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Opening Statements to Begin in Conrad Murray Trial; Boosting Pay to Boost Economy; Amanda Knox Fights Murder Conviction

Aired September 27, 2011 - 11:59   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: It is top of the hour. I'm Martin Savidge. Let's get you up to speed.

We expect opening statements to begin any minute now in the Los Angeles trial of Dr. Conrad Murray. He is charged in the death of superstar Michael Jackson. The singer died from an overdose of anesthesia and other drugs in 2009.

We want to go to our Ted Rowlands, who is outside the courtroom now with some developments -- Ted.

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Martin, already a little drama here, security drama this morning.

Dr. Conrad Murray was not brought in the main entrance here. We saw the Jackson family come in here. This is where all the fans are. He was brought in an underground entrance to the courthouse.

But when he arrived on the ninth floor, where the proceedings are taking place, members of the public are allowed up there. They are -- they go through a metal detector, et cetera. But a woman apparently ran at the doctor as he was walking down the hall.

Sheriff's deputies were able to get in between this woman and Dr. Murray and escort her out. We don't know what her motivation was, but already a little bit of drama in what could be a potential security nightmare, holding this trial in downtown Los Angeles with so much emotion outside and inside this courtroom.

SAVIDGE: And how well, aside from that, have the crowds been behaving as far as the lead-up to the first day?

ROWLANDS: Yes, there's chanting against some pro-Murray people here, and a lot of folks that are against Dr. Murray, pro-Jackson supporters, if you will. So they are out here yelling back and forth at each other. We haven't seen anything bubble up to something that would be a concern at this point, but a lot of emotion.

And, of course, for law enforcement, that's the worst-case scenario, when you interject emotion into a scene like this where people are going face to face. So, nothing significant out here, but security extremely high.

SAVIDGE: And that's outside. What about inside? What do we expect to hear from both sides today as it begins? ROWLANDS: Well, we expect the prosecution to come right out and basically lay out their case that Dr. Murray caused Michael Jackson's death because of the care or lack of that he gave him. And specifically, they'll argue that he was giving Michael Jackson Propofol, which is an anesthetic normally used in a hospital setting, and he had no business giving it to him, and that's what killed Michael Jackson.

The defense will then get up and try to spin it a different way, saying that Michael Jackson was a friend of Dr. Murray, and when Dr. Murray came on board to be his personal physician, he had no idea that he was addicted to this Propofol, and his goal was to stand by his side and help him wean off of this, and eventually help his friend beat this addiction. That was his motivation for staying, because the big question people would have is, well, when you found out that he was making -- asking for this Propofol, you should have walked away.

He'll try to counter that, or his defense will try to counter that and say he was with Jackson because he cared for him. It will be up to the jury to decide which way to go. Opening obviously very important, but this is going to be a 30-day-plus trial. So there's a lot of testimony to listen to.

SAVIDGE: And who is the first person scheduled to take the stand?

ROWLANDS: Kenny Ortega. He is the producer of "This is It."

This is the guy that was responsible for getting Michael Jackson ready to perform those concerts in London that were scheduled. And the prosecution will use him to establish that Jackson was in good health in the days before his death. They'll have Kenny Ortega say, as he did in the preliminary hearing, that he was in fantastic health and that his underlying health concerns didn't cause his death.

The defense maintains that it wasn't just what happened that night, it was what happened to Jackson over years of substance abuse that caused his death. So they'll try to eat away at Ortega, using all the information they have, possibly all the e-mails, et cetera, because, remember, there was concern with the group that put on this production that Michael Jackson wasn't ready. So this is a very important witness really for both sides.

SAVIDGE: All right, Ted. We'll continue to follow the story with your help. Thanks very much.

The federal government won't be shutting down after Friday. Democrats and Republicans have resolved their dispute over the funding for FEMA. That's the disaster relief agency. And that allowed the Senate to approve a temporary spending bill. House passage, expected next week, when lawmakers return from recess.

(SCREAMING)

SAVIDGE: No, not the Jackson trial. Rowdy protesters on the streets of Lower Manhattan for the 11th straight day. They want to draw attention to Wall Street's role in the financial meltdown. Their cause got a boost when the filmmaker and liberal activist -- that's Michael Moore -- showed up last night to cheer the crowd on.

Libyan fighters say they have seized the port of Sirte today, but troops loyal to Moammar Gadhafi still control most parts of the city. Sirte is Gadhafi's tribal home and one of several towns not under the control of Libya's new political leadership.

