Four girlfriends of Michael Jackson's personal physician Conrad Murray took the stand Tuesday in his manslaughter trial, testifying that the doctor spoke with them by phone around the time that the pop star died on June 25, 2009.
Sade Anding, a Houston cocktail waitress, said that about five minutes into her conversation with Murray that morning, the phone went silent, and she heard the mumbling of unfamiliar voices on the line, dpa reported.
"I heard mumbling of voices that sounded like the phone was maybe in his pocket or something, and then I heard coughing, and nobody answered," she said.
Also testifying was Nicole Alvarez, who said that Murray pays her 2,500-dollar monthly rent and lives with her and her daughter. Alvarez testified that Murray shipped to her apartment the vials of the drug propofol that caused Jackson's death. She also told the court that Murray had called her as he was riding in the ambulance with Jackson to hospital.
Murray, 58, is accused of involuntary manslaughter in the death of the former King of Pop, and has pleaded not guilty. The cardiologist faces four years in jail if convicted by the 12-person jury.
Prosecutors claim that Murray was negligent in giving Jackson the hospital anesthetic propofol as a sleeping aid and in failing to properly supervise his patient. Murray claims that Jackson took the fatal dose himself.
Murray's girlfriends testify in Jackson trial
Four girlfriends of Michael Jackson's personal physician Conrad Murray took the stand Tuesday in his manslaughter trial, testifying that the doctor spoke with them by phone around the time that the pop star died on June 25, 2009.
