Dr Conrad Murray finally came to a decision about whether he will take the witness stand or not in his trial.
He told the judge, whilst the jury was out of the room, that he would not testify.
At which point the defence rested its case and
the prosecution, after presenting brief rebuttal testimony, closed its
presentation of evidence.
Defence and prosecution will now prepare and present their closing arguments.
Showing posts with label drugs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label drugs. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 02, 2011
Tuesday, November 01, 2011
Doctors Disagree
Dr Paul White continued his testimony at the trail of Dr Conrad Murray, and told the court that he believed that Michael Jackson took the anaesthetic Propofol by rapidly injecting it.
Dr White thought it was possible that Jackson had got out of bed, even though he was attached to a saline IV and a urine collection device, found a syringe with 25mg of Propofol in it, got back in to bed, and administered it to himself.
Dr Shafer, his friend and colleague, dismissed the theory as a "crazy scenario", noting that Jackson would have to have injected himself several times to achieve such high levels of propofol in his body.
Dr White, for his part, said that he would not have accepted a job that involved administering Propofol in a non medical setting.
Dr Murray is considering whether he will take the stand himself.
The trial continues.
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Jackson Self Administered Drug
Dr Paul White, an anaesthesiologist, gave testimony at the trial of Dr Conrad Murray yesterday. He stated that, in his opinion, Michael Jackson injected himself with a dose of propofol after an initial dose provided by Dr Murray had worn off.
He also stated that Jackson had self administered a dose of lorazepam (a tranquilliser).
The combination of the two drugs had lethal consequences.
Dr White gave a demonstration of how propofol could have entered Jackson's veins, in the small dose (25mg) that Dr Murray claimed that he had given Jackson. Such a dosage, according to Dr White, would have only had an effect on Jackson for around 10-15 minutes. Hence Jackson's "need/desire" to administer another dose.
The trial continues.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Drug Dependency
Dr Robert Waldman, a drug addiction specialist, has given testimony at the trial of Dr Conrad Murray.
He stated that despite the fact that Michael Jackson was getting large regular shots of the painkiller Demerol (for his botox treatment), in the months before his death, he could not state unequivocally that Jackson was addicted to painkillers.
Dr Murray's defence team contend that Jackson was addicted to various drugs, and that he engaged in "doctor shopping". They argue that Dr Murray was unaware that Jackson was getting shots of the addictive painkiller Demerol from Dr Arnold Klein. Ironically Demerol would have negated Dr Murray's treatment for Jackson's sleep disorder.
The trial continues.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Jackson Asked For Drug
Cherilyn Lee, a nurse, gave testimony at the trial of Dr Conrad Murray.
She tearfully stated that she had warned Michael Jackson against using propofol.
"He was sitting very close to me.
He looked at me and said, 'I have a lot of difficulty sleeping. I've tried a lot of things and I need something that will make me fall asleep right away.
I need Dipravan."
The trial continues.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Prosecution Rests
The prosecution in the trial of Dr Conrad Murray is now resting. Dr Murray's defence team are now in the "driving seat".
Yesterday Dr Murray's lawyer, Ed Chernoff, challenged Dr Steven Shafer's theory that there was no way that Michael Jackson could have killed himself by self administering Lorazepam and propofol.
Dr Shafer stuck to his guns, and reittereated that in his view it was not possible that Jackson killed himself.
Alex Supall, who visited Jackson's home the evening after his death, discussed the security and surveillance systems set up at Jackson's home. The defence asked Mr Supall why he had only submitted a few minutes of footage to the investigation. The rationale apparently being that Mr Supall had copied Jackson's arrival in order to establish a timeline for his return home.
The trial continues.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Defence Question Dr Shafer
Dr Conrad Murray's defence lawyer, Ed Chernoff, cross-examined Dr Steven Shafer in court.
Mr Chernoff questioned Dr Shafer's contention that Michael Jackson had been hooked up to an IV drip of the anesthetic propofol, and was then left alone by Dr Conrad Murray.
"That's a bold claim, isn't it?" Mr Chernoff asked.
Dr Shafer replied:
"It's an honest statement."
Mr Chernoff went on to suggest that Dr Shafer had drawn conclusions that were not necessarily supported by the evidence. Mr Chernoff said the type of IV line that Dr Shafer used in a demonstration for the jury was never found at Jackson's house.
