Witness: Jackson's Doc Stopped CPR to Collect Drug Vials

March 23, 2010— -- As Michael Jackson lay dying, his doctor stopped CPR to dash around the house and collect drug vials, according to a witness report obtained by The Associated Press.

Jackson's logistics director Alberto Alvarez reportedly told investigators that Jackson's mouth and eyes were open and he could not see signs of life when he came into the pop star's bedroom. Murray was working frantically to try to resuscitate Jackson.

"He had a reaction, he had a bad reaction," Murray told Alvarez, according to the report.

Alvarez said Murray then filled a bag with sedatives before telling him to call 911.

The report also revealed that Jackson's children, Paris and Prince, came into the room and cried before a nanny ushered them out.

Murray's lawyer, Ed Chernoff, rejected the accusation that Murray was covering up anything.

"He didn't say any of those things. Then two months later, all of a sudden, the doc is throwing bottles into the bag," Chernoff told The Associated Press. "Alvarez's statement is inconsistent with his previous statement. We will deal with that at trial."

Murray pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter last month. Los Angeles prosecutors charged the Houston-based cardiologist with allegedly administering a lethal cocktail of painkillers and anesthetics to the entertainer hours before he died June 25.

Involuntary manslaughter carries the shortest sentence of any homicide charge in California. If convicted, Murray faces up to four years in prison.

Alvarez's report could be a strong blow to Murray's defense, according to legal expert Dana Cole.

"If he was in a sense cleaning up the room so that the paramedics wouldn't know in fact [what] he gave to Michael Jackson, that is a problem," Cole said.