Alberto Alvarez's testimony
04/01/2011 18:22
This is the second person that was in Michael Jackson's bedroom. The court heard that his job was to perform "advances" security for the travelling route ahead. He would make sure that everything was ready for Michael Jackson upon his arrival.
Sometimes he would check traffic reports so that they could avoid those types of security shut downs.
Alvarez had been employed by Michael Jackson off and on since 2004,2005. His title was Director of Logistics.
Alvarez was asked by DDA Walgren if he worked at the Carolwood address. Alvarez responded "That's correct".
DDA Walgren then asked, "During the time you were working at the Carolwood address, did you at any time meet Dr Murray?"
Identifies the witness.
DDA Walgren then asks "When did you first meet Dr Murray?
Alvarez replies saying "Sometime after January 2009, I don't recall exactly.Met him at the property 100 North Carolwood".
Alvarez was then asked if during the months of April, May and June whether he saw Dr Murray there with any regularity. Alvarez answered "Yes sir. Maybe five or six times a week".
DDA Walgren then asked when Dr Murray would typically arrive at the residence. Alvarez replied "Typically in the afternoons"
"To your knowledge would he stay overnight?" Alvarez replied "Yes sir".
"Going to the events of the 24th & 25th June 2009, did Michael have a rehearsal at the Staples Center and did you work as part of the advance team?"
"That's correct" replied Alvarez.
Alvarez was then asked "What time did you leave Carolwood?" "Approximately about 6pm"
DDA Walgren then asked Alvarez what he did when he arrived at the venue. Alvarez replied saying "What we usually did was walk through the entire venue, quick scan and make sure there wasn't anyone there who wasn't supposed to be. We would get the Staples security to make sure everything was secure and that his dressing room was secure".
DDA Walgren asked if this advance work had taken place on the 24th June. "Yes sir. Was there to greet him and take him through. Took him from the Escalade caravan through the complex".
Alvarez then went on to describe how Michael's demeanor was on that day. "What I remember is, he was happy, in a very cheerful mood. That day I was assigned to the back stage. There was a ramp at the back stage where the dancers come through".
DDA Walgren then asks if the ramp was where he (Alvarez) was located. "Yes" replied Alvarez.
This being the case Alvarez didn't have much interaction with Michael throughout rehearsals. His only interaction was through the "ball park" (on the return trip home). He then took Michael with the golf cart to the Escalades.
"Did Michael still appear to be in good spirits?" DDA Walgren asked. "Yes sir".
Once Alvarez had got Michael back into his vehicle it was then his job to select the route back to Carolwood.
DDA Walgren asks if Alvarez arrived back at the house before Michael Jackson to which Alvarez replies "Yes sir".
He was then asked if he saw a vehicle on the driveway that he recognized as Dr. Murray's. "Yes".
"What time did you arrive?" "It was after midnight sir".
Alvarez and the court are then shown a photo of Dr Murray's vehicle. Alvarez said he did not see Dr Murray, just his vehicle. Alvarez then parked the vehicle in the driveway and made sure the door was open.
Alvarez was then asked if he was part of the crew who would bring things into the house. "Yes sir" he replied.
Alvarez then checked into the security office beside the trailer.
Alvarez being questioned about events on June 25th 2009.
DDA Walgren asks Alvarez "At 12.17pm did you receive a phone call?
"Yes from Michael Amir" replies Alvarez.
DDA Walgren continues,"On that day, do you recall what the phone number was?" Alvarez says the number.
Walgren then says " 12.17pm from Michael Amir Williams?" "That's correct" replied Alvarez.
Walgren asks if Alvarez answered the call. "No, I was sitting at my desk and my phone was in my pocket. I reached into my pocket but by the time I pulled it out it had gone to voice mail. So I dialed back twice and he was able to answer. He proceeded to ask me if I was at the property, I said yes. He said go to the front. He said walk don't run".
Exhibit of the front of the house is shown and Walgren asks Alvarez to identify the security trailer and photo of the front door. He also shows him on the exhibits the path he took from the trailer to the front door.
"While you were walking the path were you on the phone to Michael Williams?" "Yes I am" replied Alvarez.
"Are you continuing to converse with him"? "Yes".
Alvarez was then asked another question by Michael Amir Williams on the phone (not sure what that was as it's not in the notes) but Michael Amir then said "Okay never mind jog to the front of the house".