Mr Chernoff questioned Dr Shafer's contention that Michael Jackson had been hooked up to an IV drip of the anesthetic propofol, and was then left alone by Dr Conrad Murray.
"That's a bold claim, isn't it?" Mr Chernoff asked.
Dr Shafer replied:
"It's an honest statement."
Mr Chernoff went on to suggest that Dr Shafer had drawn conclusions that were not necessarily supported by the evidence. Mr Chernoff said the type of IV line that Dr Shafer used in a demonstration for the jury was never found at Jackson's house.
Friday, October 21, 2011
Crazy!
Dr Steven Shafer continued to give evidence at the trail of Dr Conrad Muraay yesterday.
He told the court that Michael Jackson was so
heavily sedated shortly before he died, that he could not have
possibly self-administered an additional, lethal dose of propofol.
He dismissed suggestions by the defence that Jackson self administered the drug as "crazy".
Dr Shafer also suggested that Dr Murray gave Jackson 100ml of propofol, a much larger amount than the 25ml Dr Murray claims that he administered.
Quote:
"This fits all of the data in this case and I am not aware of a single piece of data that is inconsistent with this explanation."
The trial continues.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
"Clueless" in "Never-Never Land"
The trial of Dr Conrad Murray has resumed, and Dr Steven Shafer has returned to the witness box.
In Dr Shafer's view Dr Murray made 17 flagrant violations when administering propofol to Michael Jackson. Dr Shafer told the court that the drug should never be used to treat insomnia, and Dr Conrad Murray's negligence was directly responsible for Jackson's death.
He went on to castigate Dr Murray as being "clueless" about the drug.
Dr Shafer sated that Dr Murray did not know how to respond when Jackson stopped breathing, and was dumbfounded by the delay in calling 911:
"I almost don't know what to say. That is so completely and utterly inexcusable."
Wrt using propofol as a sleeping aid, Dr Shafer said caustically:
"We are in pharmacological never-never land here, something that was done to Michael Jackson and no one else in history to my knowledge..
A competent doctor would know you do not do this."
The trial continues.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Further Delay To Trial
The trial of Dr Conrad Murray has been put on
hold at least until Wednesday, in order to give defence council the time to study new lab
test results wrt the contents of Michael Jackson's stomach.
The prosecution contends that the results show that that Jackson did not orally ingest a fatal overdose of lorazepam (a sedative).
The Los Angeles County coroner tested Jackson's stomach contents for lorazepam last Wednesday, at the request of the prosecution.
The defence have contended that Jackson orally ingested 8 tablets on the day he died.
The trial will resume, at the earliest on Wednesday.
The prosecution contends that the results show that that Jackson did not orally ingest a fatal overdose of lorazepam (a sedative).
The Los Angeles County coroner tested Jackson's stomach contents for lorazepam last Wednesday, at the request of the prosecution.
The defence have contended that Jackson orally ingested 8 tablets on the day he died.
The trial will resume, at the earliest on Wednesday.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Recipe For Disaster
Dr Nader Kamangar, an intensive care doctor, has given testimony at the trial of Dr Conrad Murray. He stated that in his view Michael Jackson was receiving:
"very inappropriate therapy in the home setting, inappropriate sedatives...without appropriate monitoring by Dr Murray.
Ultimately this cocktail was a recipe for disaster in a patient that had underlying dehydration."
Dr Murray's defence lawyer, J Michael Flanagan, retorted that just because there was no record of Dr Murray charting Jackson's vital signs, that did not necessarily mean that Dr Murray did not obtain the information.
However, as Dr Kamangar noted:
"In medicine, it is essential, we cannot take care of patients if we store it in our minds, we have to document things. It allows us to take better care of patients."
The trial continues.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Six Extreme Deviations
Dr Alon Steinberg, a cardiologist, has given testimony at the trial of Dr Conrad Murray in which he claimed that Michael Jackson could still be alive if six 'extreme deviations' in his treatment had been avoided.
He went on to list six flaws in Conrad Murray's treatment.
Dr Murray, according to Dr Steinberg:
1 Should not have used Propofol.
2 Should not have given Jackson Propofol in a home without proper equipment, medical personnel or back-up.
3 Did not make sufficient preparations in case of an emergency.
4 Botched Jackson's care after his breathing stopped, 'inexcusably' giving CPR with one hand on a bed.
5 Took too long to call 911.
6 Failed to keep any medical records on Jackson to help treat him in an emergency.
The trial continues.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Jackson Healthier Than The Average Person
Dr Christopher Rogers, who conducted the autopsy on Michael Jackson, told the court hearing the trail of Dr Conrad Murray that Jackson was "healthier than the average person his age."
