Former Michael Jackson Chef Has Suspicions About M.J.'s Relationship with Dr. Conrad Murray
Doug Jones told "Good Morning America" he saw marks on Jackson's arm.
July 30, 2009 -- As the pressure on Michael Jackson's physicianDr. Conrad Murray continues to mount, the King of Pop's former chef said he, too, saw evidence that made him question the doctor's role in Jackson's life.
"My whole take on the thing was, you know, he seemed like a fragile type person," former chef Douglas Jones told "Good Morning America" today. "You would have your suspicions, but how far could you look into it. My role was a chef."
Jones said he would see Murray arrive in the evenings, five days a week, and then leave in the morning.
"He was to monitor Mr. Jackson during the evenings, healthwise," he said, "to see how he was sleeping."
Jackson died June 25 of apparent cardiac arrest.
Murray is the focus of an investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department and the federal Drug Enforcement Administration and could face manslaughter charges, according to search warrants used in raids in two states on his home and offices.
Preliminary autopsy reports indicate the powerful anesthetic propofol, also known by its trade name Diprivan, was a contributing factor in Jackson's death.
Murray, hired to be Jackson's personal physician for his "This Is It" tour, has come under fire not only for allegedly administering the drug to Jackson in his home but for waiting for 30 minutes to call 911 after finding Jackson unresponsive and for performing CPR on the bed, against standard protocol.
Murray's lawyers have issued repeated statements that the doctor did not give Jackson anything that should have killed him.
Jones said his suspicions were raised once he saw oxygen tanks coming in and out of the house, "but the Diprivan and the oxygen never came together for me until once he passed away."
Jones said he had noticed marks on Jackson's body, a scar close to his elbow.
"Looking back now, things come together and puzzle together," he said. "It could have been where, you know, needles were placed for the Diprivan or whatever."
Chef: Michael Jackson's Son Acted as Liaison
Kai Chase, the chef who was working for Jackson at the time of his death, told The Associated Press this week that Murray seemed off the day Jackson died.
Murray would typically come down in the mornings to get Jackson's breakfast -- usually granola and almond milk – but Chase said she didn't see him that day until Murray came running down the stairs screaming for Jackson's eldest son, Prince Michael , 12.
"To me that is perfectly normal," Jones said of Chase's account. "That is the first person he would go to."
Despite the boy's young age, Jones said Prince had assumed a very grown up role as sort of a liaison for his father.
"Because security wasn't allowed in the house, only when they were called to enter the home … that is probably why, I don't know, his first instinct was to call Prince," Jones said.
While Murray told police he was delayed in calling 911 because the phones in the house were disconnected, something his lawyer relayed in the media in the days following, Jones said the house phones connected directly to Jackson's security detail.
As the investigation into Jackson's death continues, new details about Murray's other troubles have emerged.
Though Murray, who remains secluded at his Las Vegas home, was reportedly earning more than $100,000 a month as Jackson's personal physician, ABC News has learned that he has money problems -- about $1 million dollars worth of lawsuits and liens.
There was at least once instance in which he failed to pay child support.
The Jackson death investigation is also not Murray's first brush with the law. He was arrested in domestic violence charges in 1994 after an incident with his then girlfriend. He was later tried and acquitted.