Conrad Murray trial jurors hear security guard's 911 call

Prosecutors allege a call for help was delayed by nearly half an hour by the doctor's attempts at a cover-up. <!--break--> <div class="separator" style="clear:both;text-align:center;"> <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/&#8212;oIjHuuSVaA/ToSjJUUGL0I/AAAAAAAAAEs/ySpdhMLLfj4/s1600/mjposter.jpg" style="margin-left:1em;margin-right:1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/&#8212;oIjHuuSVaA/ToSjJUUGL0I/AAAAAAAAAEs/ySpdhMLLfj4/s320/mjposter.jpg" width="227" alt="" /></a></div > <br /> <br /> Jurors at the trial of Michael Jackson's personal physician heard a 911 call Thursday that prosecutors allege was delayed by nearly half an hour by the doctor's attempts at a cover-up. <br /> <br /> "I need an ambulance as soon as possible," a Jackson security guard, Alberto Alvarez, told an emergency operator in the recording played at Dr. Conrad Murray's manslaughter trial. <br /> <br /> Alvarez, who took the stand for prosecutors Thursday, told the operator a 50-year-old man had stopped breathing. <br /> <br /> Full coverage of Conrad Murray's trial <br /> <br /> "We have a personal doctor here with him," Alvarez said, prompting the operator to ask whether the doctor knew what happened. <br /> <br /> The security guard relayed the question to Murray, who responded by yelling for paramedics to hurry. <br /> <br /> "He's not responding to anything, sir," Alvarez added. <br /> <br /> The tape came in the middle of Alvarez's testimony, the most damning yet against the 58-year-old physician. <br /> <br /> Murray looked stricken at the defense table as the security guard recounted the chaotic moments before he placed the call, a period in which the guard described the doctor as behaving with incompetence and later with what prosecutors contend was clear consciousness of guilt. <br /> <br /> Alvarez, who carried the title of head of logistics, said that when he arrived at the star's bedroom, Murray was making a haphazard attempt at CPR. <br /> <br /> Jackson was on a soft surface &#8212; his mattress &#8212; and Murray was using one hand and doing so only intermittently, he said. <br /> <br /> At one point, he said, the cardiologist asked, "Does anybody know CPR?" <br /> <br /> Alvarez said Murray told him the singer had "a bad reaction" and needed to get to a hospital. <br /> <br /> But he followed those statements with instructions to gather up medical vials and pill bottles from the singer's bedside, saying, "Here, put these in a bag." <br /> <br /> The doctor then asked him to remove an IV bag containing "a milky white substance" &#8212; a description consistent with the surgical anesthetic propofol. <br /> <br /> Only then did Murray ask him to call 911, he said. <br /> <br /> Investigators later found bags Alvarez described in a cabinet in another bedroom in the house. They contained sedatives, 10 bottles of propofol and an IV bag which held an 11th, empty bottle of the anesthetic. <br /> <br /> Deputy Dist. Atty. David Walgren displayed the IV bag, covered in fingerprint dust, and the propofol bottle for jurors. <br /> <br /> Jackson died June 25, 2009, with a lethal amount of the anesthetic in his system. <br /> <br /> Under questioning by prosecutors, the security guard said he never questioned Murray's actions because he believed the doctor "had the best intentions" and was packing for the hospital. <br /> <br /> A burly man with a black brush cut and a serious demeanor, Alvarez choked up as he recalled how Jackson's two older children had witnessed the attempts to revive their father. <br /> <br /> "Paris screamed out, 'Daddy,' " Alvarez said, his eyes wet. He said he ushered her and her brotherPrince out of the room with assurances that "everything will be OK." <br /> <br /> Alvarez grew emotional again when the prosecutor asked whether anything positive had come out of his experiences the day Jackson died. No, he said, mentioning financial problems. <br /> <br /> "I went from a great salary to hardly anything," he said. <br /> <br /> Media outlets had offered him up to half a million dollars for interview, but despite having only sporadic work, he testified, "I said no." <br /> <br /> On cross-examination, Alvarez acknowledged he was in a state of shock seeing his employer lifeless. <br /> <br /> "Is it possible that you are confused about the timing of these events?" defense attorney Ed Chernoff asked. <br /> <br /> "No, sir," Alvarez said. <br /> <br /> Murray faces the probable loss of his medical license and a maximum of four years in prison if convicted. <br /> <br /> Source: LA Times

