Michael Jackson’s former nurse cried during her testimony yesterday as the trial into the singer’s death entered its 17th day.
Cherylin Lee told the court that she warned the Thriller star over and over that the drugs he was taking could kill him.
Jackson’s former physician Dr. Conrad Murray has been charged with involuntary manslaughter after the King of Pop died in June 2009 from acute Propofol intoxication.
He has denied the claims and his defence team is now putting forward their case after several weeks of testimony from the prosecution.
Lee told the jury that she initially did not know what Propofol was but after looking into it she realised that she did not believe it was the best thing for Jackson to be taking to help his insomnia.
She said that she told Jackson “nobody who cared or had your best interest at heart is going to give you this.”
Jackson apparently told her that the powerful anesthetic was safe to use as long as he was carefully monitored.
Prosecutor David Walgren read Lee’s medical records that she kept for the singer and the nurse started to cry when her words were told to the jury.
“I understand you want a good night’s sleep, you want to be knocked out, but what if you don’t wake up?” she had written.
Lee was called as a defence witness but sometimes her testimony worked against them including when she said that she refused numerous requests by Jackson to give him Propofol.
The prosecution maintains that Murray was willing to give Jackson whatever he wanted because he was set to sign a lucrative $150,000 a month contract with the singer, who died age 50. But Lee said although Jackson was desperate to be knocked out, she did not give in to his pleas.
“He said, ‘I’d fallen asleep so easily, and I wanted to have that experience again. I want to be able to fall asleep easily so that I can get enough rest, because I’m in the midst of doing a lot of work right now,’” she said of Jackson’s words to her.
Lee added that Jackson didn’t care for her holistic remedies of teas and vitamins and became frustrated that they didn’t work for him and stopped calling her.
She said she last heard from Jackson on June 21 when his bodyguard called her because the singer was feeling ill.
She said she could hear Jackson shouting in the background that he was feeling half hot and half cold.”
The defence team is expected to call 15 witness but it is not yet known if Murray will take the stand himself.
The 58-year-old doctor suffered another blow yesterday when his lawyers were banned from revealing any of the Jackson’s financial worries.
They had hoped to suggest that the legendary performer was desperate to sleep because he knew if his scheduled This Is It Tour did not go ahead, then it would not allow him to make the substantial amount of money he apparently needed.
Jackson’s contract with concert promoter AEG Live stated that if the shows at London’s O2 arena did not go ahead then he would be responsible for the $40 million in production costs.
But Judge Michael Pastor said that the court was dealing with a homicide case and not a contractual dispute.
The trial is expected to last until the end of October.
© Cover Media
