol during those visits, something Murray did not know about.
His withdrawal from that Demerol addiction was what kept Jackson awake despite Murray's efforts to put him to sleep with sedatives the morning he died, the defense contends, arguing that Klein is at least partly responsible for Jackson's death because of the Demerol.
When Michael Amir Williams, who was Jackson's personal assistant, testified Wednesday, Chernoff asked if he went to Klein's office with Jackson.
"At a certain point, it was very regular," Williams said.
Chernoff then asked Williams whether he'd ever heard Jackson talk slowly with slurred speech, as he did on an audio recording played in court Tuesday.
"Not that extreme, but I have heard him talk slow before," Williams said.
"And when he left Dr. Klein's office, have you observed him sometimes to talk slow?" Chernoff asked.
Sometimes, Williams replied, "he would talk slow like that. I never heard it that extreme, but I can definitely say he has come out, and he's a little slower."
Witnesses describe Jackson's last day Jackson's magician: He was a class act Murray trial: Jackson blame game fallout Jackson trainer, friend speaks of death
Jackson security guard Faheem Muhammad, who often drove Jackson, followed Williams on the witness stand Wednesday afternoon.
"There were times he would go almost every day" to Klein's office, and Jackson often appear intoxicated when he left, Muhammad testified.
Jackson once told Muhammad that his frequent trips to the dermatologist were for treatment for a skin disease.
"My doctors tell me that I have to go, so I go," Muhammad said Jackson told him.
At the start of court proceedings Wednesday, Paul Gongaware, an executive with the company promoting Jackson's comeback concerts, said he noticed that Jackson had "a little bit of a slower speech pattern, just a slight slur in the speech" after a visit with Klein.
Medical records show that Klein gave Jackson numerous shots of Demerol in the weeks before his death, Chernoff told jurors Tuesday.
"Dr. Klein did not do anything that was medically inappropriate," Klein's lawyer, Garo Ghazarian, told HLN's "Issues with Jane Velez-Mitchell" Wednesday.
The last time Klein gave Jackson drugs was more than three days before his death, Ghazarian said.
Jackson's inability to sleep the morning he died was "one of the insidious effects" of Demerol addiction withdrawal, Chernoff said. Since Murray did not know about the Demerol, he could not understand why Jackson was unable to fall asleep that morning, Chernoff said.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor previously ruled that while the jury can see some of the records of Klein's treatment of Jackson, the doctor would not testify. Demerol was not found in Jackson's body during the autopsy, which makes Klein's testimony irrelevant, Pastor ruled.
Testimony from Williams and Muhammad included emotional details about the chaos in the Jackson home and at the hospital the day Jackson died.
Williams described Wednesday as a frantic series of phone calls that started at 12:13 p.m. June 25, 2009, the day the pop icon died.
"Call me right away, please, call me right away," Murray said in a voice message to Williams, which prosecutors played in court Wednesday.
"Get here right away; Mr. Jackson had a bad reaction," Williams said Murray told him when he called him back.
Williams then ordered a security guard to rush to the upstairs bedroom where Murray was working to resuscitate Jackson.
Muhammad, one of those ordered upstairs, described seeing Jackson on a bed with his eyes open and his mouth "slightly opened" as Murray tried to revive him.
"Did he appear to be dead?" Walgren asked.
"Yes," Muhammad replied.
Jackson's two oldest children were standing just outside the room, watching in shock, Muhammad said.
"Paris was on the ground, balled up, crying. And Prince, he was standing there, he just had a real shocked, you know, slowly crying, type of shocked look on his face," he said.
His description of Murray's efforts to revive Jackson raised questions about Murray's knowledge of how to perform CPR.
It was several minutes before Alberto Alvarez, the head of security set to testify Thursday, called for an ambulance.
Williams and Muhammad later rode with Jackson's three children to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, following the ambulance that carried their father.
Jackson family members slowly arrived at the emergency room and joined the children, who were kept in a private room with their nanny while doctors tried to revive their father, Williams said.
"Dr. Murray and the doctors walked out, and they closed the curtain and said, 'He's dead,'" he testified.
Williams described what he called an odd request by Murray at the hospital for a ride back to Jackson's home after he was pronounced dead.
Murray told Williams he needed to go back to retrieve "some cream" from Michael's bedroom that Jackson "wouldn't want the world to know about."
The prosecution contends that Murray wanted to retrieve evidence of his medical misconduct that led to Jackson's death.
A lawyer hired by concert promoter AEG to draw up the contract with Murray testified that Murray requested a CPR machine and money to hire a second doctor to help him care for Jackson.
The additional doctor and the CPR equipment were never provided, since the contract was not signed before Jackson died, attorney Kathy Jorrie testified.
She told the court that it was her understanding that Murray did not want the CPR unit or the additional doctor until he arrived in London with Jackson in July 2009 for the "This Is It" concerts.
"I asked Dr Murray, why do we need a CPR machine?" Jorrie testified.
Murray told her he needed it since "given (Jackson's) age and the strenuous performance he would be putting on, that if something went wrong, he would have it," she said.
The second doctor would be necessary because "if (Murray) was tired or unavailable, he wanted to make sure there was someone else to be of assistance" to Jackson.
AEG is being sued by Jackson's mother, Katherine, based on her contention that the concert promoter hired and controlled Murray when he was caring for her son.
The prosecution contends that part of the negligence that makes Murray criminally liable for Jackson's death is the lack of monitoring and CPR equipment on hand when Jackson died.
The trial began Tuesday with prosecutors playing a stunning audio recording of an apparently drugged Jackson slurring his words weeks before his death. Prosecutors also showed jurors a photo of Jackson's corpse on a hospital gurney.
If convicted of involuntary manslaughter, Murray could spend four years in a California prison and lose his medical license.