Walgren then asks Alvarez if he went to the front door and attempted to open the door? "Yes sir" replied Alvarez.
"Were you able to gain access?" "Not immediately.The door was locked".
The court was then shown photos of the front door.
"Were you looking through the door as you approached?" "Yes"
"When you first looked through who did you see?" "I saw the nanny Rosalin (sp?) and Paris next to her. I saw Kai Chase and I looked toward the top and I noticed Dr Conrad."
Another photo exhibit is shown to the court. The front doors are glass doors. Alvarez describes the entrance way and entry areas in the house.
Alvarez then points to the photograph to show where he saw Rosalin, Paris and Kai Chase (the chef) standing. They were to the left of the photo near the stair.
"You also saw Dr Murray?" "Yes sir"
Walgren points to the top of a photo showing the wooden railing of the landing area and asks if Dr Murray was in this area. "Yes" replies Alvarez.
Walgren then asks Alvarez to describe what Dr Murray was doing at this time.
"When I saw him he was leaning over, looking downward (Alvarez demonstrates palms on a rail looking downstairs) I made eye contact with Rosalin, she proceeded to the door and unlocked the door".
Walgren asks "Were you still on the phone?" "Yes I told Michael Amir that I was in the house".
Walgren then asks what happened on entering the house.
"I got to the stairs, skipped steps to get to the top as fast as possible".
Walgren then went on to ask what happened after he got to the top of the stairway.
Alvarez said that when arriving at the top of the stairs, Dr Murray was coming from the hallway.
Alvarez then goes over a diagram as to where people were at this point and tells the court where Dr Murray was.
Alvarez was asked what direction Dr Murray was walking in and again pointed to the diagram showed the court which direction Dr Murray was walking towards the room from.
Walgren then asks "Who enters the foyer area first?" "Dr Murray" Alvarez replied.
Alvarez was then asked if when he walked into that area if he had seen Michael's son Prince. Alvarez replied saying "As I was coming up the stairs I saw Michael's son Prince coming from the opposite direction. He had reached the top of the stairs".
Walgren then asked "When you first saw Dr Murray did he say anything to you?"
"He said Alberto, come quick".
Alvarez was still on the phone to Michael Amir and then at that point hung up.
Alvarez was then shown a photograph and was asked if it was the entry to the foyer. Alvarez shows on the photo where he was and said "As I entered the foyer I looked over to my right side and walked toward the right side to the 2nd floor bedroom".
Walgren then asks "Now, when you first walked in what did you see Dr Murray do?
"He was on the right side of the bed and he was giving chest compressions to Michael".
Walgren then asks Alvarez to confirm the direction Michael was laying and which direction his feet were pointing towards and was Michael's head at the head of the bed to which Alvarez replied "Yes sir".
Walgren then asks "What observations did you make about Mr Jackson?"
"He was flat on his back with his hands to the side of him in this manner and his face was slightly to the left and his eyes were open and his mouth was open".
Walgren asks "His head to the left, his head was slightly turned towards the foyer area?" "That's correct" replied Alvarez.
Walgren then asks "What did you see Dr Murray do?" "He was standing over him. He was giving chest compressions with one hand".
Alvarez demonstrates to the court with one hand up and down.
Walgren then asked "While this was going on was Michael on the bed?"
"Yes sir" replied Alvarez.
Walgren then asked "While this was going on Paris and Prince entered the room?"
Alvarez said he told Doctor Murray "We need to get him to a hospital and get him to an ambulance." Paris screamed "Daddy!" and she started crying. Dr Murray then said "Get them out. Don't let them see their father like this!" I turned to the children and said something like "Don't worry children we'll take care of it" and then I got them to go outside and I secured them outside and then I shut the door. I then returned to the room where Michael Jackson was on the bed and I asked what happened. Dr Murray said "He had a reaction!, He had a reaction!" and that's all he said at the time".
Walgren then asks "On your return to the room after escourting the children out, did you notice tubing or some type of tubing in Michael Jackson's groin areas?" "His penis was out of his underwear and he had an apparatus on his penis and there was tubing attached".
Alvarez was then asked if he knew what a condom catheter was and was it something that attracted his attention,Alvarez replied "I saw that".
Walgren then goes on to ask "Did you see any type of emergency medical equipment such as a heart monitor or medical equipment of this nature?
