Conrad Murray Trial Week 2: Day 4 Witness testimonies
Friday, October 7, 2011
, Posted by KizzDaLipz at 6:22 PM
Dan Anderson, continuing his testimony from yesterday, confirmed under-cross examination that toxicology tests quickly raised red flags about propofol.
Defense attorney J. Michael Flanagan questioned Anderson, “You came tο a quick judgment that propofol was the most vital drug in this case?”
“Yes I dіd,” Anderson answered.
"Did you think that (the medication) lorazepam was not significant in this matter?" Flanagan asked.
"I think it has its importance, but it's not the red flag that caught my eye," Anderson said.
Flanagan pressed Anderson, suggesting that there were high levels of lorazepam in Jackson's system.
"Actually, that's not what my testimony states," Anderson responded. "I said they're within therapeutic range."
"Well, the propofol is within therapeutic range also, isn't it?" Flanagan asked.
"That's not what I said either," Anderson said. "I said it's within a therapeutic range in a proper setting. This is not a proper setting."
On thе stand Thursday, Anderson tοld thе seven-man, five-woman jury thаt toxicology tests detected seven drugs іn Jackson’s system, counting propofol.
Thе οthеr drugs wеrе lidocaine, diazepam (Valium), nordiazepam (a metabolite οf Valium), lorazepam (Ativan), midazolam (Versed) аnd ephedrine, hе ѕаіd.
Propofol аnd lidocaine wеrе detected іn a syringe collected frοm a table near Jackson’s bed, whіlе propofol, lidocaine аnd flumazenil wеrе detected іn a additional syringe аnd IV tubing collected frοm thе singer’s bedroom four days аftеr hіѕ death, Anderson testified.
Hе ѕаіd thе coroner’s office dіd nοt quantify thе amount οf propofol іn thе syringe аnd IV tubing, noting under cross-examination thаt hе сουld nοt determine proportions οf thе propofol, lidocaine аnd flumazenil.
Propofol thаt wаѕ detected іn a bottle οf urine retrieved frοm Jackson’s bedroom сουld hаνе bееn recent οr сουld hаνе bееn frοm a couple days before, Anderson ѕаіd, noting thаt hе dіd nοt even know іf іt hаd bееn collected frοm Jackson. Hе ѕаіd hе аlѕο сουld nοt tеll іf thе lorazepam hаd bееn injected οr taken іn a pill form аnd hοw long іt hаd bееn taken before Jackson died.
Under questioning bу thе prosecutor, Anderson ѕаіd thеrе wеrе nο positive test consequences fοr Demerol іn Jackson.
In hіѕ opening statement last week, attorney Edward Chernoff tοld jurors thаt раrt οf Jackson’s inability tο sleep сουld bе blamed οn Dr. Arnold Klein, a Beverly Hills dermatologist whο evenly treated thе entertainer аnd gave hіm shots οf thе pain killer Demerol, tο whісh thе singer became addicted.“That’s not what I said either,” Anderson said. “I said it’s within a remedial range іn a proper background. This is not a proper background.”
Anderson said that in his experience “drug levels can be detected in the stomach that were not given orally.”
Pressed by defense attorney J. Michael Flanagan to explain given the specific properties of lorazepam, the witness demurred, saying he preferred “to leave it to the many experts who are going to march up here after me.”
Flanagan persevered, pressing Anderson on details including the absorption time of lorazepam and whether it was subject to “postmortem redistribution.”
Flanagan, however, was less successful in trying to rattle Anderson who told the lawyer several times he was uncomfortable offering opinions.
“I personally would rather leave this to a pharmacologist who would be coming,” he said.
On Friday, jurors finally got to hear from the doc himself... in what's considered one of the most important pieces of evidence in the trial.
Detective Scott Smith introduced a two-hour audio recording of an interview he conducted with Murray,in which the doctor admitted to giving propofol to Michael Jackson on the morning of his death.
As Los Angeles Police Department detective Scott Smith -- who was present for the interview -- sat on the stand, the court heard a snippet of the interview, which took place at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Marina del Rey on June 27, 2009, two days after Jackson's death.
