Witness Claims Murray Halted CPR on Michael Jackson to Hide Vials

When news of Michael Jackson's death broke on June 25th, 2009, initial reports questioned why his personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, waited so long to call 911 and request help — as RS noted, Murray admitted to waiting between 20 and 30 minutes after finding the star unresponsive in a bedroom before he located Jackson's chef and security guard, who ultimately phoned paramedics. Murray has admitted he was administering the powerful anesthetic Propofol to the star as a sleep aid; the Los Angeles coroner ruled Jackson's death a homicide as a result of "acute Propofol intoxication."

Look back at Jackson's career, in photos.

Alberto Alvarez, the bodyguard who was summoned to Jackson's room that day, reportedly gave authorities a new, detailed account of the King of Pop's final minutes that allege Murray was busy hiding potential evidence during the critical moments when the two were trying to resuscitate the star. According to the AP, two months after the star's death, Alvarez said when he arrived in the bedroom, a lifeless Jackson was laying in bed with an IV hanging from his leg; Jackson's children Prince and Paris entered as Alvarez and Conrad administered CPR and were removed, crying, by a nanny. Alvarez claims Murray halted CPR to gather up drug vials with rubber tops and place them in a plastic bag Alvarez picked up off the floor. According to TMZ, Murray stashed the vials in a bag inside a closet where authorities later found them two days later. Alvarez also says Murray instructed him to remove an IV bag from a stand in the bedroom, and that Murray placed the bag in a different canvas bag.

Alvarez's revelations reportedly contradict statements he initially gave cops during two interviews conducted in the days and hours immediately after Jackson's death. Murray's lawyer, Ed Chernoff, told the AP, "He didn't say any of those things, then two months later, all of a sudden, the doc is throwing bottles into the bag. Alvarez's statement is inconsistent with his previous statement. We will deal with that at trial."

Murray was charged with involuntary manslaughter in February, and will stand trial later this year. If found guilty, he faces a maximum four-year prison sentence.

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Song Stories

“Smells Like Teen Spirit”

Nirvana | 1991

"Smells Like Teen Spirit," named after a brand of deodorant marketed to girls, was Kurt Cobain's attempt to "write the ultimate pop song," he said, using the soft-loud dynamic of his favorite band, the Pixies. Cobain "had that dichotomy of punk rage and alienation," the song’s producer, Butch Vig, told Rolling Stone, "but also this vulnerable pop sensibility. In 'Teen Spirit,' a lot of that vulnerability is in the tone of his voice." Sadly, by the time of Nirvana's last U.S. tour, in late '93, Cobain was tortured by the obligation to play "Teen Spirit" every night. "There are many other songs that I have written that are as good, if not better," he claimed.

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