Dr. Conrad Murray Was Talking on Phone to Waitress as Michael Jackson Was Dying, Prosecutors Say
Prosecutors: Waitress was on phone with Murray when he discovered Jackson dying.
Feb. 3, 2011 — -- At the very moment Dr. Conrad Murray discovered Michael Jackson was dying, he was on a phone call to Sade Anding, a woman he'd been pursuing romantically, prosecutors contend.
Murray, now stripped of his medical license in California and ordered to stand trial for his alleged role in the pop legend's death, has called Anding his girlfriend.
She has denied that, but the cocktail waitress is now talking about their relationship, telling "Good Morning America" in an exclusive interview that Murray sounded strange on the phone call on June 25, 2009 -- the day Jackson died.
"First, he said, 'it's Conrad Murray.' And he sounded like something was wrong. He didn't sound like himself to me at all."
"What's up? I haven't talked to you in a while," Anding, who has a boyfriend, recalls saying to Murray.
"And then he was like, 'Well.' And it seemed like he wanted to say something. And I wish I would have just shut up and let him finish. Because he just said, 'Well.' And then he took forever."
Anding said she eventually realized Murray was no longer hearing her, but she could hear muffled sounds from his end of the line, and then she said she heard "mumbling of voices."
Murray never resumed that conversation with her, she said. She hung up, and, worried, called him repeatedly and sent numerous text messages to his phone.
"And then I never heard from him. And then that's when … I felt like something was wrong," she added.
Something was wrong. Jackson was dead.
Jackson Dies; Doctor Is Accused
The pop icon died after being administered a lethal dose of propofol, a powerful intravenous sedative.
Murray, 57, is accused of killing the pop legend by allegedly administering an overdose of intravenous and prescription drugs. His attorneys have denied he did anything to cause Jackson's death.
Prosecutors have shown evidence in court suggesting that Murray attempted to hide evidence and delayed calling 911 as Jackson lay dying.
Within a week, officers from the Los Angeles Police Department came looking for Anding.
"I knew that they were going to reach out to me after that phone call," the Houston woman said. "Like, I knew as soon as I heard what happened, it clicked to me like, 'Oh God, I'm in it!'"
She said she called Murray after police made contact with her.
"The first thing he said was, "What? Why? Why are they even getting you involved?" she recalled.
As time passed, she got little information from Murray about Jackson's death.
"I would always ask him stuff on the phone. But it was always 'Oh, our phones may be tapped. I don't want to talk about anything," she said, adding that he asked her to stop talking about it and seemed nervous.
The events of the past two years have weighed heavily on her, Anding said.
Murray Lied, Anding Claims
"It made me sad," she said, crying. "I felt like it was my fault. But I really felt like, if he wouldn't have called me, then maybe all that stuff that happened wouldn't have happened."
In addition to being sad, Anding is also angry. She said Murray lied to her.
"He told me he only had two kids … and he had seven," she said, adding that he also told her he was divorced.
She only found out that Murray was married when ABC News informed her during the interview.
That news came as "a big shock," Anding said.
Prosecutors said Murray lived a lavish lifestyle, supporting his wife, seven children and numerous girlfriends. He earned $150,000 a month as Jackson's personal cardiologist.
"He was glad that he was the one that was picked to take on such a big role. He said if I wanted to, that he was going to fly me up there to meet Michael, and meet the kids," she said of Murray.
Murray Left Anding Big Tips, Gave Gifts
Anding and Murray met while she was working at a Houston steakhouse.
"The first thing he said to me was, 'You are too beautiful to be waiting on people -- at a place like this,'" Anding said.
"I thought he was very nice. He was very friendly. He's a good person," she added.
She said he would leave her hundreds of dollars in cash for tips, and gave her a cell phone, a spa treatment, a dress and cash -- all totaling about $2,000. She went to dinner with him twice.
Despite her anger at finding out he lied to her, Anding said she doesn't think Murray is capable of manslaughter in Jackson's death.
"Not at all," she said.
Anding has testified about the conversation in court, and claimed that she felt threatened by one of Murray's girlfriends while she was there.
The woman kept saying her name, over and over, and said she felt like "being very some evil." Anding was so rattled by the woman's comments that she asked to be removed from the holding room.
She also said she knew nothing about the medical treatments that Murray was administering to Jackson.
She said Murray never mentioned helping Jackson sleep, never mentioned the anesthetic propofol, and never talked about administering medical attention to Jackson in the pop star's home.
Anding says she'll testify in the upcoming trial if she's called.
Murray faces trial on involuntary manslaughter charges.