Alvarez replied "The only thing that stands out sir is an IV stand".
Walgren then asks "Where was the IV stand when you saw it?" Alvarez then shows the court using the laser pointer to indicate on the exhibit and says "On this side of the bed". The general location of where Dr Murray was on the far side of the bed with the night stand and the chairs.
Walgren asked "Could you tell if the IV had anything attached to it?" Alvarez replied saying "I noticed it was there. I didn't focus on it".
Walgren then went on to say "By this time you knew that he was Michael Jackson's personal doctor?" "Yes sir" answered Alvarez.
"Did he instruct you on what to do?" asked Walgren.
"After he said a bad reaction I just froze.I was looking at the situation. I looked around at the whole scene and he grabbed a handful of bottles, vials and he instructed me to put them into a bag. I looked to my right and there was a chair and a plastic bag so I went for that bag and I had him put the medicine bottles in the bag."
Walgren then describes the scene of a night stand and little table in the area at the side of the bed Dr Murray was on and asks if this is where Dr Murray took the medicine bottles from. Alvarez replies "Yes sir".
The court is then shown a photograph of the night stand.
Walgren then asks Alvarez "What exactly then did you see Dr Murray do?
"I saw him grab the bottles (demonstrating to the court with one hand) Grabbed those, stretched them out to me"
Walgren then asked "Was he still at the bed? Was he actually kneeling at this time?"
(Sadly the answer to this question wasn't heard by the person reporting in the courtroom)
Another question was asked by Walgren to which Alvalez answers "It was a see-through type of grocery bag. I was standing at the foot of the bed. He was closer to the (left?)".
Walgren then asked "You held open the plastic bag?" "Yes sir. Dr, Murray then placed the bottles in the bag."
Walgren asks how Alvarez was able to tell they were bottles. Alvarez replies "Because I saw them. He held them out and put them in the bag". Alvarez then demonstrates to the court how he held the bag open and how Dr Murray dropped the bottles in the bag.
Walgren continues "Now that the bottles are in the bag, what did Dr Murray tell you to do with that bag?"
Alvarez answers "Put it ( the clear plastic bag) in the brown bag and I looked towards that direction and saw a brown bag that was left of a chair facing the bag. There was a brown bag and I dropped the bag".
Walgren clarifies "You dropped the plastic bag into a brown bag?" "Yes sir" replied Alvarez. According to Alvarez there was a blue bag next to the brown one.
"What did you do after that"? asks Walgren. "He then instructed me to remove the IV bag"
"At this point 911 had not been called yet?" asked Walgren. "That’s true sir" said Alvarez.
Alvarez then went on to describe what Dr Murray instructed him to do.
"From his position he pointed with one hand at the IV stand and said remove that bag and put it in the blue bag".
Walgren then asks "Did you remove it per his instructions and did you put it in a blue bag?"
"That's correct" replied Alvarez.
Walgren continues "And did you notice anything about that IV bag?"
"Yes sir the IV bag was hanging at eye level. I noticed that inside there was a bottle inside the bag. I noticed that at the bottom of the bag there was a milk like substance".
"It was a milk like color?" asks Walgren. "It was whitish, yes sir".
"And when you removed that IV bag that appeared to have a bottle inside, was there another bag hanging from the IV?" asked Walgren.
"Yes" replied Alvarez.
"Did Dr Murray instruct you to remove that bag". "No sir" replied Alvarez.
Walgren continues "At that point did he tell you to call 911?"
"Yes sir".
"And did you do so?" "Yes sir" replied Alvarez.
"At this point I would like to play the 911 call" Walgren says.
The court then listens to the 911 recording and is shown a copy of the transcript.
"You relayed to the operator that Michael Jackson was still on the bed while Dr Murray was attempting some kind of compressions?" asks Walgren.
"Yes sir" replied Alvarez.
"In regards to the bags that Dr Murray had you place the bags and IV in, do you know what happened to those bags?" asks Walgren.
"No sir" replies Alvarez.
"Were the compressions being done with one hand?" asks Walgren.
"I don't recall sir"
"Have you told the police back in August that it was one handed and were you trying to be as accurate as possible?" asked Walgren.
"Yes sir".
Alvarez then gives a brief description of what took place after the 911 call. He said that after the 911 call they moved Michael to the floor and that Dr Murray assisted in this. Alvarez then said that Michael had an IV in his leg so Dr Murray took the IV out.