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DR. CONRAD MURRAY [LIVE]
Manslaughter Trial -- Day 3


By Sharon Waxman at TheWrap
Wed Sep 28, 2011 11:41am EDT
Update, 2:15 p.m.: Michael Jackson's former security chief, Faheem Muhammad, has taken the stand. He says that Jackson seemed fine during his concert rehearsal the night before he died: "It was excellent, it was high-energy."

Muhammad further testified that he entered Jackson's home and went upstairs into his bedroom on the afternoon of the singer's death, and saw Jackson's feet hanging off of the bed, toward the foot of the bed. He testified that Murray asked him and Jackson's logistics director, Alberto Alvarez, if they knew CPR, at which point Alvarez went to help Murray try to revive Jackson.

However, it might have been too late; asked if it looked like Jackson was already dead, Muhammad replied, "Yes."

Muhammad further testified that he noticed an IV stand in Jackson's bedroom when he was up there. He also backed up the testimony from Jackson's personal assistant, Michael Williams, that Murray wanted to return to Jackson's home shortly after the singer was pronounced dead.

During cross-examination, Muhanmad said that he had accompanied Jackson to the office of Dr. Arnold Klein's office many times, and often he would emerge from Klein's office seeming tipsy or intoxicated. According to Muhammad, Jackson's visits to Klein ranged from daily, to once every few days. Muhammad said that Jackson told him he went to see Klein because he had "a skin disease."

Update, 11:34 a.m.: Michael Jackson's former personal assistant, Michael Williams, testifies that Dr. Conrad Murray attempted to gain re-entry to Jackson's Holmby Hills home shortly after Jackson was pronounced dead at the hospital on June 25, 2009, supposedly to retrieve an ointment that would be embarrassing to Jackson.

"We were making small talk about how horrible this is," Williams said. "[Murray] said, 'There's some cream in Michael's room or house that he wouldn't want the world to know about it, and he requested that I or someone else drive him back to the house so he could get the cream, so the world wouldn't know about it."

