Emergency Officer in Yesterday’s Session: Michael Had Died Before We Arrived

In yesterday’s court session in the Pop King’s murder case, his parents, all three of his sisters, and his brother Randy were present in court. Catherine Jackson, upon hearing details of her son’s death, wiped away her tears. No member of the family made eye contact with the accused. On that day, the emergency doctor who had been in the room testified. Richard Senef, who had been an emergency officer for 25 years, said in the stand that when they arrived at Michael’s home, Dr. Murray told them that this had happened suddenly. The emergency doctor said that, given Michael’s dilated pupils, the dryness of his eyes, and his cold skin, he believed Michael had died at least 20 minutes before they arrived. “What I can tell you is that when we got there, my instinct told me that this didn’t happen suddenly—it happened over a period of time.” He described Dr. Murray’s behavior as instinctive, emotional, and irrational, and said that while the emergency doctors were trying to bring Michael back to life, he had acted in an unusual way. Richard Senef said Murray’s statements didn’t add up. For example, Murray told the emergency officers that Michael had not been in any special condition and was only being treated because of dehydration. Murray said the sedative lorazepam was the only prescribed medication he had given. Even after the officers insisted on knowing what drugs had been injected into Michael, Murray refused to mention propofol—which was later identified as the cause of death. The witness continued that as soon as he entered the room, he thought Michael was a hospitalized patient because he was very pale and underweight, there was an IV stand next to his bed, and a private doctor was also there. Alberto Alvarez, another witness from yesterday, was Michael’s security employee. He testified that on the day Michael died, before calling emergency services, Dr. Murray asked him to collect the medicine bottles and the IV bag into a bag. Alvarez said he received a call from Murray telling him to go to Michael’s room immediately because he had shown a bad reaction. Some time after 12:17 p.m., Alvarez entered the room and saw Michael motionless on his bed. One of the hardest moments in court was when this sturdy security officer, remembering Michael’s children who were watching their father die, choked up and started crying. He said that Michael’s children entered the room at that time. His 11-year-old daughter, Paris, screamed “Dad” and began crying. Conrad Murray then asked the employees to take the children out so they wouldn’t see their father in that condition. Murray told him that Michael had shown an allergic reaction to a drug, and then instructed him: “(Murray) picked up a few medicine bottles and ampoules and told me to put them in a bag.” Alvarez said Murray asked him to separate an IV bag containing a white-colored liquid (the milky propofol) from the IV stand and place it next to the medicine bottles in a plastic bag that was inside a canvas handbag. The witness said he didn’t know what happened to that bag afterward. Alvarez said another IV bag was also in the room (it was said to contain saline solution), and Murray told him to leave it in the same place. After placing these items into the bag, Murray told Alvarez to call emergency services. Source: eMJey / LA Times / ABC News