Alvarez was then asked about a device that was possibly attached to Michael's finger.
“Do you know what a pulse oximeter is?” “No sir”
The court was then told that Dr Murray had assisted in bringing Michael’s body to the floor and that there was a pulse oximeter on Michael’s finger but Dr Murray removed it from Michael’s finger.
The witness then describes what he saw of the oximeter.
Through questioning Walgren reminds Alvarez of an earlier testimony with detectives where he said he had seen Dr Murray with the pulse oximeter for a period of time before Michael Jacksons death.
Dr Murray had came to the trailer room asking for batteries a few days before and Alvarez had given batteries to Dr Murray. At the time Dr Murray was holding this same device that he placed on Michael’s finger.
Alvarez went on to explain that “While Faheem Muhammad was in the room I approached him and said "it’s not looking good." While we were looking at each other, I heard Dr Murray say "Does anyone know CPR?" We looked at each other for a split frozen second, like at each other. Like, okay you do it. So I walked over to Mr Jackson. He (Dr Murray) instructed me to give chest compressions. He was pushing with two hands one over the other. He started giving him mouth to mouth.”
“Did Dr Murray make any comment about giving mouth to mouth?” asked Walgren.
“He came and said “This is the first time that I’ve given mouth to mouth, but I have to do it because he’s my friend” answered Alvarez.
“Now at about this time, did you become aware that paramedics had arrived at the scene?”
“The paramedics came into the entry way” answered Alvarez.
“At that point did they take over trying to save Michael?” asked Walgren.
“I moved out of the way” replied Alvarez.
“Did you see Michael? Were you present when he was moved from the side to the foot of the bed?”
“Yes sir” replied Alvarez and shows the move of the body on the diagram.
“Did you remain in the room while paramedics tried to revive Michael?” continued Walgren.
“Yes I was in and out. I went downstairs to let Michael Amir in. At one time I went down again to check on the children” replied Alvarez.
“At any point during your own personal observations, was there any indication that he was alive?”
“Objection!” “Sustained”.
“Did it appear to you that Michael was breathing?” Walgren continues.
“No sir” replies Alvarez.
“You said his eyes were open and his mouth was open?” “Yes sir” replies Alvarez.
“When you picked him up was he limp?”
“Yes”
“So did he seem to be alive or dead?”
“Dead sir” replied Alvarez.
(Objection overruled)
“Were you present when the paramedics took Michael out of the room?” continues Walgren.
“I was walking up when they were walking down the stairs with the stretcher."
Was it the same stairs that we’ve been referencing throughout?”
“Yes sir”.
“What did you do as Michael was brought out of the home and brought into the ambulance?” asked Walgren.
“I was watching the children and making sure that they didn’t see him being brought out”.
“At some point, did you follow the ambulance to UCLA Medical Center?” asked Walgren.
“I was in one of the Escalades” replied Alvarez.
“Did you remain at the hospital and see subsequent ER treatment of Michael?”
“Yes”
“At some point at the hospital, did you become aware that Michael had been pronounced dead?”
“Yes” replied Alvarez.
“After learning that while still at UCLA did Dr Murray say anything to you?” asked Walgren.
“He approached me a couple of times. First time he said “Thank you for all that we did”.
“We tried our best” I said.
He then asked me if we could go home or him to be taken back to the home.
I didn’t have the keys or authority. He proceeded to ask Michael Amir” answered Alvarez.
“After that did you ever see Dr Murray again?” “No sir”.
“At some point were you involved in the logistics to leave UCLA?” asked Walgren.
“After they had secured the body we discussed how we were going to take him out. We then learned that it was all taken care of and we proceeded to leave UCLA, Amir,Faheem and Derek(sp?) and myself we drove around towards Carolwood. At the house we saw that there were already a lot of police officers that had blocked off the area. We identified ourselves and they let us in” said Alvarez.
“Did you remain at that location?” asked Walgren.
“I was there for a few minutes. Then I was instructed to take the children’s dog to the Hayvenhurst property, a Labrador that they owned, so I proceed to but it didn’t have a leash so I used my belt and took it to Hayvenhurst.
“Another residence associated with the Jackson family?” asks Walgren.
“Yes” replied Alvarez.
Morning break is called.
MJFS