83 minutes the doctor, the damage and the shocking death of michael jackson (2016)

Begin Reading Table of Contents About the Author Copyright Page Thank you for buying this St Martin’s Press ebook To receive special offers, bonus content, and info on new releases and other great reads, sign up for our newsletters Or visit us online at us.macmillan.com/newslettersignup For email updates on the author, click here The author and publisher have provided this e-book to you for your personal use only You may not make this e-book publicly available in any way Copyright infringement is against the law If you believe the copy of this e-book you are reading infringes on the author’s copyright, please notify the publisher at: us.macmillanusa.com/piracy For Lucy and Tom – Matt For Marc and Roland – Mark Never say goodbye because goodbye means going away and going away means forgetting J.M Barrie, Peter Pan Thursday, 25 June 2009 In time zones around the world, the news was dominated by one headline: ‘Michael Jackson, the “King of Pop”, is dead.’ * * * Earlier that day, at 13:14 Pacific Standard Time (PST), an ambulance had arrived at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles Anxious to shield the identity of the patient it was carrying from the gathering press, the vehicle reversed up to the doors of the Emergency Room (ER) and a towel was placed over the face of the casualty The ambulance was returning from a 911 emergency call placed at 12:21 PST, some 53 minutes earlier Alberto Alvarez had made the call from a mansion in nearby Carolwood Drive This mansion, in the prestigious area of Holmby Hills, was being rented for $100,000 per month by a man who was once the biggest pop star in the world and who remained one of the most famous and fascinating figures on the planet: Michael Jackson Jackson was in Los Angeles to rehearse and prepare for his upcoming and eagerly anticipated ‘This Is It’ comeback tour, which consisted of 50 sold-out shows in the UK at London’s O2 Arena and which was scheduled to begin in just 13 days time Jackson’s rented property was only four minutes from UCLA The 911 call was frantic with audible commotion in the background, including the angry voice of someone speaking in an undistinguishable foreign language: 911 Operator: Paramedic 33, what is the nature of your emergency? Alvarez: Yes, sir, I need an ambulance as soon as possible 911 Operator: Okay, sir, what is your address? Alvarez: Los Angeles, California, 90077 911 Operator: Is it Carolwood? Alvarez: Carolwood Drive, yes [barely audible] 911 Operator: Okay, sir, what’s the phone number you’re calling from and [barely audible] and what exactly happened? Alvarez: Sir, we have a gentleman here that needs help and he’s not breathing, he’s not breathing and we need to – we’re trying to pump him but he’s not … 911 Operator: Okay, how old is he? Alvarez: He’s fifty years old, sir 911 Operator: Fifty? Okay, he’s unconscious and he’s not breathing? Alvarez: Yes, he’s not breathing, sir 911 Operator: Okay, and he’s not conscious either? Alvarez: No, he’s not conscious, sir.1 Neither the 911 operator, nor the team of paramedics dispatched from Fire Station 71 in Bel Air to this emergency call were aware that the ‘gentleman’ who was unconscious and not breathing was none other than Michael Jackson They didn’t even initially recognise Jackson when they arrived at his beside at 12:26 (PST) Paramedic Richard Senneff, who testified at the 2011 trial into Jackson’s death, said: ‘And the patient, he appeared to me to be pale and underweight I was thinking along the lines of this is a hospice patient.’2 For the next 31 minutes, Senneff and his team of paramedics worked tirelessly on Jackson’s body to save his life It appeared a futile task All the evidence in front of them suggested that Jackson had gone into arrest long before they had arrived, but one man present in the room convinced the paramedics to continue ‘It had just happened’, he said of the patient’s arrest This man was Dr Conrad Murray, Jackson’s personal physician Regardless of his assurances, Paramedic Senneff wasn’t convinced ‘There is a lot of little variables But all I can tell you is it was my gut feeling at the time this did not just