In the first few minutes of the tape, Murray's defense attorney, Ed Chernoff, stressed that he wished to keep the contents of the interview out of the media.
Smith attempted to reassure Chernoff, telling him, "I hope you understand that none of the circus that's been going on has been coming from us."
In the interview, Murray told police that he first attended to Jackson in 2006, on the recommendation of the son of one of his patients, who was on Jackson's security detail. Murray was called in due to a flu that was affecting Jackson and his family.
After treating Jackson on and off for a few years, Murray said, he was called by the singer about two months before his death, to attend to him during a string of upcoming comeback concerts in London. Murray noted that, while Jackson hired him, he later learned that he was to be paid by concert promoter AEG.
Murray then walked the detectives through the treatments he gave the singer on the day he died, including doses of the sedatives lorazepam and Versed.
Jackson remained awake for hours after returning home around 1 a.m. on June 25, 2009 following rehearsals for a series of comeback concerts. "It was 4 o'clock in the morning, and then he complained," Murray said. "'I've got to sleep, Dr. Conrad. I have these rehearsals to perform.'"
In a calm, slightly accented voice, Murray told detectives that the singer remained awake and continued to complain about his lack of sleep. It was then, Murray said, he gave Jackson a small amount of propofol. (The singer was determined to have died from "acute propofol intoxication." Lethal levels of the anesthetic were found in his body.)
All this, despite earlier testimony from paramedics responding to the 911 call at Jackson's house, and the attending physician at UCLA Medical Center, that Murray didn't mention propofol when asked what drugs Jackson had been given.
After Jackson was "asleep," Murray stated he went to the bathroom for two minutes. When he returned, the doctor claimed he was "surprised" to see that Jackson had stopped breathing.
Throughout the recording, Murray never mentioned that he was on the phone with friends on the day of Jackson's death. Witness Sade Anding testified earlier in the week that she was on the phone with Murray around the time Jackson died.
Murray claimed that after finding Jackson unresponsive, he gave the singer flumazenil, a drug designed to reverse the effects of benzodiazepines. (There is no antidote for propofol.)
Throughout the interview, Murray said that he did not call 911 because because Jackson did not have a land-line in his home. Murray had two cellphones on him on the morning of June 25, 2009, which he used to call Jackson's personal assistant, Michael Amir Williams, after finding the singer in his bed, not breathing.
Murray then told detectives that he didn't call 911 because, while he knew Jackson's home address, he did not know the zip-code.
"To speak to a 911 operator would be to neglect [Jackson]," he said.
According to Murray, he "took all precautions that were available" in dosing Jackson — keeping oxygen and a pulse monitoring machine nearby — and had been trying to "wean" Jackson from propofol in the three days before his death. (LOL yeah, your pulse ox with no alarm -- making it utterly useless -- and the oxygen tank with no oxygen! Just brilliant. By the way, how does one "wean" a person off of anesthesia? It is not addictive, doesn't create a physical dependence or tolerance, etc.)
Prosecutors contend that Murray was reckless by giving Jackson propofol outside a hospital setting and without the proper monitoring equipment. Defense attorneys say Jackson gave himself the lethal dose after Murray left the room. Murray has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter. If convicted, he could face up to four years behind bars and the loss of his medical license.
During the two-hour interview, Murray also claimed that Jackson had received propofol as a sleep-aid from a Las Vegas physician, Dr. David Adams, who came to Murray's office and put Jackson to sleep for hours with the anesthetic. Adams is slated to testify later in the trial.
Adams' lawyer, Liborius Agwara, appeared on HLN Friday evening to state that his client was "furious" with Murray's claims and intended to sue him. Adams previously said that he'd only administered propofol to Jackson to assist a dental surgeon in 2008, in a controlled, medical setting.
"My client has put many people to sleep and they all woke up" Agwara stated!
Jurors are expected to hear the remaining audio bits of Murray's interview when the trial resumes on Tuesday morning.
Currently have 0 comments: