Michael Jackson's cook Kai Chase transcription testimony
05/01/2011 14:25
Kai Chase was employed as personal chef for Michael Jackson. She began working for Michael at the end of March 2009. She is currently employed as a chef now.
Her duties were to provide breakfast, lunch and dinner to Michael and his children. On occasion she provided meals for others, people that came over as guests and employees.
Chase was asked whether her typical routine was coming in at 8am,8.30am or 9am preparing breakfast for Michael and the children before school,preparing lunch at the Carolwood residence,to which she answered yes.
“Did you prepare meals for Dr Conrad Murray?” asked DDA Brazil.
“Yes” replied Chase and identified Dr Murray.
She told the court that she would prepare breakfast for Michael Jackson and Dr Murray also. She would prepare granola sometimes or a fresh orange juice for Mr Jackson and Dr Murray would come and get it.
On June 24th she said she arrived at the house around 8.30am and she saw Michael Jackson and she saw Dr Murray that morning. Dr Murray had brought his juice to Michael Jackson. Dr Murray came down to the kitchen and would take it back to the bedroom location if that was where Michael was.
At 12 noon Chase said she prepared lunch.
“Where was Michael Jackson and his children when they ate lunch?” asked DDA Brazil
“At the dining table” replied Chase.
“Did you have a conversation with Michael Jackson on June 24th when he was eating lunch?”
“Yes” replied Chase.
She told the court that she prepared an Ahi salad for lunch and later a snack for Michael Jackson’s rehearsal for that day and she also prepared a
Tuscan wedding soup for Dr Murray and Michael Jackson which she stored in the fridge to be eaten later.
Chase was then asked about June 25th 2009.
“You arrived between 8-8.30 am? Entered through the service entrance? Would it be your normal routine to enter through the kitchen?” asked DDA Brazil.
“Yes” replied Chase.
“What did you do next?”
“I started preparing breakfast for the children. Granola, setting placemats and preparing Michael’s juice for his breakfast” replied Chase.
She was asked about the Tuscan bean soup that she had prepared the night before (24th) and she said it was left untouched in the refrigerator.
“Did you prepare breakfast for the children?” asked DDA Brazil
“Correct” answered Chase.
“You started preparing their lunch?”
“I went to the market which was down the street, then I started preparing lunch” answered Chase.
“About what time was it when you went to the market” asked DDA Brazil
“Around 9am” replied Chase.
“About what time did you return?”
“Closer to quarter to ten” answered Chase.
“Did you in fact prepare lunch when you returned from the market?”
“Yes”
“What was the normal lunch time?” asked DDA Brazil
“12.30pm” replied Chase.
“Was that pretty consistent when they had lunch?”
“Yes” Chase answered.
“Did Dr Murray come down to pick up the juice as was his custom on June 25th?”
“No” answered Chase
From the time you arrived at the residence, when was the first time you saw Dr Murray that day?” asked DDA Brazil
“Saw him between 12.05pm and 12.10pm” replied Chase.
“How is it that you are certain of the time?”
“I’m a chef, I’m preparing for a particular time so I look at my cell phone to see if I’m on time” Chase replied.
“Describe the circumstances that you saw Dr Murray after that time”
“Dr Murray came down the stairs. He went and entered the kitchen screaming to get Prince, get help and to call security. I immediately ran to where the children were and got Prince” replied Chase.
Prince ran up the stairs to the area that Dr Murray was located and she remained in the kitchen.
Chase was asked if she heard anything after and she said she heard the housekeeper crying and the housekeeper said to her that there may be something wrong with Michael Jackson.
“Did you see Prince?” asked DDA Brazil
“He was with his siblings down on the first floor near the kitchen praying” replied Chase.
“We were consoling one another and we were praying. We were holding hands and praying” continued Chase.
“What was the next thing that happened?” asked DDA Brazil.
“Paramedics arrive. I had seen paramedics and security running up the stairs”.
“Did you go upstairs?”
“No” replied Chase.
“After you saw the paramedics, did you remain at the residence?”
“I remained at the residence until 1pm” replied Chase.
“And security asked you to leave? Did you see the paramedics leave the residence prior to you leaving the residence?” asked DDA Brazil.
“No” replied Chase.