happen’, Senneff said at the 2011 trial Nevertheless, Senneff and his team continued though, despite their best efforts, they could not revive the ‘King of Pop’ Throughout the procedure, Richard Senneff was in contact with UCLA, whose doctors and nurses were relaying to him standard orders for the procedure via mobile phone At 12:57 (PST), Senneff and his team were advised over the mobile phone by Dr Richelle Cooper at UCLA that all attempts were futile, they had done all they could, and permission was given to pronounce the patient dead Dr Murray, however, was determined not to accept this pronunciation of death and, inspecting the patient himself, declared that he had felt a femoral pulse in Jackson’s neck Paramedic Senneff checked the same area He felt nothing, but Murray implored the paramedics to continue, demanding that Jackson be transferred to UCLA for further care Richard Senneff discussed the situation with UCLA, relaying the conversation he had had with Dr Murray and explaining that the patient’s personal physician wasn’t comfortable with the decision to stop treatment at that point UCLA replied by asking if Dr Murray was willing to assume complete control of the call and, if so, whether he was also willing to accompany the patient in the ambulance to the hospital Dr Murray responded categorically that he would assume control In his statement to police, Dr Murray would later say: I mean I love Mr Jackson He was my friend And he opened up to me in different ways And I wanted to help him as much as I can You know, he was a single parent You don’t always hear that from a man But he would state that, you know, he was a single parent of three And I – I always thought of his children, you know, as I would think about mine So I wanted to give him the best chance.3 With the paramedics now having relinquished authority, Jackson was placed on a gurney and put in the ambulance at 13:07 (PST) It was now over 40 minutes since the paramedics had first arrived at the scene As the ambulance slowly reversed out into the street, a bus carrying 13 tourists on a guided tour of the homes of Hollywood stars saw the drama unfold ‘This is Michael Jackson’s estate everyone,’ the tour guide announced, ‘so we’ll find out later in the news what happened.’4 By this stage, the broadcasters, bloggers, paparazzi and the internet outlets were aware that something was happening with Michael Jackson, and the ambulance was followed by an increasing number of cars, motorcycles and helicopters as it made its way to UCLA Seven minutes later, the ambulance backed up to the UCLA Medical Center door A crowd had already begun to gather and hospital security had yet to be deployed Dr Murray asked, before Jackson was taken off the ambulance, whether a towel or something could be put over Michael’s face When this was done, the back doors of the ambulance were opened and the gurney carrying the body of Michael Jackson was rolled through the security corridor and right into the ER where Dr Richelle Cooper and her team of 14 staff were ready to go to work Dr Murray had also made his way into the ER and immediately came face-to-face with Dr Cooper who, just under 20 minutes earlier, had been prepared, according to LA County EMS Protocols, to pronounce Michael Jackson dead The first thing Dr Cooper wanted to know from Dr Murray, as Jackson was being placed on monitors, was Murray’s interpretation of what had happened He simply told her that the patient had not been ill but had been working long hours, that Jackson had had trouble sleeping and was dehydrated.6 Dr Cooper asked about any narcotics Dr Murray might have given the patient and he stated that he had given Jackson 2mg of Lorazepam, a drug generally used to treat anxiety disorders, at some point during the morning and then later given him another 2mg of the same drug before he witnessed the patient arrest.7 She continued to ask Dr Murray about any other drug administration, drug use or history of drug use in the patient Murray told her that Jackson was also taking Flomax (used for urinary problems in someone who has a large prostate) and Valium (used, like Lorazepam, as a sedative).8 Following this brief exchange, Dr Murray could only watch on as Dr