Refresher: Richard Senneff Testimony from Murray Criminal trial
Paramedic Richard Senneff (RS) Testimony
Brazil Direct
RS is a paramedic at Los Angeles Fire Department. RS explains his training and experience and certification.
June 25th, RS was working at fire station 71. They received a call to go to Carolwood. "Cardiac arrest. CPR in progress. 50 year old male. Patient not breathing" They went to Carolwood. RS was the team leader and the radio man and he gather information and write records. Senneff rode in Ambulance 71 with Paramedic Blount. Fire Engine 71 followed them with engineer, fire fighter, fire captain and additional paramedic.
Brazil goes over People's Exhibit 43 and what's written on it.
Print out information
Line 1 : Engine 71 Rescue Ambulance 71
Line 2: Address 100 Carolwood
Line 3: Incident number 5-12 Cardiac Arrest 12:21 call time 50 year old man
Line 4 : code cardiac arrest not breathing at all
Line 5: the phone number call came from
Line 6 : dispatch time the time they got the call at station 12:22
Line 7 : 911 call from a cell phone , caller is still on the phone with the dispatcher
Line 8 : Where the call is originated and transferred
At the end there's a patient identification sticker at the UCLA assigned to MJ when he was brought in.
They arrived at 12:26. Rescue ambulance entered the residence, fire truck stayed on the street. RS got his equipment the starter kit and followed the security guards up the stairs and in the bedroom. RS saw CM, MJ and a security guard in the room.
RS describes the patient. MJ was wearing pajama bottoms and a top. The top was open. Surgical cap on his head. He appeared to be thin.
RS describes CM. CM was leaned over MJ and was holding his torso and was moving MJ from bed to the floor.
RS also saw a security person helping to move MJ to the floor.
According to RS, CM was frantic.
When entered the room RS asked if there was an advanced DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) order. No one answered initially. RS repeated the question CM said no. RS saw an IV stand with a saline bag hanging and saw an oxygen tank. RS was trying to gather information to understand what was happening. RS asked three times if there was an underlying health problem. CM finally said nothing. According to RS this didn't make sense as there was a physician at the house and a IV stand.
RS asked how long the patient been down. CM said "just happened right I called you". RS says that ambulance got there very quickly and if they were called right when the event happened, they had a good chance of reviving MJ and starting his heart.
12:26 is the time RS was in the room and making observations. RS states that they were in the room within 5 minutes. RS says that a firefighter and himself moved MJ from side of the bed to the foot of the bed because there was not enough space to work on the side of the bed. RS was still trying to gather information from CM. Firefighter Herron was doing CPR. Paramedic Blount was starting ventilation. Paramedic Goodwin was hooking up the EKG. Fire Captain was helping with anything needed. RS was busy and didn't look to see the patient was MJ. He later learned that it was MJ.
EKG showed flatline/ asystole.
MJ had an IV on his leg. RS checked to see if it was working and then gave MJ atropine and epinephrine - those are drugs used to start the heart. RS saw no change in MJ's condition after administering the started drugs. RS asked CM if MJ was taking any medicines and was he given any medicines. RS had to ask that question multiple times. RS told CM that he's seeing an underweight patient, with an IV stand and medication vials on the nightstand. At that point CM said MJ wasn't taking anything and CM only gave MJ a little bit of lorazepam for sleep. CM said he was treating MJ for dehydration and exhaustion.
By this time MJ was hooked on the machines and had received one round of starter drugs. Blount incubated MJ quickly to give air directly to his lungs. RS was monitoring MJ's situation. RS was also communicating with UCLA Base Situation reporting to them. RS told the age, the situation, how long he was down, what they did. RS was talking to the radio nurse and radio nurse was communicating with the doctors.
When RS looked to the MJ, he didn't believe that MJ was "just down". RS observed that MJ's skin was cool to the touch; MJ's eyes were open, dilated and dry; EKG was flatline, and capnography reading was low.
They gave MJ a second round of starter drugs through left jugular vein (left neck). Paramedic Goodwin tried to find a vein in MJ's arms to locate a vein 5 times to start an IV but he was unsuccessful. RS says it's significantly difficult to locate a vein when the blood is not circulating for a while.
After RS first contacted UCLA and told them what they administered the first round of starter drugs, UCLA asked them if they wanted to continue or stop. RS said they wanted to continue. After the second round, RS talked to UCLA again. UCLA was ready to announce MJ dead.
Brazil asked what happened to the IV on MJ's leg. RS says CM pulled the IV from MJ's leg and that's why paramedics needed to find another vein and finally found jugular vein.
CM says he felt a pulse at right femoral (right groin). RS looked to heart monitor and he saw a flat line with CPR (lines were only moving due to CPR). RS told his crew to stop CPR to check for pulse. The heart monitor was a clear flat-line, it means that the heart wasn't functional and there could not be a pulse. RS and another paramedic checked for pulse, they did not felt a pulse.
People's 43 exhibit again. They are going over handwritten notes.
call time 12:21, glucose levels, EPI 3.5 mg at 12:40, Allergy : florazen, another EPI and atropine. 12:57 the time UCLA wanted to call MJ death. Box on the right hand side : Hydration and lorazepam what CM told RS. Second bicarb - another starter drug given to MJ. RS says the time is wrong. He wrote 14:00 but it was actually at 13:00 PM
RS's call to UCLA is played. CM assumes control.
CM asked paramedics to do a central line. RS says they don't have any training or equipment to perform it. CM asked paramedics to administer magnesium, RS says they didn't have it. Brazil asks if CM provided them the materials to perform these tasks. RS says no.
