Conrad Murray's trial/ Day 10-03-2011

Conrad Murray trial: Dr. Richelle Cooper to testify on Michael Jackson care
Katrina K Wheeler
, Jackson Family Examiner
October 3, 2011
The Conrad Murray trial resumes this morning, as it is in its second week. Dr. Richelle Cooper will be the first witness on the stand, as questioning was not completed last week. It is clear that there is much more that has yet to be revealed. There will be other witnesses called to testify today as well, and those witnesses remain to be seen.

As NBC Los Angeles reports, Dr. Cooper said of her questioning Conrad Murray: "I asked what other medical problems Mr. Jackson had, if he had any cardiac history, if he had ever had a blood clot, a history of drug use." Murray said: "No, to all of them."

Cooper as well as the paramedics testified that Conrad Murray never said anything about propofol, and that even at the hospital, he did not mention anything, and said that he was not able to recall what time he gave Jackson anything, because he allegedly had no watch on -- this is what he specifically said to Dr. Cooper at the UCLA hospital.


What do you think of what Dr. Cooper had to say about Conrad Murray, and her trying to get information with him, so that she could properly try to revive Michael Jackson? Are you following the Conrad Murray trial? What do you think of what has been revealed so far?


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ER doc: Jackson physician never mentioned propofol
ANTHONY McCARTNEY, AP Entertainment Writer
Updated 02:44 p.m.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — An emergency room physician told jurors Monday that Michael Jackson's doctor never mentioned that he had given the singer the powerful anesthetic propofol, but acknowledged the disclosure probably wouldn't have saved the King of Pop.

Dr. Richelle Cooper recounted her conversations with Dr. Conrad Murray on the day Jackson died, telling jurors that he told her that he had only given the singer the sedative lorazepam.

She said under defense questioning that had Murray mentioned the anesthetic, it probably wouldn't have allowed doctors to save Jackson's life because he was "clinically dead" by the time he arrived at the hospital.

Cooper resumed testifying Monday as Murray's involuntary manslaughter trial began its second week.

Murray, 58, has pleaded not guilty and his defense lawyers claim Jackson gave himself a fatal dose of sedatives and propofol, which is normally administered in hospital settings.

Authorities say Murray administered the fatal dose and acted recklessly by providing Jackson the drug as a sleep aid.

Cooper testified she never asked Murray to sign a death certificate because, by the time he was brought to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, Jackson became her patient.

"Mr. Jackson was my patient and I didn't really have an explanation for why he was dead," she said.

Cooper has previously testified she gave paramedics permission to pronounce Jackson dead, but that Murray wanted resuscitation efforts to continue at the hospital. She has said more than an hour of resuscitation efforts at the hospital did nothing to improve his condition.

Cooper also told jurors about trying to speak to Jackson's children after he was pronounced dead at the hospital at 2:26 p.m. on June 25, 2009.

"They were crying," Cooper said. "They were fairly hysterical."

Cooper is the 12th witness prosecutors have called so far in the trial, which is expected to last five weeks.

The physician's phone records are a central part of the prosecution case. Prosecutors intend to show records of Murray's phone calls and emails from the hours before Jackson's death to show that the singer had other things on his mind — getting his $150,000 a month deal to serve as Jackson's personal physician approved, running his medical practices and fielding calls from mistresses.

During a preliminary hearing, prosecutors showed that Murray was engaged in three phone calls in the hour before he emerged from Jackson's bedroom and frantically told a chef to seek help.

One of Murray's former patients, Las Vegas salesman Robert Russell, detailed one of those calls for jurors last week. Russell praised Murray in testimony, crediting the doctor with saving his life, but said he had grown distant after going to work for Jackson.

Russell said he called the physician's office seeking answers about his care on the day Jackson died. Murray returned the message at 11:49 a.m., roughly 15 minutes before telling Jackson's chef to call security and asking to speak to Jackson's eldest son, Prince.

Prosecutors on Monday began to bring Murray's phone records into the trial, having an AT&T representative detail his records for jurors. Later in the case, prosecutors will further detail calls and messages Murray fielded that day, including one the physician apparently made to his girlfriend as he rode in the back of the ambulance on the way to the hospital.

The exact order of witnesses is unclear. The judge overseeing the case imposed a gag order last week prohibiting either side or their spokespeople from talking about the case outside of court.


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Michael Jackson's Final Medical Moments
By Dr. Marc Siegel
Published October 03, 2011

As soon as the world learned about pop star Michael Jackson’s untimely death in 2009, there was even more shocking news: reports of inadequate emergency medical care.

I worked for several years in emergency room at the Bellevue Hospital in New York City. I was dismayed by the reported delays and ineffective medical interventions by Dr. Conrad Murray as Jackson died.