Exhibit 15 showed to the court, kitchen area at the Carolwood residence and Chase is asked to show using the laser pointer where she was located when Dr Murray instructed her to call Prince and security.
She indicated to the court that she was at the corner of the island closest to the counter.
Exhibit 16 was then shown to the court and Chase was asked “This is the kitchen, stairway. Where does that stairway go? What does it lead to?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never been on the second floor. I’ve never been up those stairs” replied Chase.
Chase shows the court where Dr Murray came down the stairs and stopped near the 3rd or 4th banister area.
“He was leaning over when he called out to you?” asked DDA Brazil.
“Yes he was” replied Chase.
“Did he ever instruct you to call 911?”
“No” replied Chase.
Chase then shows on the exhibit where Dr Murray was when he called out to her.
“Ms Chase, you indicated that as soon as Dr Murray came down the stairs he instructed you to get Prince and security, you went into the den area where the children were?”
“Correct” answered Chase.
Exhibit shown to the court to show direction she went when she went to get Prince.
Chase was then asked if when Dr Murray came down the stairs if she had any difficulty understanding what he said to her. She said that initiallythere was music playing in the house but that she could understand him clearly.
“Did he ever shout call 911?” asked DDA Brazil
“No” replied Chase.
“Did Dr Murray come all the way down the stairs?”
“He remained at the top portion (of the stairs)” answered Chase.
“Describe Dr Murray’s demeanor when he asked you to get Prince”
“He seemed in a panic” replied Chase.
“Did you ever see Dr Murray again?”
“No I did not” replied Chase.
“Is that the same stairway that Dr Murray first came down?”
“No that’s a different stairway” replied Chase.
CROSS EXAMINATION BY THE DEFENSE
“Tell us how long you have worked in Mr Jackson’s house?”
“I worked for Michael Jackson since March, five or six months” replied Chase.
“Primarily cooking not only to Michael but other people as children or for meetings?”
“Yes” replied Chase.
“Is it true that Mr Jackson had a particular diet?”
“No Mr Jackson ate quite healthy, organic foods” replied Chase.
“In fact did Dr Murray had some contribution as to what that diet might consist of?”
“Briefly” answered Chase.
“Is it fair to say that you had a sense of obligation to adhere to that diet?”
“He was required to eat well because of that tour he was about to go on” replied Chase.
Chase told the court that Michael Jackson wanted to eat healthy and he wanted his children to eat healthy.
“Was someone other than Dr Murray required so that you can prepare this health food?”
“No” replied Chase.
“During your time at the house you said you had never been to the second floor?”
“There was no need to. My room was the kitchen” answered Chase.
“Did you have any understanding that there were various parts of the house not to go to?”
“I’ve worked for a lot of high powered clients and this is something that you don’t do. Your job is the kitchen and you just don’t do that” replied Chase.
“You’re aware of their privacy and you’re very good at that?”
“Yes”
“Who had access (to the upstairs) his children?”
“The area where I worked was the kitchen area. So if there anyone other than his children,they would come down in the kitchen and that’s what I would see” replied Chase.
“Had you ever seen Dr Murray ever come down those stairs prior?”
“Yes” replied Chase.
“Besides Dr Murray coming down getting the juice, did you ever see him come down with something else or go up?”
“He would come down with oxygen tanks” answered Chase.
“They were metal black tanks? Did they have a valve on top?”
“Yes”
“Did they have masks?”
“Maybe” answered Chase.
“Sometimes you see tanks with/on a set of wheels were they something like that?”
“Yes”
“How old was Michael Jackson?”
“50”
“You understand there was something in his health that required a regular dose of oxygen?”
“I was not aware of that” replied Chase.
“How would you enter the house?”
“I would enter in the service area of the home. Security would knock on the door then the children or whomever was in the home would open that door. I never had a key to that door” replied Chase.
“Did you know if anyone had a key to that door?”
“No I don’t” Chase replied.
“ Morning of June 25th. Is it fair to say the first event that came to your attention was Dr Murray coming down the stairs?”
“Yes”
“Can you go there now and tell us what you see?”
“I see him panic stricken. His…”
“What does that look like?”
“His eyes were large. He’s screaming. Panic” replied Chase.
“Time is of the essence. Did you get that sense?”
“Yes”
“Did you have any disagreement with that or did you agree with that?”