Williams testified that, after consulting with security guard Faheem Mohammad, they determined that he shouldn't be allowed back inside the house, and made an excuse as to why they couldn't bring him.

According to Williams, Murray then said that he was hungry and wanted to get something to eat, hinting at possibly getting a ride, but was again denied.

While on the stand, Williams characterized Murray's demeanor while Jackson was being loaded into the ambulance as "[f]rantic; I knew it was serious when I saw him."

Williams went on to testify that, in the months prior to Jackson's death, it was common to see oxygen tanks in the house, and that the tanks would be picked up from a facility and brought to the house at Murray's request.

On cross-examination, Williams admitted to the defense that he had declined to initially tell police about Murray's attempt to gain re-entry into Jackson's home.

Update 11:06 a.m.: Michael Jackson's personal assistant, Michael Williams, has taken the stand to testify about, among other things, the call he received from Dr. Conrad Murray on June 25, 2009, the day of Jackson's death.

According to WIlliams, he missed Murray's call at approximately 12:13 p.m. because he was in the shower, but heard the message when he got out of the shower minutes later.

"It was Dr. Murray; I can't quote it exactly, but it was, "Call me right away, call me right away, thank you," Williams testified.

When he called back, at about 12:15, Williams said, Murray replied, " 'Where are you?' And I said I'm downtown.' He said, 'Get here right away; Mr. Jackson had a bad reaction."

According to Williams, Murray said, "Get someone up here immediately."

At no point in the message or during the subsequent phone call did Murray ask Williams to call 911, Williams said.

While on the stand, Williams said that Jackson was "in very good spirits" on the evening before his death.

Update 10:05 a.m.: Cross-examined by defense attorney J. Michael Flanagan, Jorrie says that Murray characterized himself as Jackson's personal physician, and never claimed that he s the only physician providing treatment to Jackson. Asked if the intention of the contract was to hold Murray to a full-time commitment to Jackson's health, Jorrie said no, stating, "I don't believe he was prohibited by the contract by doing other things at all."

Update, 9:41 a.m.: Kathy Jorrie, attorney for concert promoter AEG Live, is on the stand for the prosecution. Jorrie testified that, while drawing up Murray's contract for the concerts at O2 arena, the doctor requested that a CPR machine be provided. This caused Jorrie to question Murray about why such a machine might be needed. Murray told her that, due to Jackson's age and the strenuous performances, it was a precaution.

"Dr. Murray repeatedly told me that [Michael Jackson is] in excellent condition," Jorrie testified.

Jorrie also testified that Murray's monthly fee for his services was $150,000 per month.

Previously...

The second day of the trial of Dr. Conrad Murray on manslaughter charges in the death of Michael Jackson gets underway on Wednesday, with new witnesses expected to provide fresh details in the case.

The pop singer’s personal assistant Michael Emir Williams is expected to testify today, as are the paramedics who arrived to the scene of his death.

In the courtroom on Tuesday as the trial opened, the jury was shown a never previously seen photo of Jackson’s corpse. They also heard a shocking audio file of Jackson, apparently drugged, that was taken from Murray’s iPhone.

Jackson’s voice echoed hauntingly through the packed courtroom:

"I want them to say, 'I've never seen nothing like this in my life,'" he mumbled. "He's the greatest entertainer of all time."

Deputy Dist. Atty. David Walgren told jurors on Tuesday that the audio file showed the physician had taped his patient "highly under the influence of unknown agents."

He called the clip "a taste" of the full recording jurors are to hear later.

Taking the stand for the second day in a row is “This Is It” producer, Paul Gongaware, who began testifying yesterday about the singer’s last days and his dealings with Dr Murray.

At the preliminary hearing in January, Williams had called the day that Jackson died “just a horrible, crazy experience.”

Jackson died on June 25, 2009 of acute propophyl intoxication. Murray is charged with involuntary manslaughter for having administered drugs illegally, and having allegedly abandoned basic principles of medical care.


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