A typhoon with nearly 90-mile-an-hour winds hit the Philippines today. That storm killed at least seven people. It's expected to dump an inch of rain an hour through Wednesday. That means extensive flooding. Government offices, schools and the stock exchange have all been shut down in Manila.

Joran van der Sloot admits that he killed in a Peruvian woman in a newly released videotape from police. He matter of factly describes how he elbowed Stephany Flores in he head, then strangled her with both hands in a hotel room.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): So it is true, and I'm going to ask you this, and you can say yes or no. Did you kill Stephany Tatiana Flores?

JORAN VAN DER SLOOT, CONVICTED OF MURDERING STEPHANY FLORES: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): You killed Stephany Tatiana Flores, right?

SLOOT: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: His former lawyer claims that Van der Sloot killed Flores after she discovered information about Natalee Holloway on his computer. Van der Sloot was arrested twice, but he was never charged in Holloway's disappearance in Aruba in 2005.

Workers are perched on the sides of the Washington Monument today. They plan to inspect every block of marble this week.

Damage from last month's earthquake was more severe than first thought. That means the landmark is closed to tourists indefinitely.

The government has released security camera video from inside the monument. Look at this. The quake really rattled that structure.

Engineers say that, despite the damage, the Washington Monument is structurally sound. They knew how to build them.

All right. Here's your chance to "Talk Back" on one of big stories of the day. Today's question: Why does Donald Trump matter to the GOP?

Carol Costello has more from New York.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Martin.

"The Donald" is back. The GOP presidential contenders just can't seem to get enough of him.

First, there was Texas Governor Rick Perry. And then there was Mitt Romney. Trump says they hit it off better than he had anticipated. And don't forget that still-to-be-determined it candidate, Sarah Palin, who broke bread -- well, pizza dough -- with Mr. Trump.

The Democratic National Committee is loving the GOP's courtship of Donald Trump. Take a look at their new ad which portrays Romney and Trump as two out-of-touch money men who favor the wealthy. Pay special note to the private plane.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NARRATOR: Mitt Romney and Donald Trump are meeting today. Well, they do have a lot in common.

They have both done well for themselves. Both support an economic plan that would help out the richest and the big corporations, but not the middle class, that would slash Social Security and Medicare as we know it, cut funds for health care, research and development, and schools.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Ouch. But maybe not for the reasons you think. After calling the ad amateur night, Trump told the Wolf Blitzer --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, CHAIRMAN & PRESIDENT, TRUMP ORGANIZATION: They talked about keeping America competitive. We're not competitive. That's the problem. We're not competitive at all.

The world is laughing at us, Wolf, and so we are certainly not -- and I was very insulted it at the airplane they used, because my plane is much, much nicer than that. So that was a great insult.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Look, President Obama has his favorite rich guy, Warren Buffett. Republicans have Donald Trump.

So the "Talk Back" question today: Why does Donald Trump matter to the GOP?

Facebook.com/CarolCNN. I'll read your comments later this hour.

SAVIDGE: Ah, the plight of billionaires. I sympathize.

(NEWSBREAK) (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: A big surge on Wall Street today. Stocks taking a 250- point jump as worries over Europe's debt crisis apparently have eased, at least for the time being.

And on the jobs front, an economics professor is proposing a new way to boost the economy. He says boost minimum wage.

Alison Kosik explains from New York.

Alison, let's start with the market rally. How's it going?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: And a good way to start, Martin.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

SAVIDGE: All right. Let's talk about this interesting argument that we should be raising minimum wage. How is that going to help millions of people who don't have jobs?

KOSIK: Yes, and this is an interesting argument. Think of it more of like a backdoor idea.

It's about giving people more money to spend that will actually boost demand and encourage hiring. So this idea coming from Paul Osterman. He's an economics professor at MIT. He's the author of a book called "Good Jobs in America."

And he says, you know what this is about? This is about job quality, it's not about job quantity.

We always took about the numbers of jobs being added, but what he says really needs to happen is we need to see good jobs added. So, he says the issue is, 20 percent of working adults make less than $10.65 an hour. Try raising a family on that salary.

Full-time employment at that wage is still below the poverty level. And Osterman says minimum wage needs to be raised. But critics say wait a minute here, raising wages puts the burden on corporate America which, remember, is already reluctant to take a chance on hiring new workers.