Cooper and her team did everything possible to revive the stricken Jackson Dr Cooper later testified: There was a report by Dr Murray that he had felt a faint pulse separate, which conflicted with the report of the paramedics that there wasn’t a pulse When the patient arrived, I made the decision we will attempt to resuscitate to confirm Dr Cooper and her team resumed CPR on Jackson, administered more medications, including initial IV fluids (based on the reported dehydration) and ventilated the patient – but everyone in the room was aware they were fighting a losing battle There was a small glimmer of hope at 13:21 (PST) when one of the medical team thought they found a weak femoral pulse in Jackson but, despite more medication being administered, there was no return to what Dr Cooper described as ‘… spontaneous circulation’.9 Another member of the medical team at UCLA, Cardiology Fellow Dr Thao Nguyen, also spoke to Dr Murray to enquire about the medication he might have already administered to Jackson Dr Murray said he had given Jackson 4mg of Ativan (a trademarked name for Lorazepam) and then continued to say he ‘… later found the patient not breathing’.10 Dr Nguyen asked Dr Murray for any recollection of time, such as when he found the patient not breathing or when he had found Jackson in relation to the 911 call, but Dr Murray simply responded that he ‘… had no concept of time’.11 While the ER medical team continued their efforts to revive Jackson, elsewhere in the hospital friends and family of the singer were arriving, among them Jackson’s mother, Katherine, his three children (Prince, Paris and Blanket) and his brother Jermaine As they all gathered they had to pass the room where the medical team were working frantically on Jackson ‘Outside the room we heard them working on him We thought he was alive’ said one of those gathered, Jackson’s ex-manager Frank Dileo.12 Meanwhile, Dr Murray was continuing to watch events unfolding in the ER, as the medical staff made one last effort to save Jackson by inserting an intra-aortic balloon pump: a mechanical device that helps the heart pump blood that is often used for drug-induced cardiovascular failure and increases the oxygen supply direct to the heart muscle However, as Dr Thao Nguyen stated in her testimony at the 2011 trial, such a procedure is a ‘… last ditch effort’, and was not generally used on a patient without a pulse, but the procedure was implemented in this instance ‘… per request of Murray not to give up easily’.13 Dr Nguyen also stated that ‘… before inserting the balloon pump, there was an understanding made with Dr Murray that if this method or measure should fail to revive the patient, or resuscitate the patient successfully, we will call it quits.’14 The balloon pump was successfully inserted into Jackson but it failed to revive him and, at 14:26 (PST), the singer was pronounced dead While this drama was unfolding inside UCLA Medical Center, outside the hospital walls various media outlets were drawing their own conclusions The USA celebrity website, TMZ.com, was the first to post news of Michael Jackson being unwell and stated that the singer had been taken to a hospital in Los Angeles after suffering a heart attack There was no confirmation from reliable sources however, and the hospital itself was prevented from making statements owing to patient confidentiality Even Michael Jackson’s father, Joe, was unable to shed any light on the events taking place But it wasn’t long before the Los Angeles Times claimed it had verified the news that Jackson was not breathing when paramedics arrived at his Carolwood mansion And the news all Jackson fans had been dreading arrived just minutes later when TMZ.com, despite no formal confirmation, published a story, which began: ‘We’ve just learned Michael Jackson has died He was 50.’ Given TMZ.com’s reputation for showbiz scoops, many began to believe that this story was accurate and news channels across the planet began reporting Jackson’s death, even though it was still unconfirmed Eventually, the Los Angeles Coroner’s Office announced that Jackson had been pronounced dead at 14:26 local time and almost four hours later Michael’s brother, Jermaine, delivered a carefully worded statement to a gathering of media in the UCLA Medical Center’s conference room In it he said: This is hard My brother, the legendary King of Pop, Michael Jackson, passed away on Thursday, June 25th, 2009, at 2:26pm It is believed he suffered cardiac arrest in his home However, the cause of death is unknown until the results of the autopsy are known Over the next two months Michael Jackson’s body underwent two autopsies, and samples of hair were taken from his corpse for further possible toxicological investigation The results of these autopsies opened a window to the world on the shocking and tragic life of Michael Jackson A life that had become, in his later years, swamped and consumed by paranoia, deceit, drug abuse, greed and manipulation They painted a painful and brutal portrait of an entertainer in the midst of a storm that was always destined to blow itself out in tragic circumstances They also raised many questions about what really happened to Michael Jackson And, ultimately, who was responsible for his death To find the answers to these questions, we need to ask just how did Michael Jackson get to that fateful day in June 2009? Fournier, David Gaye, Marvin Gest, David ‘Get on the Floor’ Gill, Antoinette Goin’ Places Gongaware, Paul at crisis meeting on day of MJ’s death testimony of Goodwin, Mark Gordy, Berry house leased to Jackson family by and MJ’s first solo single Gordy, Hazel ‘Got To Be There’ Greatest Hits Guest, Lynton Hacienda Palomino contents of MJ rents Neverland Chapel in Thriller Villa sobriquet of Halperin, Ian Hampton, Lionel Harvey, Craig Haley, Alex Herron, Brett Hewlett, Steve Hilton, Perez Hirschberg, Sally HIStory tour Hoefflin, Dr Steven Hougdahl, John Houston, Whitney Hudson, Jennifer Huston, Angelica ‘I Want You Back’ Ibanez, Alfred Iglesias, Aner Iglesias, Julio ‘I’ll Be There’ Immortal show Invincible Jackson, Blanket (son) on day of MJ’s death told of MJ’s death and window incident Jackson Brothers, see Jackson Jackson (formerly Jackson Brothers, Jackson Five) (see also individual record titles) become Jacksons (q.v.) become Motown’s biggest-selling group beginning of decline of first Billboard No of first international tour of first Motown single of first recording contract of first single of formation of Gordy sues growing TV success of hard rehearsal and practice by Jermaine quits last chart-topping single of Motown audition of Motown public debut of Motown signs talent contests won by touring begun by Jackson 5ive animated series Jackson Boulevard Jackson, Jackie (brother) in J5, see Jackson Jackson, Janet (sister) and MJ’s painkiller addiction Jackson, Jermaine (brother) on day of MJ’s death Gordy marries and Islam in J5, see Jackson leaves J5 at MJ’s funeral and Murray verdict statement issued by and Victory Jackson, Rev Jesse Jackson, Joe (father) and AllGood birth of CBS deal struck by children abused by complaint filed by on day of MJ’s death financial problems of Gordy sues Hayvenhurst estate bought by Hayvenhurst stake sold by Jackson driven hard by Katherine files for divorce from Katherine meets, marries MJ’s continuing tensions with and MJ’s will musical ambitions of on possibility of others’ involvement and Rowe and Victory and The Wiz Jackson, Katherine (mother) on day of MJ’s death files for divorce Joe meets, marries and MJ’s funeral and MJ’s painkiller addiction and MJ’s will and estate and Murray verdict Jackson, La Toya (sister) on day of MJ’s death murder suspicions of and Murray verdict on possibility of others’ involvement speaks out against MJ Jackson, Marlon (brother) in J5, see Jackson Jackson, Michael (see also individual record and film titles) aliases used by annual earnings of art collection of autopsies on back injury sustained by becomes millionaire changing appearance of charity donations of claims against estate of comeback tour planned by cosmetic procedures on crane incident concerning drugs discovered by coroner at home of drugs reliance of (see also Murray, Dr Conrad) Encino family home of failing health of fans’ vigils in honour of financial problems of first movie role of first No solo single of first solo single of funeral of Gordy identifies as star of Jackson Grammys won by