Murray's lawyer slams bodyguard's claims

WENN, Tuesday, March 23, 2010, 5:11am (PDT)

A lawyer for Dr. Conrad Murray has blasted a leaked witness statement from one of Michael Jackson's employees which alleges that the doctor stopped efforts to revive the star and hid drug vials at the scene, calling the claims "inconsistent."

The King of Pop suffered a fatal cardiac arrest last June and his personal physician is accused of administering the powerful anesthetic Propofol, which led to the singer's death. Murray has pleaded not guilty to one count of involuntary manslaughter.

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A leaked statement from security guard Alberto Alvarez, which is said to have been taken two months after Jackson's demise, alleges Murray stopped administering CPR on the star and told the bodyguard to hide various drug vials before calling paramedics.

But a statement from Murray's lawyer, Ed Chernoff, has dismissed the allegations and urged the public to "reserve judgment" until the physician is put on trial.

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It reads, "This statement was given more than two months after Michael Jackson's death and is inconsistent with a statement he (Alvarez) gave the police the day after Mr. Jackson was taken to the hospital.

"Further, his statement does not match up with much of the physical evidence found at the scene. We will not be trying this case in the press. We would ask the public to reserve judgment until after the people's witnesses are placed under oath and subjected to the rigors of cross-examination. We are confident that a fair trial will ferret out the truth."

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