But others, Martin, point to the solid corporate profits. A lot of corporations have a lot of money on the sidelines, they just need the confidence to give more money to their employees through higher wages -- Martin.

SAVIDGE: Yes, confidence being the keyword there. Thank you, Alison, very much.

KOSIK: It is.

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: Defense attorneys say Amanda Knox is not the femme fatale the media has portrayed her as. Knox is the 24-year-old American fighting a murder conviction in Italy.

In closing arguments today, the defense said there was no physical trace of Knox or her co-defendant in the room where British student Meredith Kercher was found murdered. Challenges to the DNA evidence have been a major part of her appeal. Her father says that Knox will have a chance to speak out before the jury makes its decision.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CURT KNOX, AMANDA KNOX'S FATHER: She's actually been thinking about this and kind of giving us ideas of what she's going to talk about for probably the last three, three-and-a-half months, knowing that this is really her final opportunity to express her heartfelt thoughts as it relates to how she's being judged and the fact that she had nothing to do with this horrific crime, and that Meredith was her friend. And it's probably going to take place just before the jury goes in for deliberations, which is probably going to be Monday morning of next week.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: And we want to get an update on what's happening right now in the Amanda Knox appeal.

Senior International Correspondent Matthew Chance following the proceedings in Perugia, Italy.

Matthew, where do things stand at the moment?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, at the moment, Martin, the lawyers for Raffaele Sollecito, one of the defendants in this case, Amanda Knox's former boyfriend, there on the stand at the moment, there telling the jury about the evidence that they think exists that Sollecito and Amanda Knox did not commit this crime.

As you mentioned, they've been focusing on the DNA evidence, basically saying that the police investigation was flawed, that they contaminated the crime scene, and so some of the DNA evidence that they did pick up connecting Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito to the crime scene should be kind of not taken as sound evidence by the court. And that's the opinion not just of these defense lawyers, remember, but it's the opinions of the independent experts that were appointed by the court to go over the forensics of this case and to come up with an independent conclusion. They said this DNA that connected them to the crime scene is also not sound because of the methodology the police used.

They've also been trying very hard to change or to counter that prosecution idea, that characterization of Amanda Knox as a loose woman who kind of led this terrible lifestyle. She was characterized yesterday, you remember, Martin, as a woman who had a split personality, angelic on one side, satanic, demonic on the other side. And they've been countering that, saying that she's not like that at all, she's a much nicer, caring woman in love.

SAVIDGE: Matthew Chance, outside the courtroom in Italy.

Thank you very much for that update.

Now we want to switch from that part of the world to the West Coast, to Los Angeles, take you inside the courtroom now where opening statements are beginning. And I believe it's the prosecution that is starting right now.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

DAVID WALGREN, PROSECUTING ATTORNEY: That misplaced trust had far too high a price to pay. That misplaced trust in the hands of Conrad Murray cost Michael Jackson his life.

On June 25, 2009, Michael Jackson was pronounced dead.

May I ask the clerk to dim the lights, Your Honor?

JUDGE MICHAEL PASTOR, LOS ANGELES SUPERIOR COURT: Mrs. Benson (ph)?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.

He was just 50 years old. He died alone in his bed on the second floor of his Holmby Hills mansion. In the house at the time were the defendant, Conrad Murray, and Michael's three young children, and some staff that help run the home.

Because there was no immediate, obvious cause of death, the coroner's office soon took a very active role in the investigation, not only performing an autopsy, but doing detailed toxicology analysis to determine what caused the death of Mr. Jackson at 50 years of age. And what we learned through that investigation is that Propofol, Lidocaine, Diazepam, a metabolite of Diazepam called Nordiazepam, Lorazepam, and Midzolam, all testing positive in the heart, blood, all administered by Conrad Murray on June 25, 2009.

Further investigation by the coroner's office through statements, through interviews, through the autopsy, through the toxicology findings, led to the conclusion that the levels of Propofol found in Mr. Jackson's body were at levels similar to general anesthesia when someone is put under for a surgical procedure. They coroner also found that the levels of Lorazepam were pharmacologically significant and that they played a contributing role in the death of Mr. Jackson, because these benzodiazepines work in conjunction with the Propofol to heighten the effects that each drug has.

Following these findings, the coroner's office concluded this was in fact a homicide, that Michael Jackson's death was a homicide. And more specifically, the coroner's office concluded that the cause of death was acute Propofol intoxication, coupled with the contributory factor of the additional benzodiazepines in his system.