It was also clear to me at the time that propofol, a rapid onset anesthetic best used by anesthesiologists with advanced monitoring equipment in Operating Rooms and surgical suites, had no place in Jackson’s home nor should it have been administered for sleep by Murray, a cardiologist.
I was also quite critical at the time of CPR being conducted on a soft bed rather than on a hard floor, a delay in calling 911, along with the inadequate medical equipment on hand in the home.
The ongoing trial of Dr. Murray and the current testimony of paramedic Richard Senneff, the first EMT to arrive on the scene, are now confirming the initial disturbing reports.
A finger device to measure oxygen (known as a pulse oximeter) was hardly adequate to monitor the effects of propofol, a powerful anesthetic that can suppress breathing and blood pressure.
But what of Senneff’s claim that Murray’s decision to withhold information revealing that Jackson was on more medication (propofol and other sedatives) -- beyond the dose of lorazepam he admitted to administering -- interfered with the paramedic’s ability to save the star? Is this medically fair or just courtroom theatrics?
No matter what the cause, the paramedics would generally put a patient with low blood pressure and difficulty breathing on a respirator, at the same time administering intravenous and fluids and pressors. They would also have attempted to stabilize him and bring him to the hospital as soon as possible.
While it is true that chronic high doses of propofol can rarely lead to multiple organ failure with acidosis, high potassium, muscle breakdown, and kidney failure (something as "propofol infusion syndrome"), at the same time, most of the life saving interventions performed by trained personnel, whether the cause is propofol or some other drug, would have been the same.

And, of course, a drug overdose would clearly be on any paramedic’s mind who was rushing in to try and save Michael Jackson.
Here's one other thing: the dilated eye pupils and dry eyes that Senneff reported are in fact NOT suggestive of a propofol overdose. Just the opposite. Propofol use leads to a release of the powerful neurotransmitter acetylcholine which constricts the pupils and moistens the eyes.
In fact there are studies which suggest that atropine, an anti-cholinergic agent which BLOCKS acetylcholine may work as a partial antidote for the effects of propofol on the heart.
Nevertheless, Seneff is right to have insisted on full information about what drugs Jackson was taking.
Murray was obstructing these lifesaving attempts to save Jackson if he withheld the truth.
No matter what the specifics, knowledge of medication use is always helpful in guiding a paramedic. Sometimes this information is lifesaving and sometimes it isn’t. In Jackson’s case, it is difficult to know whether he was beyond saving by the time the paramedics came.
Marc Siegel, M.D. is an associate professor of medicine and Medical Director of Doctor Radio at NYU Langone Medical Center. He is a member of the Fox News Medical A Team and is the author of several books. His latest is: "The Inner Pulse; Unlocking the Secret Code of Sickness and Health."

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Doctor at Murray trial: Jackson couldn't have been revived in ER
By Alan Duke, CNN
October 3, 201