<p>Prosecutors allege a call for help was delayed by nearly half an hour by the doctor's attempts at a cover-up.</p> <!--break--><div class="separator" style="clear:both;text-align:center;"> <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/—oIjHuuSVaA/ToSjJUUGL0I/AAAAAAAAAEs/ySpdhMLLfj4/s1600/mjposter.jpg" style="margin-left:1em;margin-right:1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/—oIjHuuSVaA/ToSjJUUGL0I/AAAAAAAAAEs/ySpdhMLLfj4/s320/mjposter.jpg" width="227" alt="" /></a></div> <p> Jurors at the trial of Michael Jackson's personal physician heard a 911 call Thursday that prosecutors allege was delayed by nearly half an hour by the doctor's attempts at a cover-up. </p> <p> "I need an ambulance as soon as possible," a Jackson security guard, Alberto Alvarez, told an emergency operator in the recording played at Dr. Conrad Murray's manslaughter trial. </p> <p> Alvarez, who took the stand for prosecutors Thursday, told the operator a 50-year-old man had stopped breathing. </p> <p> Full coverage of Conrad Murray's trial </p> <p> "We have a personal doctor here with him," Alvarez said, prompting the operator to ask whether the doctor knew what happened. </p> <p> The security guard relayed the question to Murray, who responded by yelling for paramedics to hurry. </p> <p> "He's not responding to anything, sir," Alvarez added. </p> <p> The tape came in the middle of Alvarez's testimony, the most damning yet against the 58-year-old physician. </p> <p> Murray looked stricken at the defense table as the security guard recounted the chaotic moments before he placed the call, a period in which the guard described the doctor as behaving with incompetence and later with what prosecutors contend was clear consciousness of guilt. </p> <p> Alvarez, who carried the title of head of logistics, said that when he arrived at the star's bedroom, Murray was making a haphazard attempt at CPR. </p> <p> Jackson was on a soft surface — his mattress — and Murray was using one hand and doing so only intermittently, he said. </p> <p> At one point, he said, the cardiologist asked, "Does anybody know CPR?" </p> <p> Alvarez said Murray told him the singer had "a bad reaction" and needed to get to a hospital. </p> <p> But he followed those statements with instructions to gather up medical vials and pill bottles from the singer's bedside, saying, "Here, put these in a bag." </p> <p> The doctor then asked him to remove an IV bag containing "a milky white substance" — a description consistent with the surgical anesthetic propofol. </p> <p> Only then did Murray ask him to call 911, he said. </p> <p> Investigators later found bags Alvarez described in a cabinet in another bedroom in the house. They contained sedatives, 10 bottles of propofol and an IV bag which held an 11th, empty bottle of the anesthetic. </p> <p> Deputy Dist. Atty. David Walgren displayed the IV bag, covered in fingerprint dust, and the propofol bottle for jurors. </p> <p> Jackson died June 25, 2009, with a lethal amount of the anesthetic in his system. </p> <p> Under questioning by prosecutors, the security guard said he never questioned Murray's actions because he believed the doctor "had the best intentions" and was packing for the hospital. </p> <p> A burly man with a black brush cut and a serious demeanor, Alvarez choked up as he recalled how Jackson's two older children had witnessed the attempts to revive their father. </p> <p> "Paris screamed out, 'Daddy,' " Alvarez said, his eyes wet. He said he ushered her and her brotherPrince out of the room with assurances that "everything will be OK." </p> <p> Alvarez grew emotional again when the prosecutor asked whether anything positive had come out of his experiences the day Jackson died. No, he said, mentioning financial problems. </p> <p> "I went from a great salary to hardly anything," he said. </p> <p> Media outlets had offered him up to half a million dollars for interview, but despite having only sporadic work, he testified, "I said no." </p> <p> On cross-examination, Alvarez acknowledged he was in a state of shock seeing his employer lifeless. </p> <p> "Is it possible that you are confused about the timing of these events?" defense attorney Ed Chernoff asked. </p> <p> "No, sir," Alvarez said. </p> <p> Murray faces the probable loss of his medical license and a maximum of four years in prison if convicted. </p> <p> Source: LA Times</p>