Upon discovering and ruling and determining this to be a homicide, the investigation continued. And the investigation centered on the dates preceding his death, the investigation centered on the events of June 24th and June 25, 2009. And the question became, what occurred between June 24, 2009, when Michael Jackson, shown in this picture, is performing at Staples Center, singing "Earth Song," what happened between that time and approximately 12 hours later, when Michael Jackson is dead on June 25, 2009?

What you will learn through the evidence is that what happened during that time frame is that the acts and the omissions of Michael Jackson's personal doctor, Conrad Murray, directly led to his premature death at the age of 50.

Ladies and gentlemen, as the judge indicated, this part of the trial is what is referred to as the opening statement, and it is in fact an opportunity to give you an outline of what we expect the evidence to show, to give you, as the court said, a roadmap. Oftentimes in trials, witnesses are called out of order due to scheduling and things of that nature. They may not always come in and testify in a kind of chronological order. So this is an opportunity for both parties to present to you in hopefully a logical fashion what we expect the evidence to show.

And as I indicated, what we expect the evidence to show is that Conrad Murray repeatedly acted with gross negligence, repeatedly denied care, appropriate care, to his patient, Michael Jackson, and that it was Dr. Murray's repeated incompetent and unskilled acts that led to Mr. Jackson's death on June 25, 2009.

Now, to give you some background as to what was going on at this time in Mr. Jackson's life, what was going on in Dr. Murray's life, I want to take you through some of the evidence that you'll hear in this case.

Now, at this time, Mr. Jackson was preparing for one of the -- probably one of biggest tours of his life entitled "This is It." It was going to start at the O2 Arena in London. It was going to be Mr. Jackson's comeback tour. And Mr. Jackson indicated one of the reasons this tour was so important to him was that he wanted his children to have the opportunity to see him perform on stage in front of a large crowd, that they had never really had that opportunity, and that he wanted to give them that chance to see him perform in such a manner.

The concert, the tour was scheduled to begin at the O2 Arena, and it was expected to last approximately 11 months. It would then continue in the months and years ahead, but at that point it was for approximately 11 months to take place at the O2 Arena in London, England.

What started as a 10-day tour soon grew to 31 dates. When those tickets quickly sold out, it grew again to 50 dates. Those dates, too, all sold out.

Now, in preparation for what was going to be a massive production and a massive tour, obviously rehearsals had to take place. And the rehearsals were taking place in Los Angeles beginning in May of 2009.

They started in a small scale at Center Staging in Burbank, where basic production and rehearsals were taking place with various members of the production team. When the production and the growth and the scale of the rehearsals outgrew that location, they moved to The Forum in Inglewood. They remained at The Forum for approximately just about the entire month of June, and then just days before Michael Jackson's death, they moved to a larger scale arena, the Staples Center, so that they could more accurately replicate what the actual tour was going to be.

At the time of Michael's death, the rehearsals were taking place at the Staples Center.

Now, during this time, Michael Jackson was living at 100 North Carolwood in Holmby Hills. It's just off of Sunset Boulevard. What you're viewing here is an aerial photo.

Where I'm pointing down below would be the front door. It's a two-story mansion, a large yard, pool, lots of privacy.

Mr. Jackson lived there with his family, his three young children -- Prince, his young daughter Paris, and his youngest son Blanket. It was Michael and his three children that lived there on a permanent basis.

He had staff, he had security, he had a nanny, he had a chef. But it was Michael and his three children that lived at 100 North Carolwood, which came to be where Michael would die.

What do we know about Conrad Murray at this time?

Well, we know Conrad Murray was a medical doctor. He was not anesthesiologist, he was not board certified in cardiology. In fact, at the time of Michael Jackson's death, Conrad Murray was not board certified in any medical specialty.

But Conrad Murray had met Michael Jackson previously in Las Vegas when Michael was living there in 2006. They had remained in contact.

Dr. Murray had treated the children while in Vegas for various minor ailments such as a runny nose and things of that nature. He had treated Michael for various minor ailments over the period of time. But they maintained contact from that point of time in 2006 through 2009.

And what you'll learn is that in March, 2009, Michael requested that Conrad Murray accompany him on his O2 tour, the "This is It" tour. Conrad Murray readily agreed to participate and accompany Michael on this tour.

What you'll learn is that Conrad Murray initially requested payment of $5 million for one year of medical service. This was quickly rejected, and an offer of $150,000 a month was put on the table. What you'll learn is that soon, a contract had been drafted and Murray was to be hired -- Dr. Murray was to be hired as an independent contractor.

Part of the terms of the contract provided that Murray would provide general medical care, that he would provide medical emergency care, and that he would provide reasonably requested services. And this was all to be for the tour in London, the "This Is It" tour.

In exchange for what Dr. Murray was to provide for the terms of the contract, Dr. Murray was going to receive, as I indicated, $150,000 a month, airfare to and from London, and housing in London for the duration of the tour. Again, the $5 million request of Dr. Murphy - Murray, excuse me -- was rejected and the agreed upon amount was $150,000 a month.

What you also learn is that this contract was never signed by the parties. What you'll learn is that Conrad Murray, both as an individual and as part of his medical practice, signed the contract. And it's dated June 24th, 2009. No representative from A.E.G., the tour promoter, had signed it. And at the bottom, no representative - specifically, Michael Jackson -- had not signed it.

So, although it had not been signed, Conrad Murray had made it very clear that he welcomed the opportunity to enter this lucrative agreement. In fact, Conrad Murray made it so abundantly clear of his intention to enter into this lucrative agreement that he soon told his clients that -- his previous medical clients to find another doctor. He sent out letters in June of 2009 advising his clients "because of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, I had to make the most difficult decision to cease practice of medicine indefinitely." So he was saying good-bye to his clients with the intention of signing on for this $150,000 lucrative agreement that he at least through words had reached with Michael Jackson.

I've told you a little bit about what Michael Jackson was doing at that time and I've told you a little bit about what Conrad Murray was doing at that time. You'll need to know a little bit about Propofol. And you'll hear a great deal about Propofol throughout this trial.

What is Propofol? Propofol is a general anesthetic agent. It's defined as an intravenous hypnotic agent for the use in the induction and maintenance of anesthesia or sedation. Put simply, it's what used to put you under when you have to be -- have forced mechanical ventilation, if you have to have surgical procedure, it is used in a hospital to put you under. It is not a sleep aid. It is not a sleep agent. It is a general anesthetic.

It has great strengths. It is a wonderful drug if used by someone who knows what they are doing, someone who respects the dangers as well as the benefits of the drug. Some of its favorable properties include the quick onset of sedation. It acts rapidly. Also, at the end of it, rapid return to consciousness. So, it acts quickly and it also brings you back out rather quickly. Minimum post- operative nausea or vomiting. You generally feel okay once you come back out of it.

However, with every benefit comes a cost, and there are unfavorable properties that must be respected by the doctor who is administering such a potentially dangerous drug. The unfavorable properties that leads to respiratory and cardiovascular depression. There's a narrow margin between sedation and full general anesthesia. And what that means there's a continuum between a light or conscious sedation or full general sedation or anesthesia. And you need to be an expert in the field and knowledgeable to track that continuum and have the safety precautions in place so that if the patient passes through that continuum to a deeper level of sedation, you have to be sure as the doctor in charge, as the doctor with legal duty of care, that you can manage any consequences that come forward.

Also leads to the loss of ability to breathe and ability to maintain your air way. And finally, because of these properties, things can go bad very quickly. Very quickly. And if you are not knowledgeable and competent and prepared, it will lead to the death of your patient.

The package's insert that comes with it that every single person would see if they just opened up the package, in plain text, indicates the continuous monitoring is essential. Facilities for maintenance of a patent airway must be immediately available. This is in the package insert. "Patient should be continuously monitored for early signs of hypertension, apnea, airway obstruction and/or oxygen desaturation." A simple reading of the package insert would impress upon a competent medical doctor the precautions that need to be taken and the inherent dangers of using such an agent without the skills and knowledge and resuscitative equipment to handle it appropriately.

In this case, you'll hear about Propofol; you'll hear the science of Propofol. You'll hear about the concentrations of Propofol. As it relates to this case, what you'll hear there are two separate vial sizes. It comes in a 100 millimeter vial, about that big, and that's the large vial. It additionally comes in a 20 millimeter, which is about that big. Each --

(END LIVE PROGRESS)

SAVIDGE: And you're listening to the opening statement being made by the prosecution. That's David Walgren as he talks about the case against Conrad Murray.

We want to bring in our legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin to talk a bit about what we've heard so far. Jeffrey, this has been first talking about the new launch of Michael Jackson and his grand tour and talking about how the doctor fit into all of this. And money became a big issue right up front?