Los Angeles (CNN) -- The emergency room doctor who declared Michael Jackson dead testified Monday in the involuntary manslaughter trial of Dr. Conrad Murray that there was no way doctors could have revived the pop icon after he arrived at the hospital.
Dr. Richelle Cooper testified Friday that Murray never told her that he had given Jackson the surgical anesthetic propofol before he stopped breathing, but she said Monday it would not have made a difference if he had because Jackson "had died long before."
"It is unlikely with that information that I would have been able to do something different that would have changed the outcome," Cooper said.
Prosecutors argue that Murray's failure to tell paramedics and doctors trying to resuscitate Jackson about the propofol is one of the negligent acts that make him criminally responsible for Jackson's death.
Another doctor testified Monday that the decision to place an aortic balloon pump in Jackson's heart was "a desperate attempt, even though very much futile" effort intended "to prepare Dr. Murray mentally to accept the fact that Mr. Jackson could not be rescued and would allow Mr. Jackson to depart in peace and dignity."
Dr. Thao Nguyen said Murray asked that "we not to give up easily and try to save Mr. Michael Jackson's life," Nguyen said, even though it seemed hopeless.
They placed a balloon pump in Jackson's aorta in an unsuccessful effort to restart his heart, she said. "It's not a case of too little, too late, but a case of too late," Nguyen said.
Prosecutors are also expected to call three of Murray's girlfriends to the witness stand to talk about their conversations with the doctor just before he realized Jackson had stopped breathing.
Monday is the fifth day of testimony in Murray's involuntary manslaughter trial, which is expected to last at least four more weeks.
The trial resumed without Jackson's mother. Katherine Jackson left Los Angeles for Canada with her son's three children during the weekend to attend Sunday's premiere of Cirque du Soleil's "Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour" in Montreal. A source close to the Jackson family said she would not return to the trial at least until October 10, since she will also travel to Cardiff, Wales, for a tribute concert for her late son.
Jackson family members in court Monday morning included siblings Janet, Rebe, Randy and Jermaine.
Prosecutors argue that Murray, who was Jackson's personal physician as he prepared for planned comeback concerts, is criminally responsible for the singer's death because of medical negligence and his reckless use of propofol to help Jackson sleep.
The coroner ruled that Jackson's June 25, 2009, death was the result of "acute propofol intoxication" in combination with sedatives.
Dr. Cooper had recommended at 12:57 p.m., when Jackson was still at his home, that paramedics stop resuscitation efforts and declare him dead. Jackson was the first patient she had ever treated in the emergency room after having made such a recommended to paramedics in the field, she said.
"I have never given a time of death in the field and then have that patient brought to me," she said.
She said this exception was not because Jackson was a celebrity, but because the patient had a physician with them who did not want them to give up.
Prosecutors have criticized Murray, who is a cardiologist, for using propofol on Jackson, contending it should be used only by anesthesiologists who have proper monitoring equipment.
Testimony in Murray trial How Jackson family is coping
Cooper, their own witness, acknowledged under questioning by defense lawyer Michael Flanagan that she uses it regularly as an emergency room doctor.
The judge instructed lawyers not to disclose their witness list ahead of time. However, the prosecution has been following the same order of witnesses used in Murray's preliminary hearing in January.
Representatives from two cell phone companies testified Monday morning about records of calls to and from Murray's cell phones the morning Jackson died. The call times play a key role in determining the time line of what Murray was doing in the hours before Jackson's death.
Los Angeles Police homicide Detective Dan Myers, who led the Los Angeles Police Department investigation of Jackson's death, is also a likely witness Monday or Tuesday.
Los Angeles County Coroner Investigator Elissa Fleak will probably testify within the next two or three days about searching Jackson's home after his death. She said at the preliminary hearing that she found seven pill bottles on the nightstand next to Jackson's bed and an empty bottle of propofol on the floor near his bed.
Murray's defense lawyers contend Jackson caused his own death by swallowing eight lorazepam pills and orally ingesting propofol while Murray was out of the room.
The girlfriends, who could begin testifying as soon as Monday afternoon, include Sade Anding, a cocktail waitress who met Murray when she was working at a Houston steakhouse. Anding testified in January that she was on the phone with Murray when he suddenly stopped responding to her just before noon the day Jackson died.
That is the moment prosecutors contend Murray first realized that Jackson had stopped breathing. "I didn't hear him on the phone any more," Anding said. "I heard commotion as if the phone was in a pocket and I heard coughing and I heard a mumbling of voices."
Anding said she stayed on the phone for another five minutes, listening and wondering why the man she sometimes dated wasn't responding. "Hello, hello, are you there?" she testified she said.
The timing of the phone call is key to the prosecution's time line of when Murray realized his famous patient was dying. Based on testimony so far, the moment came at 11:57 p.m.
Bridgette Morgan, who met Murray at a club in 2003, is expected to talk about developing a social relationship with Murray. She spoke to him on the phone about 30 minutes before Murray apparently discovered there was a problem with his patient.
Nicole Alvarez, the mother of Murray's youngest child, may follow them on the witness stand. Her testimony is especially important because the propofol Murray used on Jackson was shipped to her Santa Monica, California, apartment.
Alvarez, 29, who met Murray around 2005 in a Las Vegas gentlemen's club, made it clear when she previously testified that she knew little about the doctor's activities.
"Dr. Murray and I were on a need-to-know basis, and I just know my place and my position in his life," Alvarez said.
Murray called Alvarez from the ambulance as he accompanied Jackson to the hospital, according to testimony in the preliminary hearing.
The judge imposed a gag order Friday, preventing lawyers for Murray from talking to reporters about the case. His order came after he learned Matt Alford, a law partner to lead defense lawyer Ed Chernoff, gave a television interview to NBC's Ann Curry on Friday morning.
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 TRIAL
THREE Girlfriends to Spill It
In Court [Livestream]


Currently on the stand -- Dr. Joanne Prashad, a Houston physician who shared a patient with Dr. Murray.

Later today -- Dr. Murray's former girlfriend who was on the phone with him when Murray realized Michael Jackson was in dire shape. Two additional lady friends are expected to testify as well.

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Thanks girls, all of this fills me of a deep sadness again to see this man how killed Michael is really devastating.

Conrad Murray: ER doctor says she never had chance to save Jackson
October 3, 2011

The trial of Michael Jackson’s personal physician began its second week of testimony Monday with an emergency room doctor telling jurors that in retrospect she and her hospital team never had any chance of saving the singer.

“Mr. Jackson died long before he became a patient,” Dr. Richelle Cooper said.

The Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center doctor pronounced Jackson dead twice on June 25, 2009 -- once over the phone after paramedics had failed to revive him in his home and a second time at the hospital where his personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, had insisted he be brought for further treatment.

Prosecutors highlighted on Friday Murray’s failure to mention to Cooper that he had administered the anesthetic propofol to his famous patient.

On cross-examination Monday, a defense attorney pressed her on whether the omission had any effect on the care she gave.

