The first bodyguard to reach the chaotic scene in Michael Jackson's bedroom on the day the superstar died is expected to testify Thursday in the involuntary manslaughter trial of Jackson's personal physician.
Alberto Alvarez's testimony comes a day after two Jackson staff members recounted what they saw in the bedroom where Jackson died -- Dr. Conrad Murray over Jackson as the entertainer's two older children stood nearby. Faheem Muhammed, Jackson's head of security, was among the first staff members to arrive in the bedroom on June 25, 2009.
"Paris was on the ground, balled up, crying,'' Muhammed said Wednesday.
Prince "had a shocked look," he added.
It was Muhammed who dispatched Alvarez (pictured, right), considered a key witness, to the room. rez claimed Murray ordered him to stash several vials of medicine and an IV bag before calling 911. Alvarez testified at a preliminary hearing earlier this year that he saw the King of Pop with his eyes and mouth open, but said he appeared to be dead as his two older children cried.
"Paris screamed, 'Daddy,' and she started crying," Alvarez testified at the prelim in January.
Prosecutors will attempt to show that Murray delayed calling 911 and was more concerned about covering up evidence that he had administered propofol in the bedroom of the rented Holmby Hills mansion. Murray is accused of administered the drug, then failing to properly monitor Jackson's condition.
But defense attorneys argue that it was Jackson who self-administered the fatal dose when Murray was out of the bedroom.
The scene in the bedroom became a focus of the trial Wednesday with testimony from Jackson's staff, including Muhammed and personal assistant Michael Amir Williams.
Both described a chaotic environment inside and outside the Carolwood Drive mansion. Murray called Williams, who was at his residence in downtown LA, with an urgent request that he come to the mansion, Williams testified Wednesday.
"He said, 'Get here right away, Mr. Jackson had a bad reaction. Get somebody up here immediately,''' Williams said.
When asked whether Dr. Murray asked him to call 911, Williams said no.
Before and during his 30- to 40-minute drive to the mansion, Williams said he was in contact with guards and other people at the mansion, including Muhammed. After escorting the two children from the room, Muhammed returned to the second-floor bedroom, and that's when Murray asked whether anyone knew CPR, he testified.
Murray asked because he wanted assistance, not because he wasn't familiar with CPR, his attorneys said.
"When you're doing CPR the first thing you ask is, 'Does anyone else know CPR,' so they can assist," said defense attorney John Michael Flanagan. "Two-man CPR is much more efficient than one-man CPR. Dr. Murray had been doing CPR for more than 15 or 20 minutes, and it's a very fatiguing thing."
Muhammed and Williams later accompanied the children to the hospital, where they waited in a private room before being told of Jackson's death. Williams testified that Murray approached him in the hospital hallway and asked for a ride back to the mansion to retrieve a "cream" in Jackson's bedroom.
"We were making small talk about how horrible this is, and he said, 'There's some cream in Michael's room that he wouldn't want the world to know about,'" said Williams. "He requested that I give him a ride back to the house so the world wouldn't know about the cream."
Both Williams and Muhammed said they denied Murray's request for a ride in the wake of Jackson's death.
Defense attorneys wanted to know why Muhammed and Williams did not reveal details about the day Jackson died to police until two months later. Muhammed and Williams were asked whether they wanted to confer with Alvarez before their interview with detectives.
Jackson's personal chef and two paramedics who responded to the home also are expected to testify Thursday.
Murray, 58, faces up to four years in prison if convicted.
Refresh this page for updates and to watch a livestream of Thursday's proceedings.
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