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Absolutely. The prosecution theory is pretty straight forward. He was fine when Conrad Murray started treating him. Conrad Murray only got involved in treating Michael Jackson out of enormous greed. And he was incompetent and he gave him this drug, Propofol, which under no circumstances should be given outside of a hospital setting. And thus he killed Michael Jackson. That's the prosecution's theory and being laid out here with, I think, great clarity.

SAVIDGE: And they are trying to make the case here that the doctor, even though he has a medical degree, he was not an expert when it came to Propofol and how it should be properly administered?

TOOBIN: That's right. And you know, there are a lot of questions that the defense is going to -- can ask about this theory. Who told him to use Propofol? What was the background? What drugs had Michael Jackson been using previously? I mean, obviously this is a one-sided presentation, as it should be. It's the prosecution's opening statement. But certainly the prosecution theory here is being laid out in a clear and presentable way.

SAVIDGE: And if you're the defense, what are the points you want to make when your chance to make a statement comes along?

TOOBIN: Well, I think for starters they are going to give background on Michael Jackson's history of drug use, including, perhaps - again, we don't know the facts -- but his use of this drug.

What the prosecution is trying to do is narrow this case down to one single exchange of drugs between Dr. Murray and Michael Jackson in the hours before he died. That's all the prosecution wants this case to be about. The defense is going to want to bring in the whole story of Michael Jackson's health, his history of drug use, what might have killed him, how he dealt with -- how he had interacted with physicians in the past. That's going to be a big part of what the defense says later today.

SAVIDGE: Jeffrey Toobin, stand by. We're going to continue to cover the opening statements, but right after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: Let's take you back to Los Angeles inside the courtroom for the trial of Dr. Conrad Murray. You'll be listening to the opening statement as provided by prosecutor David Walgren.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

WALGREN: -- observing, maybe listening, but recording on his iPhone. What this evidence will reveal to you is Conrad Murray's knowledge of Michael's state on May 10th, 2009. What this evidence will reveal to you is Conrad Murray's knowledge of what he is doing to Michael Jackson on May 10th, 2009.

Over a month-and-a-half before Michael Jackson dies as a result of this very treatment. You will hear the whole recording during this trial but I'll play a clip now so you can have a taste of what Conrad Murray knew on May 10th, 2009.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

MICHAEL JACKSON, SINGER/SONGWRITER: This is not transcribed (ph). My - no -- I never seen nothing like this in my life. Go, go. I've never seen nothing like this. Go. It's amazing. He's the greatest entertainer in the world. I'm taking that money, a million children -- children's hospital. The biggest in the world. Michael Jackson's children's hospital.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

WALGREN: May I play that again? I don't think we had sufficient volume.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Deputy Jones just --

WALGREN: I'm going to play that recording again, now that the volume has been turned up to an appropriate level. Listen to the voice of Michael Jackson on May 10th, 2009.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

JACKSON: We have to be phenomenal. When people leave this show, when people leave my show, I want them to say, I've never seen nothing like this in my life. Go. Go. I've never seen nothing like this. Go. It's amazing. He's the greatest entertainer in the world. I'm taking that money, a million children -- children's hospital. The biggest in the world, Michael Jackson's children's hospital.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

WALGREN: That is what Conrad Murray is seeing and observing on May 10, 2009. And what does he do with that knowledge? What does he do with that information? On May 12th, he orders another shipment of Propofol and midazolam. Again, he orders 40 of the 100 milliliter bottles of Propofol, just two days after that recording was made. Accompanying those 40 100-milliliter bottle were 25 20 milliliter bottles for, again, a total of an additional 45,000 milligrams of Propofol.

The next shipment occurs on June 10th, at which point Conrad Murray orders again, 40 100 milliliter bottles and now 50 of the 20 milliliter bottles, totaling in this shipment alone, 50,000 additional milligrams of Propofol.

That is then followed on June 15th by an order of midazolam and lorazepam. Again, 10 vials of lorazepam and 20 vials of midazolam. And we learn from these shipments that through -- from April 6th and the shipment of June 10th, Conrad Murray ordered 255 separate vials of Propofol totaling 155,000 milligrams of Propofol. Equivalent to 15.5 liters or 4.09 gallons of this general anesthetic agent.

Just based on the orders alone, if you calculate from April 6th to the time of Michael's death of June 25th, in those 80 days, based on the orders, what was being shipped was 1,937 milligrams of Propofol a day. And keep that number in mind when you hear the statements of Conrad Murray in regard to how much he administered on June 25th.