“The minute he comes in the hospital, there’s no chance?” asked attorney J. Michael Flanagan.

“Knowing everything I know now, that would be correct,” Cooper said.

Murray told her he had given the singer small doses of a sedative, lorazepam, she said.
Flanagan suggested that Murray may have left out propofol because he believed it had worn off earlier in the day and was not the cause of his cardiac arrest.

Cooper agreed the amount Murray later told police he had given Jackson -- 25 miligrams -- was small. She said she used more than twice that amount to sedate patients and questioned whether it would have knocked the singer out at all.

“I wouldn’t expect that to produce any levels of sedation,” she said.

If it did, she added, “[In] seven to 10 minutes, it would probably be worn off.”

A prosecutor questioned Cooper briefly about her dealings with the singer’s children, whom she went to see after she had pronounced Jackson dead the second time.

“They were crying. They were fairly hysterical,” she recalled.

Murray, 58, is charged with involuntary manslaughter.

He contends Jackson self-administered a lethal amount of propofol when he was out of the room.

If convicted, Murray faces a maximum of four years in prison and the loss of his medical license.



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No words!

CONRAD MURRAY
The Ties They Are a-Changin'


Conrad Murray finally pleaded The 5th ... for help with his wardrobe.

Just DAYS after a TMZ poll showed that Connie's ties gave off a GUILTY vibe ... the doc hit up Saks 5th Ave. in L.A. this weekend, and picked up a brand new neck piece.

Coincidence??? We think knot.

It appears Murray decided to stick with the color blue -- except his new tie is clearly BOLDER than the boring old thing he had been wearing. Good move?


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ER doc: Jackson physician never mentioned propofol
ANTHONY McCARTNEY, AP Entertainment Writer
Updated 02:44 p.m., Monday, October 3, 2011


LOS ANGELES (AP) — An emergency room physician told jurors Monday that Michael Jackson's doctor never mentioned that he had given the singer the powerful anesthetic propofol, but acknowledged the disclosure probably wouldn't have saved the King of Pop.

Dr. Richelle Cooper recounted her conversations with Dr. Conrad Murray on the day Jackson died, telling jurors that he told her that he had only given the singer the sedative lorazepam.

She said under defense questioning that had Murray mentioned the anesthetic, it probably wouldn't have allowed doctors to save Jackson's life because he was "clinically dead" by the time he arrived at the hospital.

Cooper resumed testifying Monday as Murray's involuntary manslaughter trial began its second week.

Murray, 58, has pleaded not guilty and his defense lawyers claim Jackson gave himself a fatal dose of sedatives and propofol, which is normally administered in hospital settings.

Authorities say Murray administered the fatal dose and acted recklessly by providing Jackson the drug as a sleep aid.

Cooper testified she never asked Murray to sign a death certificate because, by the time he was brought to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, Jackson became her patient.

"Mr. Jackson was my patient and I didn't really have an explanation for why he was dead," she said.

Cooper has previously testified she gave paramedics permission to pronounce Jackson dead, but that Murray wanted resuscitation efforts to continue at the hospital. She has said more than an hour of resuscitation efforts at the hospital did nothing to improve his condition.

Cooper also told jurors about trying to speak to Jackson's children after he was pronounced dead at the hospital at 2:26 p.m. on June 25, 2009.

"They were crying," Cooper said. "They were fairly hysterical."

Cooper is the 12th witness prosecutors have called so far in the trial, which is expected to last five weeks.

The physician's phone records are a central part of the prosecution case. Prosecutors intend to show records of Murray's phone calls and emails from the hours before Jackson's death to show that the singer had other things on his mind — getting his $150,000 a month deal to serve as Jackson's personal physician approved, running his medical practices and fielding calls from mistresses.

During a preliminary hearing, prosecutors showed that Murray was engaged in three phone calls in the hour before he emerged from Jackson's bedroom and frantically told a chef to seek help.

One of Murray's former patients, Las Vegas salesman Robert Russell, detailed one of those calls for jurors last week. Russell praised Murray in testimony, crediting the doctor with saving his life, but said he had grown distant after going to work for Jackson.

Russell said he called the physician's office seeking answers about his care on the day Jackson died. Murray returned the message at 11:49 a.m., roughly 15 minutes before telling Jackson's chef to call security and asking to speak to Jackson's eldest son, Prince.

Prosecutors on Monday began to bring Murray's phone records into the trial, having an AT&T representative detail his records for jurors. Later in the case, prosecutors will further detail calls and messages Murray fielded that day, including one the physician apparently made to his girlfriend as he rode in the back of the ambulance on the way to the hospital.

The exact order of witnesses is unclear. The judge overseeing the case imposed a gag order last week prohibiting either side or their spokespeople from talking about the case outside of court.


