USA: Richard Senneff, a paramedic who responded to the 911 call for Michael Jackson, testifies the late pop star's doctor Conrad Murray told him Jackson had no underlying health condition and was only taking a mild sedative

Record ID: 449560

  • Title: USA: Richard Senneff, a paramedic who responded to the 911 call for Michael Jackson, testifies the late pop star's doctor Conrad Murray told him Jackson had no underlying health condition and was only taking a mild sedative
  • Date: 1st October 2011
  • Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (SEPTEMBER 30, 2011) (UNRESTRICTED POOL) DR. CONRAD MURRAY SEATED AT DEFENSE TABLE (SOUNDBITE) (English) DEBORAH BRAZIL, PROSECUTOR, SAYING: "Please describe for us what words you used in your pursuit of obtaining information from Dr. Murray regarding the patient's condition." (SOUNDBITE) (English) RICHARD SENNEFF, PARAMEDIC, SAYING: "I asked what his underlying health condition was, he did respond. I asked again what his underlying health condition was, he did not respond. And then he, I think it was the third time he said nothing, nothing, he has nothing and simply that did not add up to me." (SOUNDBITE) (English) DEBORAH BRAZIL, PROSECUTOR, SAYING: "Why is that?" (SOUNDBITE) (English) RICHARD SENNEFF, PARAMEDIC, SAYING: "Doctor is in the house, IV pull, IV hooked up to the patient. It didn't seem normal." (SOUNDBITE) (English) DEBORAH BRAZIL, PROSECUTOR, SAYING: "Were the drapes drawn in the residence, in the bedroom where you were in?" (SOUNDBITE) (English) RICHARD SENNEFF, PARAMEDIC, SAYING: "Frankly, I don't recall." (SOUNDBITE) (English) DEBORAH BRAZIL, PROSECUTOR, SAYING: "So you are assessing the scene and the information that you are receiving from Dr. Murray isn't making sense to you. Correct?" (SOUNDBITE) (English) RICHARD SENNEFF, PARAMEDIC, SAYING: "That's correct." (SOUNDBITE) (English) DEBORAH BRAZIL, PROSECUTOR, SAYING: "Did you ask Dr. Murray how long the patient had been in this condition or how long the patient had been down?" (SOUNDBITE) (English) RICHARD SENNEFF, PARAMEDIC, SAYING: "I did ask him that." (SOUNDBITE) (English) DEBORAH BRAZIL, PROSECUTOR, SAYING: "What did Dr. Murray say in response to that question?" (SOUNDBITE) (English) RICHARD SENNEFF, PARAMEDIC, SAYING: "It just happened right when I called you." (SOUNDBITE) (English) DEBORAH BRAZIL, PROSECUTOR, SAYING: "And in your mind, what did that mean in terms of timing of this patient's present condition?" (SOUNDBITE) (English) RICHARD SENNEFF, PARAMEDIC, SAYING: "It meant to me that this was a patient that was somebody we had a really good chance of saving." (SOUNDBITE) (English) DEBORAH BRAZIL, PROSECUTOR, SAYING: "Why is that? Does it relate to the timing?" (SOUNDBITE) (English) RICHARD SENNEFF, PARAMEDIC, SAYING: "It definitely relates to the timing. It comes down to if he called us, right when we got the call, I knew that we got there very, very quickly, it means that we are going to be able to have a good chance of restarting the heart, if that's the issue." JUDGE (SOUNDBITE) (English) DEBORAH BRAZIL, PROSECUTOR, SAYING: "You told us that you're calculating the time that you received the call which you have told us the time that you responded out of the station was what time?" (SOUNDBITE) (English) RICHARD SENNEFF, PARAMEDIC, SAYING: "12:22 " (SOUNDBITE) (English) DEBORAH BRAZIL, PROSECUTOR, SAYING: "As does Peoples Number 43 permit you to describe the time that you are at the patient, making the observations that you have just described for us?" (SOUNDBITE) (English) RICHARD SENNEFF, PARAMEDIC, SAYING: "Yes, it does." (SOUNDBITE) (English) DEBORAH BRAZIL, PROSECUTOR, SAYING: "What time is that?" (SOUNDBITE) (English) RICHARD SENNEFF, PARAMEDIC, SAYING: "12:26" (SOUNDBITE) (English) DEBORAH BRAZIL, PROSECUTOR, SAYING: "So, in your mind, basically, five minutes has elapsed from the time that you received the call for distress and the time that you are physically with your eyes on the patient. Is that correct?" (SOUNDBITE) (English) RICHARD SENNEFF, PARAMEDIC, SAYING: "Yes." MURRAY SITTING (SOUNDBITE) (English) DEBORAH BRAZIL, PROSECUTOR, SAYING: "Did you look at the reading on the EKG machine once it was hooked up to Mr. Jackson's chest?" (SOUNDBITE) (English) RICHARD SENNEFF, PARAMEDIC, SAYING: "Yes, I did." (SOUNDBITE) (English) DEBORAH BRAZIL, PROSECUTOR, SAYING: "What did you see on the screen?" (SOUNDBITE) (English) RICHARD SENNEFF, PARAMEDIC, SAYING: "Asystole." (SOUNDBITE) (English) DEBORAH BRAZIL, PROSECUTOR, SAYING: "What does that mean?" (SOUNDBITE) (English) RICHARD SENNEFF, PARAMEDIC, SAYING: "Flatline." (SOUNDBITE) (English) DEBORAH BRAZIL, PROSECUTOR, SAYING: "The machine, the EKG machine, is it a portable machine? You obviously carried it up to the bedroom with you, set it down, hooked it up to Mr. Jackson and got a reading." (SOUNDBITE) (English) RICHARD SENNEFF, PARAMEDIC, SAYING: "Yes."
  • Embargoed: 16th October 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa, Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Entertainment
  • Reuters ID: LVA62R99HZUL6OGNMHKF63FO6FLL
  • Story Text: During day four of the manslaughter trial against Conrad Murray, a paramedic who responded to the 911 call for Michael Jackson testified on Friday (September 30) that Murray told him the late singer had no underlying health condition.
    "I asked again what his underlying health condition was, he did not respond. And then he, I think it was the third time he said nothing, nothing, he has nothing and simply that did not add up to me," Richard Senneff, a witness for the prosecution, said.
    Senneff said Murray's answer did not satisfy him, adding that the scene did not seem "normal" because of Jackson's low body weight and an IV hooked up to him.
    The paramedic said he continued to question Murray, asking him if the patient was taking any medication as emergency responders worked on Jackson.
    "He said no, he is not taking anything, and then he followed that up with I just gave him a little bit of Lorazepam to sleep," Senneff said.
    Under questioning about the timeline of events, the paramedic testified that approximately five minutes had elapsed between when received the 911 call for help and when he arrived on the scene.
    The paramedic said, while on the scene, he asked Murray how soon he had placed the distress call.
    Senneff said Murray told him, "It just happened right when I called you." Senneff said he then thought there was enough time to revive the patient.
    During his testimony Friday morning, the paramedic said the medical team also had a EKG machine to monitor Jackson's heart. Senneff said he saw on the screen, "Flatline."
    Murray has denied he is guilty of the involuntary manslaughter of Jackson on June 25, 2009 but admits giving the 50-year-old pop star a dose of the powerful anesthetic propofol as a sleep aid. He faces a prison sentence of up to four years if convicted.
    The trial is expected to last four to six weeks.
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