Now, I want to talk about what the evidence will show in regard to Michael's final days. What you'll learn is that on June 19, 2009, Michael showed up for his rehearsal and he was not in good shape. He was not in good shape at all. He had chills, he was trembling, he was cold, he was rambling. And Kenny Ortega, the co-director -- co- choreographer of the production, from whom you will be hearing directly, was concerned. He had never seen Mr. Jackson in that state previously. He will tell you that Michael did not rehearse that day. That he sat. He will tell you that Michael was cold. He put a blanket around him. He provided him some chicken to eat. He massaged his feet to try to warm him. But that Michael ended up going home early that evening and not rehearsing because of the state -- the physical state he was in.

You will also hear about the next day, June 20, 2009. And what you'll hear is that there was a meeting called at Michael's house at 100 North Carolwood. And at this meeting were Conrad Murray, the defendant, Michael, Kenny Ortega, Randy Phillips. And a discussion was had at that meeting about Michael's health and, more specifically, about what had transpired the night before on June 19th.

And what you'll hear from Kenny Ortega is that Conrad Murray took a very hostile tone. He scalded Kenny Ortega for meddling in what evidently was Conrad Murray's area of expertise. He said things to Kenny Ortega when concerns were expressed. He said things such as, "I am the doctor, not you. You direct the show and leave Michael's health to me. He said Michael is physically and emotionally fine. Don't let it be your concern. I am the doctor."

Following this meeting of June 20th, rehearsals did not take place that day, the 21st, or the 22nd, but they did resume on June 23, 2009. And you'll see footage of Michael performing on June 23, 2009. And by all accounts, it was a successful rehearsal at the Staples Center. Michael appeared strong. He was optimistic. And he was looking to the future. And he was looking to get the tour off the ground and head out to London.

The following night, rehearsals resumed again. That's June 24, 2009. And again, the rehearsal went well. Michael was engaged. He was optimistic. In fact, you'll hear from Kenny Ortega that Michael was excited because the next day they were going to be performing an illusion that was going to be part of the tour. And Michael always loved that type of magical illusion aspect of these shows. And so Kenny had told him that tomorrow we're going to do the illusion. And Michael was looking forward to coming back that next day to participate in that illusion.

As you now know, he never returned to Staples Center. Following that rehearsal, the night of June 24, 2009, Michael was taken home and he arrived home at about 1:00 in the morning, which would be the morning of June 25, 2009. What you'll learn is that it was customary that Conrad Murray would spend the night at the house every night. Sometimes only six nights a week, but nearly every night for at least two months, two and a half months. In his own words, his purpose for being there was to put Michael to sleep with Propofol.

So when Michael and his security staff arrived at the house from Staples Center during those early morning hours of June 25th at around 1:00 in the morning, Conrad Murray's BMW was already parked in the driveway. Michael was brought into the house. Security was debriefed. The customary routine was followed. Again, the house at 100 North Carolwood, the front door that faces out into the frontcourt yard, a diagram which is difficult to see from this perspective, but a diagram of the entryway where I'm pointing down below would be where the front door is located. You come into this front foyer area. As to the relevant location of where Michael died, you would go to the left, up these stairs, and you would go into this foyer where I'm pointing here, into the bedroom where Conrad Murray would do his nightly infusions of Propofol to Michael Jackson. You'll learn that this room on the far left was actually Michael Jackson's personal bedroom, but that the Propofol administrations occurred in this room here. From the foyer, it goes into the bedroom, through a very large closet, the size of a typical bedroom, and then into the restroom.

This view here is looking through the front glass doors into that foyer area with the stairs I just described being here on the left leading up to this landing. And again, just a blow up of the diagram showing the relevant room where Michael Jackson received these Propofol infusions, the foyer, the bedroom, the large closet and the bathroom.

This is a picture depicting the bedroom where Michael Jackson died. He died in that bed pointing down here below the slide. This picture is the closet I showed you on the diagram and it's a vantage point of the closet looking into the bathroom that I had described. And then into the bathroom depicting what is shown there, the clothes and, in fact, the jacket that Michael was wearing at his last performance that night on June 24, 2009.

As I indicated earlier, the question becomes what transpired then from 1:00 in the morning until Michael's death the next day. And before I relay to you some of the words of Conrad Murray as to his story of what transpired, I want to share with you what the independent investigation by law enforcement revealed absent Conrad Murray's statements.