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Michael Jackson: Dr. Richelle Cooper testifies in Conrad Murray trial

The Conrad Murray trial will resume tomorrow, and Dr. Richelle Cooper will be on the witness stand again, since lawyers have not finished questioning her on the events of June 25, 2009. Michael Jackson was taken to the UCLA hospital, and Dr. Richelle Cooper was one of the doctors that tried to revive the performer. Cooper had a number of things to say in her testimony.

Things to point out from Dr. Cooper's testimony:

Conrad Murray never said he gave Michael Jackson any dose of propfol
Murray told Cooper that he witnessed Michael Jackson go into cardiac arrest, and that it was after he gave him two small doses of lorazepam which is a sedative
Dr. Cooper will be called again tomorrow as a witness, since questioning was not completed on Friday, September 30, 2011. There is likely to be a number of additional questions that will be asked of Dr. Cooper. There will also be a series of witnesses that will called to the stand this week, as the world watches the latest developments in the trial.

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ER doctor says Jackson physician never mentioned anesthetic dose after arriving at hospital
By Associated Press, Published: October 3

LOS ANGELES — Michael Jackson was clinically dead when he arrived at a hospital and two emergency room doctors said they thought it was futile to attempt to revive him. His doctor, however, insisted that they try.

Both doctors, testifying at Dr. Conrad Murray’s involuntary manslaughter trial Monday, said Murray failed to tell them that he had been giving Jackson the anesthetic propofol or when Jackson had been medicated or stopped breathing.

“He said he did not have any concept of time, that he did not have a watch,” said Dr. Thao Nguyen, a cardiologist at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, where Jackson was taken on June 25, 2009.

“Dr. Murray asked that we not give up easily and try to save Michael Jackson’s life,” she said. “...In Dr. Murray’s mind, if we called it quits, we would be giving up easily.”

Nguyen said Murray “sounded desperate and he looked devastated.” But, she said, without knowing how much time had passed since he stopped breathing, resuscitation was a remote hope.

“It was not too little too late,” she said. “It was a case of too late. I feared that time was not on Mr. Jackson’s side.”

Murray, 58, has pleaded not guilty. Authorities say Murray administered the fatal dose and acted recklessly by providing Jackson the drug as a sleep aid at his home when it is supposed to be administered in a hospital. The defense argues that Jackson gave himself an additional dose of the drug when Murray was out of the room.

Nguyen and Dr. Richelle Cooper, who oversaw Jackson’s care in the emergency room, said Murray never mentioned that he had given the singer the propofol. They said he told them that he had given two doses of lorazepam, also known as Ativan, trying to get him to sleep.

“Did he ever mention propofol to you?” Deputy District Attorney David Walgren asked Nguyen.

“Absolutely not,” she said in a firm voice.

Before leaving the stand, Nguyen said, “I’ve never heard of propofol being used outside of a hospital.”

She said at least three medical personnel, including an anesthesiologist, should be present when the drug is given. Walgren asked her: “Have you ever heard of propofol being used in someone’s private bedroom?”

Nguyen replied: “That would be a first. I’ve never heard of it.”

In cross-examination, defense attorney Michael Flanagan was able to get Cooper to say that, even if they had known about the propofol, they could not have saved Jackson’s life.

“Michael Jackson had died long before he became my patient,” she said. “It is unlikely with that information I could have done something that would have changed the outcome.”

She also said that the amount of propofol which Murray has since claimed he gave Jackson would not have put him to sleep and would have dissipated from his body in five to seven minutes.

Murray claimed he administered 25 milligrams. An autopsy showed that he died of an overdose of the drug.

Cooper said Jackson was “clinically dead” by the time he reached the hospital and she had advocated pronouncing him dead at his home when she received radio calls from paramedics describing his condition.

“Mr. Jackson was my patient and I didn’t really have an explanation of why he was dead. I knew it would be a coroner’s case,” she said and suggested he should have been pronounced dead at 12:57 p.m. when the radio call came in.

But she yielded to Murray and Jackson was brought to the emergency room where more than 14 people worked on the effort to revive him.

“My assessment when he arrived was he was clinically dead and given the time — it was about an hour — I thought the attempt at rescue would be futile,” Cooper said. She has said more than an hour of resuscitation efforts at the hospital did nothing to improve Jackson’s condition.

Cooper also told jurors about trying to speak to Jackson’s children after he was pronounced dead at the hospital at 2:26 p.m. “They were crying,” Cooper said. “They were fairly hysterical.”

Murray’s phone records are a central part of the prosecution case. Two staffers from cell phone providers identified records of his calls on the day of Jackson’s death.

Prosecutors intend to show records of Murray’s phone calls and emails from the hours before Jackson’s death to show that Murray had other things on his mind — getting his $150,000 a month deal to serve as Jackson’s personal physician approved, running his medical practices and fielding calls from mistresses.

One of Murray’s former patients, Las Vegas salesman Robert Russell, detailed one of those calls for jurors last week and the phone traced a call to his number.

Later in the case, prosecutors will further detail calls and messages Murray fielded that day, including several the physician apparently made to his girlfriend as he rode in the back of the ambulance on the way to the hospital.


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October 3, 2011
Doctor: MJ died before he even reached the hospital
Posted: 03:28 PM ET



Emergency room doctor Richelle Cooper testified Monday morning that Michael Jackson died long before he arrived at the emergency room and became her patient.

Dr. Cooper returned to the stand to continue her testimony regarding her treatment of Jackson at the emergency room of UCLA’s Medical Center.

The pop star's time of death was a major focus of her testimony and Dr. Cooper said she agreed with the decision to give paramedics permission to declare Jackson dead at 12:57 pm.

However, Jackson was not declared dead until 2:26 pm because of Dr. Conrad Murray's insistence that efforts to resuscitate him continue. Dr. Cooper continued those efforts even after she felt it was no longer necessary because of Dr. Murray's requests.


It's believed the defense wants to establish a timeline where Jackson was already dead earlier than it was recorded to help bolster their claim that he ingested the lethal dose of propofol by himself.

Dr. Cooper also testified that she thought it was unusual for Jackson to have a condom catheter. She said that's usually something you see with elderly, incontinent patients; not a reportedly healthy 50-year-old man.

She says she observed no change in Jackson's condition throughout the time he was in her care and also confirmed that Jackson's children were in the hospital and hysterical.

During cross-examination things became noticeably testy, as defense attorney Michael Flanagan further pressed asked Dr. Cooper on the decision to call a time of death and also about appropriate propofol dosages.

She said the 25 milligrams that Dr. Murray reportedly gave Jackson would not be enough to put a patient to sleep. About 150 mg of the drug is usually required for a patient Jackson's size.

Dr. Cooper said she has never used propofol outside of a hospital and she always has airway equipment in the room.

She acknowledged Dr. Murray never told her that Jackson had been given propofol, but says her treatment would not have changed even if she did have that information.

Dr. Murray’s story was that the pop star was dehydrated and went into cardiac arrest after being administered two doses of the sedative of lorazepam.

Complete coverage of the Conrad Murray trial live on HLN from gavel to gavel and on In Session from 9am to 3pm ET every week day.

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ER doctor says Jackson physician never mentioned anesthetic dose after arriving at hospital

By Associated Press, Published: October 3

LOS ANGELES — Michael Jackson was clinically dead when he arrived at a hospital and two emergency room doctors said they thought it was futile to attempt to revive him. His doctor, however, insisted that they try.

Both doctors, testifying at Dr. Conrad Murray’s involuntary manslaughter trial Monday, said Murray failed to tell them that he had been giving Jackson the anesthetic propofol or when Jackson had been medicated or stopped breathing.


“He said he did not have any concept of time, that he did not have a watch,” said Dr. Thao Nguyen, a cardiologist at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, where Jackson was taken on June 25, 2009.

“Dr. Murray asked that we not give up easily and try to save Michael Jackson’s life,” she said. “...In Dr. Murray’s mind, if we called it quits, we would be giving up easily.”

Nguyen said Murray “sounded desperate and he looked devastated.” But, she said, without knowing how much time had passed since he stopped breathing, resuscitation was a remote hope.

“It was not too little too late,” she said. “It was a case of too late. I feared that time was not on Mr. Jackson’s side.”

Murray, 58, has pleaded not guilty. Authorities say Murray administered the fatal dose and acted recklessly by providing Jackson the drug as a sleep aid at his home when it is supposed to be administered in a hospital. The defense argues that Jackson gave himself an additional dose of the drug when Murray was out of the room.

Nguyen and Dr. Richelle Cooper, who oversaw Jackson’s care in the emergency room, said Murray never mentioned that he had given the singer the propofol. They said he told them that he had given two doses of lorazepam, also known as Ativan, trying to get him to sleep.

“Did he ever mention propofol to you?” Deputy District Attorney David Walgren asked Nguyen.

“Absolutely not,” she said in a firm voice.

Before leaving the stand, Nguyen said, “I’ve never heard of propofol being used outside of a hospital.”

She said at least three medical personnel, including an anesthesiologist, should be present when the drug is given. Walgren asked her: “Have you ever heard of propofol being used in someone’s private bedroom?”

Nguyen replied: “That would be a first. I’ve never heard of it.”

In cross-examination, defense attorney Michael Flanagan was able to get Cooper to say that, even if they had known about the propofol, they could not have saved Jackson’s life.

“Michael Jackson had died long before he became my patient,” she said. “It is unlikely with that information I could have done something that would have changed the outcome.”

She also said that the amount of propofol which Murray has since claimed he gave Jackson would not have put him to sleep and would have dissipated from his body in five to seven minutes.

Murray claimed he administered 25 milligrams. An autopsy showed that he died of an overdose of the drug.

Cooper said Jackson was “clinically dead” by the time he reached the hospital and she had advocated pronouncing him dead at his home when she received radio calls from paramedics describing his condition.

“Mr. Jackson was my patient and I didn’t really have an explanation of why he was dead. I knew it would be a coroner’s case,” she said and suggested he should have been pronounced dead at 12:57 p.m. when the radio call came in.

But she yielded to Murray and Jackson was brought to the emergency room where more than 14 people worked on the effort to revive him.

“My assessment when he arrived was he was clinically dead and given the time — it was about an hour — I thought the attempt at rescue would be futile,” Cooper said. She has said more than an hour of resuscitation efforts at the hospital did nothing to improve Jackson’s condition.

Cooper also told jurors about trying to speak to Jackson’s children after he was pronounced dead at the hospital at 2:26 p.m. “They were crying,” Cooper said. “They were fairly hysterical.”

Murray’s phone records are a central part of the prosecution case. Two staffers from cell phone providers identified records of his calls on the day of Jackson’s death.

Prosecutors intend to show records of Murray’s phone calls and emails from the hours before Jackson’s death to show that Murray had other things on his mind — getting his $150,000 a month deal to serve as Jackson’s personal physician approved, running his medical practices and fielding calls from mistresses.

One of Murray’s former patients, Las Vegas salesman Robert Russell, detailed one of those calls for jurors last week and the phone traced a call to his number.

Later in the case, prosecutors will further detail calls and messages Murray fielded that day, including several the physician apparently made to his girlfriend as he rode in the back of the ambulance on the way to the hospital.

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Conrad Murray case: Drug that killed Jackson used only in hospital
October 3, 2011


A doctor who worked futilely to save Michael Jackson's life testified at the trial of his personal physician Monday that she had never heard of the surgical anesthetic that killed Jackson being used in a home setting.

Cardiologist Thao Nguyen said the drug, propofol, poses a severe danger to a patient's respiratory system and in her experience is used only in an operating room staffed with nurses, doctors, and heart and lung monitors.

Conrad Murray trial witnesses: Who's who

"Propofol does not have an antidote, so we have to prepare for the worst," Nguyen told jurors at the trial of Dr. Conrad Murray.

She was part of a 14-member team that tried to revive Jackson at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center on June 25, 2009. Murray, who rode in the ambulance with his famous patient, never told the hospital staff he had given Jackson propofol. He told Nguyen and another doctor who testified Monday that he had administered only small doses of a sedative to treat Jackson's exhaustion and dehydration.

Murray, 58, stands accused of involuntary manslaughter and faces a maximum of four years if convicted. He contends that Jackson self-administered the fatal dose when he stepped out of the room.


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Michael Jackson's Fingerprints Not On Any Propofol Bottles

By Jen Heger
Radar Legal Editor

As Dr. Conrad Murray's involuntary manslaughter trial enters its second week, RadarOnline.com has exclusively learned that Michael Jackson's fingerprints were not found on any of the Propofol bottles.

Dr. Murray's lawyers contend that when the Houston-based cardiologist left the King of Pop briefly on the morning of June 25, 2009, he grabbed a bottle of the drug, ingested it, and then subsequently died.

Dr. Murray's attorney Ed Chernoff told the jury during opening statements that Jackson self-administered an extra dose of Propofol and Lorazepam creating "a perfect storm in his body, that killed him instantly...there was no CPR, nor doctor, no paramedic, no machine that was going to revive Michael Jackson. He died so rapidly, so instantly, he didn't even have time to close his eyes."

PHOTOS: Key Players Of The Conrad Murray Trial

The defense might have a hard time convincing the jury of this, since there were no fingerprints of Jackson's found on any of the Propofol bottles. "Plain and simply, the Los Angeles Police Department didn't find any fingerprints of Michael Jackson's on ANY Propofol bottles or the Lorazepam bottles. There were no partial fingerprints of Michael's or any unknown prints on the medication bottles," a source close to the situation tells us.

It was a blistering week for Dr. Murray's defense team, as two paramedics, and the attending emergency room doctor all testified that at no point did Dr. Murray ever reveal that he had given Jackson Propofol. The first paramedic on the scene, Richard Senneff said that after Jackson was loaded into the ambulance, he went back up to the bedroom to quickly retrieve some medical equipment. The medic told the jury he saw Murray putting lidocaine vials into a bag.

The Jackson Family Arrive at Dr. Conrad Murray's Trial **

Paramedic Martin Blount also took the stand and testified that when he arrived at Jackson's house, Dr. Murray appeared "agitated" and asked "for help."

Dr. Richelle Cooper, the emergency room doctor at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, who treated Jackson, told jurors on Friday that he was "clinically dead" on arrival. She will resume her testimony on Monday morning.

RadarOnline.com will continue live streaming the trial, starting at 8:45am PT today.