“Yes”
“He wanted to find the kids?”
“He asked me to get security and Prince, yes” answered Chase.
“He didn’t say why he required those things?”
“No”
“Did he ask you to do anything else?”
“No”
“Did he ask you to call security on the phone?”
“No, he did not”
“Did he say anything else to you?”
“I dropped what I was doing and ran down to reach Prince” replied Chase.
“How long did that take?”
“Approximately 2 seconds.I then went back to the kitchen and proceeded to my work”
Chase was then asked why she never contacted security and she answered because Prince was in her eyesight. Dr Murray was in a panic and she didn’t know what was taking place,she just knew something was very urgent.
“So you decided not to call them?”
“Because again, Prince was in my eyesight and I knew that if I went out of the house Prince wouldn’t be in my eyesight while locating security. Prince was in my eyesight and that was the best choice. He asked me to get Prince. I brought him to the stairs and I went back to work” replied Chase.
“Was Dr Murray still on the stairs when you brought Prince back?”
“I believe so”
“And Prince and he went up the stairs together?”
“They had met, yes”
Defense asks Judge Pastor for a moment.
“Do you recall seeing any other individual that day. Do you know someone by the name of Rosalin?”
“Sister Rose”
“Did you see her that day?”
“She was in the den with the children” replied Chase.
“Did you see Faheem Muhammad that morning?”
“Yes”
“Where did you see him?”
“Outside in the courtyard” answered Chase.
“Your location in the kitchen gives you a very limited view of the house?”
“Yes”
“Mr Michael Amir, do you recall whether you saw him that day?”
“I did not” answered Chase.
“I believe that just before Mr Murray came down the stairs you looked at your cell phone?”
Chase said that she wore a chef uniform and an apron with two pockets and her phone was in her pocket. She remembered the time being from 12.05pm or 12.10pm.
“At that time when I saw Dr Murray I wasn’t looking at my phone. When I looked at my phone it wasn’t long after that I saw Dr Murray”.
She said that she had recently looked at her phone and then a short time later she saw Dr Murray.
“From the time you saw Dr Murray and when the paramedics arrived how long was that?”
“I went back to work. From where I was in the kitchen I couldn’t see so I don’t know” replied Chase.
DDA Brazil REDIRECT
“You told us that you prepared daily juice for Mr Jackson. About what time did you prepare the juice?”
“Around 9am, 9.30am”
“What time would Dr Murray come downstairs and pick the prepared juice up?”
“10am” replied Chase.
“You sensed the panic and emergency in Dr Murray’s demeanor and so you crossed over into the den where you knew Prince would be.
Chase said that after getting Prince they both ran.
“From the time that you walked across the area and you and Prince ran back to the kitchen area, were you able to see Dr Murray?”
“Vaguely”
“Does that mean you saw a portion of his body?”
“Yes” replied Chase.
“Dr Murray gave you no other reason but only insisted you to get Prince or get security?” asked DDA Brazil.
Judge Pastor asks“Was it an OR or AND?”
“Get Prince. Get security. No “OR” or “AND””
“You chose to get Prince because Prince was closer?”
Objection! Sustained.
“Why did you choose?”
“Well Prince was in my eyesight. I could see. My first instinct was to get Prince as opposed to going out of the house and into the courtyard looking for security” replied Chase.
Cross Examination by Low.
“When you got there, you saw Dr Murray and described his demeanor, that sense of urgency transferred to you as well?” asks Low
“Yes”
“And so you got Prince?”
“Yes”
“So then you went back to the kitchen?”
“Yes”
“Then you at some point went with the children and started to pray? You never went upstairs?” asked Low.
“Correct” replied Chase.
Chase was then asked what she saw, “I saw a gurney…it was empty. The housekeepers started crying. There was an energy in the house. There was an energy of uncertainty so we started consoling one another”.
“Tell me what that energy said to you, it changed you?”
“It was a feeling of uncertainty. It didn’t feel right. It was a happy home, there was music always playing and there were dogs and animals because it was a happy home” answered Chase.
“So that’s why you liked to work there because it was a happy home?”
“Who wouldn’t” replied Chase.
“What was Dr Murray doing?”
Objection! Calls for speculation! (ruling?)
“I didn’t see” replied Chase.
Witness is excused and asked to leave the stand.
MJFS