29 Sep 2011

Jackson children’s horror at singer’s lifeless body

Michael Jackson’s children reacted with horror when they saw their father’s lifeless body on the day he died, according to testimony by his bodyguard at the manslaughter trial of the singer’s doctor.

Faheem Muhammad told the Los Angeles courtroom: “Paris (Jackson’s daughter) was on the ground, balled up crying, and Prince (Jackson’s son) was just… he was standing there and he was just… he just had a real shock, just slowly crying.”

The second day of Dr Murray’s trial also heard Kathy Jorrie, a lawyer for the promoter of Jackson’s final concerts, AEG Live, telling the court that Dr Murray had requested a CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) machine be available to him at Michael Jackson’s concerts in London.

The singer had been due to begin a 50-date series of concerts in London just weeks after his death on 25 June 2009.

Paris was on the ground, balled up crying, and Prince was just… he just had a real shock, just slowly crying. Faheem Muhammad, Michael Jackson’s bodyguard

Ms Jorrie told the court: “I wanted to make sure that Michael Jackson was healthy and that he didn’t have a heart condition, and so I was just drilling the doctor about that to find out: well, why would you need a CPR machine?”

Later the jury heard from Michael Jackson’s personal assistant, Michael Williams, who said Dr Murray had requested to return to the singer’s home to retrieve “cream” from his room.

“We were making small talk about how horrible this is, and the both of us, we had… were tearing, and he asked, he said that there’s some cream in Michael’s room, or house, big room, that he wouldn’t want the world to know about.

“And he requested that I or someone give him a ride back to the house to get it, so the world wouldn’t know about the ‘cream’.”

Conrad Murray has pleaded not guilty to the involuntary manslaughter of Michael Jackson on 25 June 2009. He faces a prison sentence of up to four years if jurors find he is ultimately responsible for the star’s death due to inadequate care.