An attorney for Dr. Conrad Robert Murray, a cardiologist who was with Michael Jackson when he died, appeared on CNN last night to respond to questions surrounding his client's bizarre behavior in the hours before and after Jackson's death.
Murray's attorney, Edward Chernoff, told CNN that the delay in calling paramedics after Jackson was found unconscious was due to all the landlines in Jackson's rented Holmby Hills mansion being "shut down" for "privacy reasons," and Murray didn't use his cell phone because he didn't know Jackson's address.
Chernoff claims Murray scrambled around for 30 minutes searching for a working phone after finding Jackson unconscious with a weak pulse in his bedroom.
Chernoff claims Murray called out for help but got no response from security. After 30 minutes, Murray raced downstairs and asked the chef to call 911. "This entire time, with the exception of him running downstairs, he was performing CPR on Michael Jackson," Edward Chernoff, the lawyer, told CNN.
When asked why Murray performed CPR on Jackson while the King of Pop lay in bed rather than on a hard surface such as the floor, Chernoff responded the bed "was firm."
Hospital beds are firm as well. But medical personnel are trained to use either a solid surface such as a back board or the removable head board of the hospital bed.
Jackson's family members told TMZ.com that Murray injected Jackson with Demerol at 11:30am about an hour before paramedics were called. But Murray denies injecting Jackson with Demerol.
Jackson's toxicology results should be back by now. Blood test results are usually available within a week or less, especially if the tests are expedited. The toxicology report can take 4-6 weeks.
If the test results are in, the coroner's office has a better idea which medications were in Jackson's system when he died.
This could explain why the L.A. police returned to Jackson's rented home on Monday (6/29) in search of more medications and evidence. The police probably carried a list of medications provided to them by the coroner's office.
If those meds aren't found in the home then it can be assumed that the doctor spent those 30 minutes or so "cleaning up" the scene prior to calling paramedics.