Dr Rogers was of the view that it was unreasonable that Jackson could have given himself a fatal dose of propofol. He went on to state that, in his view, Dr Murray overdosed Jackson when he incorrectly estimated how much of the drug he was giving him to induce sleep to fight insomnia.
The trial continues.
Dr Rogers was of the view that it was unreasonable that Jackson could have given himself a fatal dose of propofol. He went on to state that, in his view, Dr Murray overdosed Jackson when he incorrectly estimated how much of the drug he was giving him to induce sleep to fight insomnia.
The trial continues.
Friday, October 07, 2011
Riddled With Drugs
Dr Dan Anderson, the LA coroner's toxicologist, has testified at the trial of Dr Conrad Murray and stated that he detected significant amounts of the drugs propofol, lidocaine and lorazepam in Michael Jackson's body.
Dr Anderson took eight specimens, including samples from the heart,
liver, stomach and urine; all of which showed significant amounts of
sedatives and propofol.
However, the coroner's investigator Elissa Fleak (who went through Jackson's bedroom after his death) was savaged by Dr Murray's lawyer, Ed Chernoff, who asked:
"Would you agree with me that you made a substantial number of mistakes in your investigation?''
Ms Fleak, whilst denying that, did admit to the fact that her original hand-written notes were destroyed when they were transferred into an official report (this being the norm).
Mr Chernoff questioned Ms Fleak on her assertion that a bottle of propofol was found inside an IV bag, because Ms Fleak admitted that in her original notes she did not mention finding the propofol bottle inside the IV bag.
However, she strenuously denied suggestions that she had changed her findings to make them fit in with another witness.
However, the coroner's investigator Elissa Fleak (who went through Jackson's bedroom after his death) was savaged by Dr Murray's lawyer, Ed Chernoff, who asked:
"Would you agree with me that you made a substantial number of mistakes in your investigation?''
Ms Fleak, whilst denying that, did admit to the fact that her original hand-written notes were destroyed when they were transferred into an official report (this being the norm).
Mr Chernoff questioned Ms Fleak on her assertion that a bottle of propofol was found inside an IV bag, because Ms Fleak admitted that in her original notes she did not mention finding the propofol bottle inside the IV bag.
However, she strenuously denied suggestions that she had changed her findings to make them fit in with another witness.
Dr Murray's defence team claim that Jackson took the final extra, fatal dose of the drug once Dr Murray was out of the room.
The trial continues.
Thursday, October 06, 2011
Michael Jackson's Phone Call
During yesterday's hearing, at the trial of Dr Conrad Murray, the court were played the full tape recording made by Dr Murray of Jackson's drug addled phone call to the doctor made on 10 May 2009.
The four minute audio recording was found on Dr Murray's mobile phone by Stephen Marx, a forensic digital expert.
Quite why Dr Murray made the recording is open to speculation.
Mr Marx testified that he retrieved another recording from Dr Murray's phone, along with other files that showed the doctor busy emailing, texting and dealing with messages about insurance for Jackson's concerts.
Why would a doctor be involved in administration tasks such as this?
The trial continues.
Wednesday, October 05, 2011
Four Gallons - "Maintaining My Instrument"
Nicole Alvarez, Dr Conrad Murray's girlfriend, has told the jury at the trial of Dr Murray that she received packages from a pharmacy (on behalf of Dr Murray) but that she did not know what they were.
Prosecutors told jurors last week that Murray received 255 propofol vials (4 gallons) at the apartment of Alvarez.
"I do remember receiving shipments ... every now and then." Alvarez (who does not come across as the "brightest pebble" on the beach) said.
Tim Lopez, the former owner of Applied Pharmacy in Las Vegas, told the court that he sent 255 vials of propofol by express delivery to the Santa Monica apartment after Murray told him it was the address for his medical office in California.
The prosecution also claim that Dr Murray called/texted various women (including Alvarez) in the short time leading up to Jackson's death and after it.
The trial continues.
Tuesday, October 04, 2011
Dead on Arrival
As the trial of Dr Conrad Murray resumed this week, Dr Richelle Cooper told jurors that Dr Murray never mentioned that he had given Michael Jackson propofol.