hair samples taken from and hangers-on hours leading to confirmed death of in imagined alternative timelines injured during Pepsi commercial installed in Ross house and Islam, see Nation of Islam in J5, see Jackson LA condo bought by lawsuits filed against leaves CBS, joins Sony media report death of memorial service for Murray’s audio recording of music’s early influence on Neverland Ranch property bought by nose injury to post-death music sales of potential beneficiaries of death of AEG Live Branca Jackson family pronounced dead rehab undertaken by rift between siblings and ‘riot act’ read to rushed to hospital self-imposed exile of and sexual-abuse scandals (see also Chandler, Jordan) and Sony contract toxicological investigation on trial acquittal of ‘Wacko Jacko’ sobriquet of wild spending habits of wild theories on death of wills and estate of withdrawal symptoms suffered by Jackson, Paris (daughter) birth of on day of MJ’s death at MJ’s funeral Murray treats told of MJ’s death Jackson, Prince (son) birth of on day of MJ’s death told of MJ’s death Jackson, Randy (brother) in J5, see Jackson MJ owes money to Jackson, Rebbie (sister) Jackson, Tito (brother) in J5, see Jackson Jacksons (formerly Jackson 5, q.v.) (see also individual record titles) first entirely own-written album of first own material recorded by name assumed by outsell MJ’s solo work success of, without MJ The Jacksons (album) The Jacksons (TV series) Jagger, Mick Jehovah’s Witnesses Johnson, Magic Johnson, Richard Jones, Quincy Jorrie, Kathy Keith, Gordon Keough, Danny King, Don King of Pop King, Stephen Klein, Dr Arnold MJ urged to stop seeing MJ’s recorded visits to and Murray’s audio recording Knight, Gladys J5 championed by Kool & The Gang Koravos, Jessica ‘The Lady in My Life’ Lamicka, Mark Landis, John Lee, Cherilyn Lee, Spike Leiweke, Tim Lemon, Don Lester, Mark Levin, Harvey Linnel, Bob Little Richard Living with Michael Jackson Lopez, Tim raided premises of Los Angeles Forum Los Angeles Times ‘The Love You Save’ ‘Lovely One’ Lumet, Sidney McCartney, Paul McClain, John Madison Square Garden Madonna Malibiran, Nenita Maloof, George ‘Mama’s Pearl’ ‘Man in the Mirror’ Mandela, Nelson Martinez, Det Orlando Mayer, John Metzger, Dr Allan Michael Jackson & The Doctor Michael Jackson: The Life of an Icon Michael Jackson’s Ghosts Mills, Jeff Mitchell, Patricia MJJ Productions MJJcommunity.com Moonwalk (Jackson) Moonwalker Morgan, Bridgette Morgan, Piers ‘Morphine’ Motown J5 audition for and are signed by J5’s first single for Mottola, Tommy MTV, birth of Muhammad, Faheem on day of MJ’s death Muhammad, Isaac Muhammad, Larry Muhammad, Leonard Muhammad, Patrick Muhammad, Rosalind Muhammad, Wallace D Fard Murphy, Eddie Murray, Blanche Murray, Dr Conrad anaesthetic drug amassed by attempts to revive MJ background of birth and early life of contract for services of at crisis meeting on day of MJ’s death detectives’ meeting with determination of, not to accept MJ’s death and family’s lawsuit against AEG financial problems of guilty verdict on and sentencing of Hewlett’s interview with and hiding of vials in imagined alternative timeline innocence claimed by involuntary manslaughter charge against Jackson family’s suspicions of jailed on child-support charges media probe background of and Michael Jackson & The Doctor MJ meets and MJ’s grave and MJ’s ‘inner sanctum’ MJ’s insistence on hire of more time at MJ’s home spent by net closes in on nowhere to be found Phillips’s confrontation with police statement of raided premises of records MJ release of and skeletons in the closet testimony of total propofol ordered by trial of turns himself in wives and mistresses of YouTube video of Nation of Islam Neverland and Nation of Islam police raid secret vault at up for sale zoo and toys at Newsweek Ng, Connie Nguyen, Jessica Nguyen, Dr Thao testimony of ‘Off the Wall’ Off the Wall tour O’Leary, Dermot Ono, Yoko Ortega, Kenny concern of, over MJ’s health at crisis meetings on day of MJ’s death and MJ’s funeral and MJ’s readiness for O2 shows and rehearsal footage testimony of O2 concerts (see also AEG Live) delayed opening of doubt over MJ’s readiness for film of rehearsals for in imagined alternative timelines and