Propofol Ordered in Bulk by Murray Says Pharmacist

A pharmacist testified today that Michael Jackson's personal physician ordered 255 vials of a powerful anesthetic between April and June 2009 -- the same type of medication that eventually led to the singer's death

Testifying in Dr. Conrad Murray's involuntary manslaughter trial, Tim Lopez told the jury that the doctor did not specify who the propofol was intended to be used for and that Murray never disclosed to him that he was Jackson's physician.

Murray's initial order of 35 vials of propofol on April 6, 2009, was his smallest request, with the amounts increasing to 65 vials in orders on April 28 and May 12 and the largest order of 90 vials on June 10, Lopez testified.

Through a courier, Murray directed that most of the first shipment that had been delivered to his Las Vegas office instead be redirected to an address in Santa Monica, where the subsequent shipments were also sent by Applied Pharmacy Services, Lopez said.

The pharmacist said he verified with Murray through the courier at the time of the first delivery in Las Vegas that the medications would be under the doctor's control and that they would be shipped to a medical office.

Lopez said he offered to bring one order to Murray's office because he was flying into Los Angeles International Airport, but said Murray told him there was "no need to do that" and to just ship it.

The pharmacist said among the other items Murray ordered were a cream used to treat patients with the skin condition vitiligo, noting that the cardiologist told him that he had many black patients who suffered from the condition. Murray also ordered several other medications, according to Lopez.

During opening statements last week, Deputy District Attorney David Walgren told jurors that Murray was not honest when he indicated to the pharmacist that he had a clinic in California with a large client base when the shipments were actually being sent to the apartment where Murray and the mother of his infant son were living

Murray, 58, is charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with Jackson's death from acute propofol intoxication on June 25, 2009. He faces up
to four years in state prison if convicted of the felony count.

The doctor has local ties to Loma Linda. In 1992 he served his residency at Loma Linda University.

When Jackson died at age 50, the cardiologist was working for him at a rented mansion in Holmby Hills, where the pop star was staying while rehearsing for 50 sold-out concerts in London dubbed "This Is It" Prosecutors contend Murray gave Jackson propofol and then failed to monitor him, leaving his bedroom for at least 45 minutes to make phone calls and send emails.

Defense attorneys maintain that Murray was weaning Jackson off the medication and that he gave him only a small amount of propofol, but that Jackson "self-administered" a larger dose, killing himself instantly after the doctor left the room.

In other testimony today, jurors heard from a woman who was talking on the phone with Murray on the day the singer died, apparently at the moment he
realized Jackson had stopped breathing.

Sade Anding, who met Murray while she was working as a waitress in Houston, testified that she received a phone call from the doctor at 11:51 a.m. that day.

"I asked Dr. Murray how he was doing. He said, 'Well,' and he paused," she said. "I started telling him about my day. That's when I realized he was no longer on the phone."

Anding said she pressed the phone to her ear and could hear sounds that made her think Murray's cell phone might be in his pocket.

"I heard mumbling of voices and I heard coughing,'' she said, noting that it was about five or six minutes into the conversation when she realized Murray was no longer on the line. She said she could not recognize the mumbling voice she heard.

Anding said she eventually hung up the phone and tried unsuccessfully to call Murray back twice.

It was only later that she heard Michael Jackson had died, Anding testified.

She noted that she called Murray the following month after learning that Los Angeles Police Department detectives wanted to speak with her.

"He told me, 'Why are they calling you? I'm so sorry they're contacting
you,'" she said.

Anding said Murray told her to contact his lawyer before calling the LAPD.

Anding, who said she met Murray in February 2009, said Murray once playfully referred to her as his girlfriend.

In other testimony, Murray's live-in girlfriend and mother of his son said Murray introduced her to Jackson, and she was planning on going with him to London when Jackson's concert series began.

Nicole Alvarez said meeting the pop superstar came as a surprise, with Murray telling her there was someone he wanted her to meet.

"I was speechless," she said.

Jackson was interested in the couple's baby, and he wanted to arrange visits so he could see the child, Alvarez told jurors.

Under questioning by Deputy District Attorney Deborah Brazil, Murray's girlfriend noted that some packages were sent via FedEx to Murray at the Santa Monica apartment she shared with him, but said she had no idea what the packages contained.

FedEx documents for shipments between April 8, 2009, and June 16, 2009, list the shipper as Applied Pharmacy Services and the recipient as Murray.

Alvarez said she knew Murray was working as Jackson's personal physician and left the apartment frequently at night to care for the singer, but told jurors she was unfamiliar with the contract under which Murray was expected to be paid $150,000 monthly while working as Jackson's doctor.

Stacey Ruggles, who worked for Murray since 1997, testified that she spoke to her employer for about 8 1/2 minutes, starting at 10:34 a.m., the day Jackson died and spoke to him briefly again at 11:07 a.m. to let him know she had sent an email.

Under cross-examination by defense attorney Edward Chernoff, Murray's employee said she helped Murray open an office in the Acres Home area of Houston in memory of his father.

"Most of them were indigent, on fixed incomes, unable to afford a physician,'' Ruggles said, noting that Murray was not profiting from that cardiology clinic.

She said she believes Murray told her in April 2009 that he was planning to go to work for Jackson.

Jurors also heard briefly from Michelle Bella, who testified that she met Murray at a "social-type club" in Las Vegas in February 2008 and that he told her at one point that he was acting as Jackson's personal physician. She said she received a text message from the doctor on the day Jackson died

City News Service