She went on to say that she never asked Dr Murray to sign a death certificate because Jackson, once inside Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, became her patient. She stated that despite giving paramedics permission to pronounce Jackson dead, Dr Murray wanted resuscitation efforts to continue.
Dr Thao Nguyen, the hospital cardiologist who was on call the day Jackson died, said that she had asked Dr Murray whether Jackson had any drugs in his system. Murray said that Jackson had been given lorazepam, but did not mention any other drugs.
Dr Nguyen said:
"I asked whether there were other narcotics or sedatives besides adovan [lorazepam] that was given.
Nothing else. In that idea, like no other drugs."
The trial continues.
The trial continues.
Saturday, October 01, 2011
Details Missing
Doctor Richelle Cooper, trauma doctor at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Centre in Los Angeles, appeared as a witness at the trial of Dr Conrad Murray yesterday.
She stated that when Michael Jackson arrived at the hospital in an ambulance with Dr Murray, that she asked Dr Murray a number of questions including what medications Jackson had taken.
Dr Murray replied that he had administered only two 2mg doses of lorazepam (commonly used tranquiliser).
Dr Murray went to to speculate to Dr Cooper that the cause of Jackson's heart failure may have been dehydration, caused by overwork. Dr Murray did not mention that he had given Jackson the anaesthetic propofol, later found to have been the cause of Jackson’s death.
Dr Cooper told the court that, when Jackson arrived in the ambulance:
“He was clinically dead. He did not have a pulse.”
Prosecutors claim that there was a gap of at least 20 minutes between the time Dr Murray noticed that his patient was unresponsive, and calling the emergency services.
It is alleged by the prosecution that Dr Murray used that time to cover up what drugs he had been giving Jackson.
Richard Senneff, the paramedic dispatched to the Jackson mansion, also cast doubt on Dr Murray's openness with medical personnel at the time of Jackson's death.
Mr Senneff asked Dr Murray in Jackson's bedroom what condition Jackson had.
"He said, 'Nothing. He has nothing'."
The trial continues.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Day Two of Dr Conrad Murray's Trial
Michael Jackson’s personal assistant, Michael Amir Williams, was in court yesterday to testify on the second day of the trial of Dr Conrad Murray.
Mr Williams said that he first became aware there was a problem when Dr Murray rang him, frantically asking him to come to Jackson’s home. Dr Murray allegedly told him that Jackson had suffered a “bad reaction”, and that immediate help was needed.
However, Dr Murray did not ask Mr Williams to call 911.
Mr Williams described the scene in Jackson's bedroom, seeing Jackson's feet near the side of the bed on the ground.
Dr Murray was administering CPR, and appeared to be very nervous; Jackson appeared to be dead.
Dr Murray then asked Jackson's bodyguards if they knew CPR.
Later, in hospital, Mr Williams stated that Dr Murray approached him in a hallway of UCLA hospital just after Jackson was pronounced dead and allegedly said that there was some cream in Jackson's room that he wouldn’t want the world to know about.
Dr Murray then allegedly asked Mr Williams to drive him back to the house to get it.
Mr Williams refused.
He went on to testify that he Jackson’s bodyguard, Faheem Muhammed, not to let Dr Murray back into the house.
The trial continues.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
The "Perfect Storm"
The trial of Dr Conrad Murray, accused of involuntary manslaughter over Michael Jackson's sudden death in June 2009, has now begun.
Sadly, but not surprisingly, it has turned into something of a circus as fans of Jackson, a Jackson impersonator and detractors of Dr Murray thronged the pavements outside Los Angeles Superior Court.
The prosecution allege that Jackson was killed by Dr Murray's (on a monthly retainer of $150K); negligence. They showed a video of Jackson rehearsing less than 24 hours before he died, and then a photo of his dead body on a mortuary trolley.
Additionally, a voice recording of Jackson clearly under the influence of drugs, from May 2009, was also played to the jury.
The prosecution allege that Dr Murray gave Jackson the powerful anaesthetic propofol, as a sleep aid at the singer's Los Angeles mansion in June 2009, but then failed to monitor him.
The defence contend that Jackson self administered a variety of drugs (eg very high doses of Lorazepam) to such an extent that he created the "perfect storm" of drugs in his body.
In the US some are questioning the prosecution's "shock tactics", as members of the Jackson family and members of the jury were clearly distressed in court.
The trial continues.
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