insurance rehearsals for ticket sales for Oxman, Brian Parker, Col Tom Payne, Travis on day of MJ’s death MJ’s wellbeing concerns testimony of Pena, Michael Pepsi Pfeiffer, Jason Phillips, Randy at crisis meetings on day of MJ’s death Murray’s confrontation with Playboy Prashad, Dr Joanne Presley, Elvis Presley, Lisa Marie Presley, Priscilla Qwest Productions Ray, Ola Redding, Otis Remember the Time Richie, Lionel Riley, Teddy Robinson, Smokey ‘Rock With You’ ‘Rockin’ Robin’ Rogers, Dr Christopher conclusions of Rogers, Kenny Rolling Stone on MJ Rolling Stones, The Ross, Diana J5 Motown debut witnessed by in The Wiz Rowe, Debbie Rowe, Leonard Ruggles, Stacey Russell, Bob Rwaramba, Grace increasing influence of Sathyavagiswaran, Lakshmanan Scharf, Walter Schwartz, David Schwartz, June Seigel, Barry Seltzer, Ralph Senneff, Richard Shafer, Dr Steven Shaffel, Marc ‘Shake Your Body’ Sharpton, Rev Al ‘She’s Out of My Life’ Sinatra, Frank Singh, Anita Skywriter Slash Slavit, Dr David Smash Hits Smith, Det Scot Spears, Britney Starting Over (Jackson) ‘State of Shock’ Steeltown Records Steinberg, Dr Alon Sting Sullivan, Randall Superdog Contest Supremes, The J5 replace, as biggest-selling group Sutter, Gabe Taylor, Bob Taylor, Bobby J5 championed by Taylor, Elizabeth Taylor, Gary Temperton, Rod Terrell, Leo Tesfai, Zufan ‘This Girl Is Mine’ ‘This Is It’ comeback tour, see O2 concerts ‘This Place Hotel’ ‘Thriller’ video Thriller cost of recording MJ’s income from name of phenomenal success of remixing of sales of singles from Thriller Villa, see Hacienda Palomino TMZ.com MJ’s death reported by Tohme, Dr Tohme The Trials of Michael Jackson (Guest) Triumph tour Two Seas Records Untouchable (Sullivan) Vaughan, Sarah Victory tour Waldman, Dr Robert Walgren, DA David ‘Walk Right Now’ Walker, Stacy on day of MJ’s death ‘Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’’ ‘We Are the World’ Weiss, Christopher White, Barry Whitfield, Bill Wiesner, Dieter Williams, Michael Amir on day of MJ’s death Williams, Serena Will.i.am Wishna, Jack The Wiz Wonder, Stevie Woolley, Timm ‘Working Day and Night’ Wynn, Steve ‘You Are Not Alone’ ABOUT THE AUTHOR Matt Richards is an award-winning film director, television producer and screenwriter who has written and directed numerous documentaries and series in the UK and the U.S Mark Langthorne is CEO of Roland Mouret and has previously worked in the music industry with such stars as Kanye West, Marc Almond and Annie Lennox You can sign up for email updates here Thank you for buying this St Martin’s Press ebook To receive special offers, bonus content, and info on new releases and other great reads, sign up for our newsletters Or visit us online at us.macmillan.com/newslettersignup For email updates on the author, click here Contents Title Page Copyright Notice Dedication Chapter Chapter Chapter Chapter Chapter Chapter Chapter Chapter Chapter Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Notes Acknowledgements Select Bibliography Index About the Author Copyright THOM AS DUNNE BOOKS An imprint of St Martin’s Press 83 M INUTES Copyright © 2015 by Matt Richards and Mark Langthorne All rights reserved For information, address St Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y 10010 www.thomasdunnebooks.com www.stmartins.com Our e-books may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at (800) 221-7945, extension 5442, or by e-mail at MacmillanSpecialMarkets@macmillan.com First published in Great Britain by Blink Publishing, an imprint of the Bonnier Publishing Group First U.S Edition: June 2016 eISBN 9781250108937 First eBook edition: May 2016 ... introducing the world to Michael Jackson The next three singles by The Jackson 5: ‘ABC’, The Love You Save’ and ‘I’ll Be There’, all reached the top of the Hot 100, and they became the first recording... his brothers again They played 55 shows over five months and it was a chance for them all, and the audiences, to relive the days of The Jackson and The Jacksons But as the tour progressed, Michael. .. shield the identity of the patient it was carrying from the gathering press, the vehicle reversed up to the doors of the Emergency Room (ER) and a towel was placed over the face of the casualty The