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ER Doctor Says Murray ‘Sounded Desperate’ and ‘Looked Devastated’

The cardiologist called to UCLA Medical Center’s emergency room when Michael Jackson was admitted to the hospital June 25, 2009, testified today that Dr. Conrad Murray, on trial for Jackson’s death, “sounded desperate” and “looked devastated” in the hospital.



Dr. Thao Nguyen said Murray said to her and other doctors, “Do not give up easily. Please try to save his life.”
Nguyen said she was called to the emergency room when she received a page saying that a VIP patient, Michael Jackson, had been admitted to the hospital.
“By the time I came down, the patient appeared lifeless,” Nguyen said. “I couldn’t find a pulse. My attending couldn’t find a pulse.”
But Murray told Nguyen’s attending physician that he had detected a pulse so, acting in “good faith,” Nguyen said, she and her team continued to attempt to resuscitate Jackson. They made an agreement with Murray that if another attempt and resuscitation efforts with a balloon pump proved futile, she said, they would pronounce him dead. The procedure was unsuccessful and Jackson was pronounced dead.
Nguyen also testified that when she began to ask Murray questions he was not able to tell her the time Jackson stopped breathing, when medication was administered to him that day or the interval of time between the two events.
“He said he did not have any concept of time,” Nguyen told the court. “He did not have a watch.”
She added that when she “specifically asked” Murray if Jackson had taken any other sedatives or narcotics, “his reply was negative.”
Murray asked both Nguyen and her attending doctor “that we not give up easily and try to save Michael Jackson’s life,” Nguyen said.
“In Dr. Murray’s mind, if we called it quits at that time, it would be giving up easily,” Nguyen said. “[It's] not a case of too little, too late. It seems like a case of too late.”
Earlier in the day, an emergency room doctor who attempted to resuscitate Michael Jackson the night he died said that even if Dr. Conrad Murray had told her Jackson had taken the drug propofol, it would not have changed her treatment.
“Had Dr. Murray told you he had given 25 mg of propofol at 10:30, would it have altered your treatment of Michael Jackson?” asked defense attorney Michael Flanagan at the second week of Murray’s trial for involuntary manslaughter in Jackson’s overdose death on June 25, 2009.
“No,” answered the doctor, Richelle Cooper, who was on duty at UCLA Medical Center’s emergency room the night Jackson died.
“Would that have altered the result that happened to Michael Jackson?” Flanagan asked.
“As I said, Mr. Jackson died long before he became my patient,” Cooper answered. “Knowing more, it’s still unlikely I could have done something different to him.”
Murray told Cooper that he was treating the singer for dehydration and that Jackson had no history of health problems, witnesses have testified.
On Friday, Cooper and paramedics who responded to an apparently lifeless Michael Jackson said Murray did not tell them that Jackson was taking the powerful anesthetic propofol to sleep.
Murray told Cooper that the only medications that Jackson took regularly were valium, an anti-anxiety medication, and Flomax, which is used to treat an enlarged prostate or someone suffering from a kidney stone, according to testimony at the trial.
Murray’s defense team now admits that Murray gave Jackson 25 mg of the creamy anesthetic propofol but argues that Jackson himself took an additional dose of propofol and a sedative without his doctor’s knowledge, leading to his death. Propofol is typically administered in a hospital setting.
Cooper testified today that in a routine administration of propfol, or any sedative, she would have an additional person in the room as a monitor to keep track of the patient’s vital signs.
Cooper did not recall Murray’s demeanor on the day of Jackson’s death or whether he was particularly “frantic,” as Flanagan suggested.
“I recall speaking to him, and I assumed when I was speaking to him [that] I was getting honest and truthful answers,” Cooper said.
Cooper declared Jackson dead after an hour and 13 minutes of attempted resuscitation “failed and seemed to be futile.”
The fifth day of the trial marked the first time that Jackson’s parents, Katherine and Joe Jackson, and his sister LaToya were not in court. Katherine Jackson reportedly left Los Angeles over the weekend with Michael Jackson’s three children to attend the Canadian premiere of Cirque du Soleil’s new show, “Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour.”
Michael Jackson siblings Janet, Randy, Rebe and Jermaine, and Jermaine’s wife, were in the courtroom today.
Also expected to testifying were three of Murray’s girlfriends, including Sade Anding, who spoke to Murray on the phone right before Jackson’s death.
A coroner ruled that Jackson died of “acute propofol intoxication” in combination with sedatives.
Prosecutors argue that Murray is criminally responsible for Jackson’s death for administering propfol, a surgical anesthetic, to help Jackson sleep. They are accusing Murray of medical negligence and reckless use of the drug.
The defense argues that Jackson caused his own death by taking eight pills of lorazepam and orally taking propofol while Murray was out of the room.
Murray is charged with involuntary manslaughter and faces up to four years in prison if convicted.


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