Michael Jackson's doctor reportedly waited up to a half-hour before calling paramedics. Photo / AP
Michael Jackson
's doctor reportedly waited up to half an hour before calling paramedics after he found the King of Pop unconscious at his Los Angeles home last week, a lawyer representing the cardiologist said.
Jackson's personal doctor,
Conrad Murray
, found the superstar stricken in the bedroom of his rented Beverly Hills mansion last Thursday (local time), and scrambled for up to 30 minutes to find a landline to call 911 as the pop icon lay dying, lawyer
Edward Chernoff
said.
Jackson died on Thursday (local time) after suffering a possible cardiac arrest allegedly brought on by an overdose of painkillers.
A spokesperson from the law firm representing Murray said the delay in calling 911 stemmed from the doctor not knowing the address of the house he was in.
No landline
"He [Murray] didn't know where he was, didn't know the physical address. There was no land line, no phone in Jackson's room that would have allowed him to call. It was all happening so fast."
It has been claimed that all the land lines at Jackson's mansion were shut down for "privacy reasons," reports the
New York Daily News
.
Talking to the Associated Press, the spokesman said Murray went downstairs to get help after performing CPR on Jackson. He met Jackson's chef on his way, who then went to get one of the star's security guards. The security guard then joined Murray in Jackson's room.
911 call
Murray then told the security guard to dial 911 while he continued CPR, it has been claimed.
The unnamed security guard can be heard making the frantic call in the recently released 911 transcript.
"This entire time, with the exception of him running downstairs, he was performing CPR on Michael Jackson," Murray's lawyer Chernoff told CNN.
"When it became clear that he could not revive him through CPR, then he sought to call 911," he said.
Fire department officials say it took three minutes for paramedics to arrive at the scene after they received the call. They then spent 42 minutes working with Murray on Jackson before transporting him by ambulance to the UCLA Medical Center.
Cardiologist Murray has also come under scrutiny after it was revealed he performed CPR on Jackson while he was still in his bed, and not on a hard surface as is the suggested practice.
"His first goal was to resuscitate Michael Jackson," Chernoff said. "He knows how to perform CPR and he performed it properly", adding that Murray also "used his hand on Michael's back."
Chernoff also said that rumours Murray administered an injection of painkillers to Jackson were "absolutely false."
"There was no Demerol. No OxyContin."
Video: Lawyer Edward Chernoff speaks
Fan 'suicides'
Online reports claim that devastated Michael Jackson fans have committed suicide after learning their icon had died.
It has been claimed that 12 devotees have allegedly killed themselves in the wake of the singer's death, according to the founder of an online fan club devoted to Jackson.
Gary Taylor
, president of MJJcommunity.com says: "I know there has been an increase (in deaths), I now believe the figure is 12. It is a serious situation that these people are going through but Michael Jackson would never want this. He would want them to live."
The claims come hot on the heels of news that a Jackson lookalike in Russia allegedly cut his wrists after hearing of the singer's death.
Russian fan
Pável Talaláyev
was found bleeding in his Moscow home on Friday, says the
Sun
. Ambulance crew found him in time and saved his life.
"He was in a terrible state and kept on saying: 'It's all the same to me. I'm going to kill myself. It's the worst tragedy of my life and I don't want to live any more. I don't know why you saved my life, I want to be with him'," a member of the ambulance crew said.
"They (fans) can't accept it; they feel in some sort of different reality. I'm stunned that he's dead. One minute he is coming here for concerts and the next he is gone. I think the funeral will be where the reality kicks in that he is gone and won't be coming back, there will be a huge depression in the fan community when that happens," Taylor added.
Reverend
Jesse Jackson
, a close friend of the Jackson clan, has spoken out about the suicides and issued a recorded message to the singer's fans, urging them not to "self-destruct".
"This is a time when hearts are heavy. There is great pain but great cause to celebrate Michael's life.
"It made Michael happy saying 'We Are The World'. Don't self destruct.
"We fall down sometimes, we get back up. That's the right thing to do. In Michael's name let's live together as brothers and sisters and not die apart as fools," he said.
Not the father
that neither Jackson nor
Debbie Rowe
are the biological parents of any of the singer's children.
The celebrity news website, which originally broke the story about the singer's death last week, claims that Jackson is not the biological father, and that Rowe is not their genetic mother.
Citing multiple "sources deeply connected to the births", the website claims the children were conceived "in vitro" - and that neither Jackson's sperm nor Rowe's egges were used.
Dermatologist
While Usmagazine.com claims the scoop that paternity of the three kids lies in the hands of Jackson's dermatologist, and Rowe's former boss,
Arnold Klein
.
"He is the dad," says a snitch. "He and Debbie signed an agreement saying they would never reveal the truth." Pity it didn't stay that way.
Shameless gum-flapping
UPDATE:
Debbie Rowe's lawyer has denied reports that she isn't the biological mother of two of Jackson's children.
A statement on her behalf says:
"We refuse to be drawn into addressing the various rumours and speculation swirling in the media.
"The vast majority of what is out there is untrue. Particular hurtful and insidious is the most recent rumour — which is entirely false — concerning the maternity of the children. Ms. Rowe is the biological mother of the two oldest children."
Funeral
It has just been reported that Michael Jackson's body will be returned to Neverland Ranch on Thursday morning (Friday NZT) where it will remain for public viewing on Friday.
A law enforcement snitch tells CNN that a private memorial service is planned for the star on Sunday at Neverland.
Plans are in place for a 30-car motorcade to take Jackson's body from the Los Angeles area on Thursday morning (local time) for Santa Barbara County, California.
Details of where Jackson will be buried have yet to be revealed.
Meanwhile, one of Jackson's closest career mentors,
Quincy Jones
, says he won't be attending the star's funeral.
"I won't go to any more funerals as long as I live," he tells
Entertainment Tonight
. "I can't handle it."
Story developing...
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