What you'll learn through phone records is that Conrad Murray was very busy on the phone that night. There are screen shots from the iPhone showing him receiving, reading very e-mails. There's text message. There's different screen shots showing various activities of Conrad Murray on his phone. There's a very relevant e-mail that Conrad Murray receives. It's sent at 5:54 a.m. Conrad Murray responds to it at 11:17 a.m. on that day. And that time will be very relevant.

But it's not just relevant for the time, it's relevant for the substance. Because this e-mail that you're viewing on this screen is an e-mail from the insurance broker in London that is trying to collect medical records so that they can have the tour properly insured. And he's asked -- Conrad Murray is asked specific questions about press reports relating to Michael's health. And that it's required in order to get the insurance. And Conrad Murray responds by his own e-mail on June 25th at 11:17 a.m., and what he says is that, "as far as his health, published by the press, let me say they're all fallacious to the best of my knowledge."

This is on June 25, 2009, just days after the meeting, month and a half after the May 10th recording. And Conrad Murray represents to the insurance broker that all concerns or press reports about Michael's health are fallacious.

We also know through the phone records what was taking place that night. And we have the early morning phone calls, which will be described to you through witness testimony and evidence during the trial. But as we get closer to the time that Conrad Murray indicates he provided Propofol, we have a 10:14 a.m. phone call, a 10:20 phone call, a 10:34 phone call, an 11:07 phone call. We then go to an 11:18, 32 minute phone call to Conrad Murray's business in Las Vegas, followed by a brief message to one of his female friends, Bridgette Morgan, at 11:26. A call with Robert Russell at 11:49. And then a call at 11:51 with another female friend, Sade Anding, who lived in Houston, Texas.

And you're going to hear from Sade Anding. And what she's going to tell you is that she was working as a cocktail waitress in Houston. He met Conrad Murray. They exchanged phone numbers. And that Conrad Murray referred to her as his girlfriend. And what you'll learn from the nature of this 11:51 phone call is that this is likely the time that Conrad Murray first noticed Michael Jackson's lifeless body.

It won't reveal to you the time of Michael Jackson's death, but it may reveal to you when Conrad Murray first noticed Michael Jackson had died. Because what Sade Anding tells us is that this 11:51 phone call took place, that she was speaking on the phone when she realized there was no response on other end. Conrad Murray was not communicating, was not participating in the conversation. Sounded as though the phone had been put down. She heard a commotion. She eventually hung up. She tried to get back with Conrad -- back in touch with Conrad Murray but was not successful. She indicated that this occurred about five minutes into the 11:51 phone call. So about 11:56, 11:57 a.m. is when the phone goes dead and she no longer is able to communicate with Conrad Murray.

At 12:12 we have a phone call from Conrad Murray to Michael Williams and a return phone call from Michael Williams at 12:15. Now, who is Michael Williams? Michael Williams is a personal assistant to Michael Jackson. He was not at the house on that day. He was actually at his own house downtown Los Angeles. But he receives this call. I believe he's in the shower at 12:12 p.m. And you'll hear the recording that Conrad Murray leaves Michael Amir Williams at that time.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

CONRAD MURRAY (voice-over): Call me right away, please. Please call me right away, thank you.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Getting this message that shows up on his phone at 12:13, Michael Amir Williams calls Conrad Murray back immediately and is told to get here right away, Mr. Jackson had a bad reaction. He's not told to call 911. He's simply told to get there right away from downtown Los Angeles to 100 North Carolwood in the Holmby Hills area. Michael Amir Williams makes a number of phone calls and eventually gets a hold of Alberto Alvarez, who is at the location. Alberto Alvarez is a security guard. He's part of Michael Jackson's personal security. They actually were housed in this trailer to the side of the house.

Alberto Alvarez, being on site, is told to go into the house. That there had been some kind of problem and Michael Jackson had a bad reaction, according to Conrad Murray. Alberto Alvarez goes into the house and eventually goes upstairs.

He goes up these stairs showing this picture, gets up to the landing and then proceeds into the bedroom where he sees what appears to him to be Michael Jackson's lifeless body on the bed. Conrad Murray is giving him CPR with one hand while Michael lay on the bed. Alberto Alvarez observes a condom catheter. He didn't know it was called a condom catheter, but he observes some device and tubing coming from the penis of Michael Jackson. What the medical experts will tell you is, this is a device to collect urine when you're literally knocked unconscious for surgical procedures.