EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Doctor Conrad Murray Gave Cops Wrong Timeline, Says His Lawyer
Feb. 16 2010, Published 2:20 p.m. ET
Adding a surprising twist to the Michael Jackson homicide investigation Dr. Conrad Murray’s attorney Michael Flanagan tells RadarOnline.com exclusively that his client made a mistake when he was initially interviewed by the LAPD following Michael Jackson’s death in June 2009.
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"Dr. Murray's timeline of events that day when Michael Jackson died is wrong,” Flanagan says. “Doctors make mistakes, and that is what he did, and it was simply just that, a mistake.”
Dr. Murray changing the story that he initially told police in the aftermath of Jackson’s death is a significant event for both the prosecution and the defense.
According to police reports Dr. Murray initially told the LAPD that he administered the powerful sedative Propofol to Jackson at 10.50am, and that he then left Jackson alone for two minutes to go to the bathroom. Murray then went on to say that when he returned to Jackson’s room he wasn’t breathing and this is when he began CPR.
However, the 911 call wasn’t actually made until 12.21 pm, considerably after Murray stated that he had discovered Jackson in distress and started CPR. In addition, a voicemail message was released Monday that Murray reportedly made at 11.54 am to another patient of his, Bob Russell. In the voicemail Murray sounds calm and collected as he informs his patient about the results of a heart scan. That’s a situation that seems incredible if Murray had in fact been performing CPR on Jackson for approximately an hour before the call.
AUDIO: Listen To Dr. Murray's Message To Bob Russell
But now Flanagan says that Murray was wrong about the timing of events. He would not, however, get more specific about when Murray found Jackson in distress.
The timeline of events surrounding the death of Jackson will most likely be central to the criminal case against Dr. Murray. Some reports say that both the defense and the prosecution plan to use the newly surfaced voicemail as a centerpiece to their case. Murray’s legal team aims to discredit cops' initial interviews with their client in a bid to convince a jury that they bungled the situation, according to some sources.
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But Flanagan, who still hasn't received formal discovery from the prosecutors, and hasn't heard the official voicemail <http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2010/02/exclusive-interview-michael-jacksons-dr-got-timeline-wrong-says-lawyer> message that Dr. Murray left for Bob Russell, says that he believes his client simply made a mistake when it came to the timeline that fateful day. "Dr. Murray's timeline was wrong," he told RadarOnline.com, adding that he also believes there is another phone call that has not been uncovered. And that other voicemail is reportedly a phone call between Murray and his girlfriend in Houston, shortly after noon. 911 was called at 12:21.
So if Murray did administer Propofol to Jackson at 10:50 am as he initially told police, it would be natural for cops to assume he did not come back and check on Jackson until several minutes after mid-day, when he rushed off the phone to go to Jackson’s aide. That would mean he most likely left Jackson alone for approximately 73 minutes – not two minutes as he claimed -- after administering Propofol, which would be extremely damaging to his defense. Murray’s calm phone call to a patient at 11:54 am would fit a police theory that he did not check on Jackson after administering Propofol.
Now, with Flanagan saying Murray was wrong about the timeline, it favorably (for Murray) explains why he was calm during the call to his patient and does not make it look like the doctor left Jackson alone for a long time after administering Propofol.