/ 6 January 2011

Jackson doctor ‘ordered aide to remove evidence’

Jackson Doctor 'ordered Aide To Remove Evidence'

Michael Jackson’s doctor instructed an aide to remove medical equipment near the singer’s body before paramedics arrived, a court probing the medic’s role in Jackson’s death was told on Wednesday.

Conrad Murray, accused of involuntary manslaughter over the pop icon’s shock death on June 25 2009, also gathered up a number of bottles before anyone called 911 for emergency help, the aide testified.

Alberto Alvarez, described as a logistics director for Jackson, said that when he entered the star’s bedroom, he found Murray giving the apparently dead singer cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) with one hand.

The doctor then gathered a number of bottles or vials and asked Alvarez to put them in a plastic bag. He then put the plastic bag inside a larger brown bag, Alvarez said.

“When I did that, he then instructed me to remove an IV bag from the IV stand,” Alvarez said, referring to intravenous drip equipment used to give medication to Jackson, who died from drug-induced respiratory arrest.

The IV material — including a “milk-like substance” in the IV bag — was placed in a separate bag, the aide said, adding that all of this was done before anyone called 911.

Pre-trial hearings
He was speaking on the second day of pre-trial hearings expected to last two weeks to determine whether Murray should face a full trial.

Jackson’s mother and father, Katherine and Joe, sisters Janet, LaToya and Rebbie, and brother Randy attended Wednesday’s hearings. His mother, LaToya and other brother Jackie attended the first day Tuesday.

On Tuesday, LA deputy district attorney David Walgren said Murray gave Jackson the powerful sedative propofol every night for nearly two months to help him sleep, as he prepared for a string of comeback concerts in London.

He listed a string of alleged failings by the doctor on the day Jackson died, including delaying calling 911, not telling paramedics about the drugs he had given the singer and not knowing how to properly administer CPR.

On Wednesday Alvarez recounted how, when he entered the star’s bedroom, Murray was on “the right side of the bed and he was giving chest compressions to Mr Jackson”, who was on his back on the bed, his eyes and mouth open.

“He was standing over him and he was giving him chest compressions with one hand,” he added.

At one point Jackson’s children, Paris and Prince, came into the room. “Paris screamed, ‘Daddy,’ and started crying,” said Alvarez, adding that Murray asked for the children to leave, saying “Don’t let them see their father like this.”

Walgren asked Alvarez if Jackson appeared to be alive or dead. “Dead, sir,” he replied.

Alvarez eventually called 911, and was told by the operator to put Jackson on the floor to administer CPR, which should be carried out on a hard surface rather than a soft bed.

Murray asked if anyone knew how to carry out CPR, at which point Alvarez took over compressing the star’s chest, while the doctor gave him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

Heart monitor
Another witness, paramedic Richard Senneff, testified that Murray never mentioned propofol when he asked if the singer was on any medication. Asked twice by Walgren if he mentioned the drug, he said: “No, sir.”

“He said no, none, he’s not taking anything,” Senneff said, adding that the doctor also said Jackson had no underlying medical conditions.

A heart monitor was hooked up to Jackson, but it was flatlining, he said. Walgren asked: “In your opinion, was the patient deceased?” Senneff replied: “Yes.”

Jackson was eventually taken to the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Centre, where he was pronounced dead from acute intoxication with propofol.

Jackson’s death at the age of 50 shocked the entertainment world and triggered intense debate over the performer’s health in the run-up to the London concerts, known as the “This is It” tour. — AFP