People's exhibit 46
902-M. The document contains comprehensive information about the care provided. Starter drugs provided from 12:27 to 12:50. Readings are also written in the document. Medication information and RS's own notes are written.
They gave MJ sodium bicarb before transportation. All of the paramedics and firefighters took MJ downstairs on a backboard. Some of them were carrying the backboard and the others were still performing resuscitation efforts. When downstairs MJ was put on a gurney with wheels. RS turned back to go upstairs to get their equipment.
RS sees CM with a bag in his hand picking up items from the floor near the nightstand.
Blue ambu bag on the floor. RS says it's not paramedics.
RS collects the items, go down the stairs and go to the ambulance. CM was still inside the room. CM joined them later. RS was sitting close to MJ's head in the ambulance and was observing MJ. There was no changes. MJ was given another round of starter drugs on the ambulance. No change. RS saw CM on his cell phone. RS says he never saw any sign of life at MJ and there was no change in MJ's situation for the 42 minutes he was with him. They arrived UCLA at 13:13 PM.
Brazil lists monitoring equipment and asks RS if he saw them in the bedroom. RS says "No" to them all. Brazil asks if CM ever mention Propofol to RS, RS says No. RS says CM was alone in the bedroom for a while after he left the room with their equipment.
Defense cross by Nareg Gourjian
RS says they got the call 12:22 and left at 12:22. Gourjian mentions the call was placed at 12:20 and transferred from Beverly Hills. RS was not aware of it.
Gourjian reminds of RS's preliminary hearing description of MJ: pale, underweight, so thin that you can see his ribs. Gourjian asks if MJ looked real sick to him. RS says he looked like he had a chronic health problem.
Gourjian asks if it was the physical characteristics of someone that has been a drug addict for a long time. RS says he cannot say that and he has seen drug addicts that are overweight and underweight. Rs says he just thought it was a chronic illness.
Gourjian asks about MJ being on the bed. RS says MJ was in the process of being moved, his feet on the ground and his upper torso still on the bed. IV tubing on his left calf.
Defense asks if RS asked CM if MJ was on recreational drugs. RS says it's a common question that he asks but he doesn't remember if he asked it or not. Defense asks RS about Lorazepam. RS says he's not that knowledgeable about it.
Defense asks about CM not answering the questions right away could be because he was busy. RS says there was a lot of things going on and he was busy.
Defense is going over what each paramedic doing. RS repeats what he previously said. Gourjian mentions Paramedic Herron doing CPR and Paramedic Blount managing ventilation. And if CM asking for help as well it acceptable. RS answers yes you wouldn't want to do it alone. Defense reminds American Health Association (AHA) guidelines which says people should work collaboratively.
Defense asks if the CPR should be performed where the patient is found. RS says that’s wrong. Defense reads from American Heart Association (AHA) guidelines. RS agrees with it. Defense asks if MJ had IV connected to him. RS says yes. RS says he didn’t see anything else connected to him. Defense asks if things connected will be a factor when moving a patient, RS answers yes. Defense asks if the chest comprehensions are adequate, would be irrelevant if the patient was on a bed or floor. RS says correct.
Defense asks questions the pulse CM felt at MJ’s femoral artery. RS says he didn't suspect what CM said. Defense reminds of RS’s preliminary hearing in which he said that it’s common to get femoral pulse from CPR. Defense asked would it be likely that CM actually felt that pulse. RS answers yes.
Defense asked why RS didn’t pronounce MJ dead as UCLA said. RS said he preferred to go to the hospital as it was a VIP patient and as he was told it was a recent arrest. CM took the control and he needed to ride in the ambulance with them. After getting MJ down to the ambulance, RS went back to the room to pick the medical equipment left behind. CM was also picking up items in plain sight. Defense asks if it's normal practice to pick up medical items, RS says yes. Defense asks if CM could have been picking up his glasses and wallet. RS says he didn't see anything and the bed was blocking his view. RS goes back to the ambulance. CM came to the ambulance in a minute or so. Defense asks about the phone call CM did at ambulance, asks RS if he heard anything. RS said he didn't hear anything. Defense asks if CM was trying to help the paramedics with anything they needed when they were at Carolwood. RS says correct.
Defense asks is fractured ribs is a show of good CPR. RS says it is common occurrence. RS wasn’t aware that MJ sustained fractured ribs. Defense asks if RS is familiar with Propofol, RS says no.
MJ was a combination of P.E.A (Pulseless Electrical Activity) and asystole (flat lined). Defense asks if there are certain protocols to follow if someone is P.E.A. They wouldn't shock (defibrillate) a person with P.E.A. They would give CPR and give atropine and EPI and sodium bicarbonate. Defense asks if they knew MJ was given Propofol, they wouldn't be able to anything different.
Objection. Sustained.
Brazil redirect
Brazil asks if there was any confusion and chaos when RS’s team attempted to save MJ’s life like the defense claimed. RS says it was not the case.
Brazil asks if RS knows the IV tubing had been replaced, removed or placed again prior to his arrival. RS says no.
RS says that it’s accurate that they believed the femoral pulse that CM felt to be due to comprehensions and not a real pulse.
RS says by the look of CM's face he was surprised to see him come back in the room. RS says it was "deer in the headlight" kinda look. RS says CM had a trash bag in his hand.
Defense recross
Defense asks RS's time of estimate for the cardiac arrest. RS says it is hard to speculate. Gourjian reminds of RS's preliminary testimony which said "at least 20-25 minutes before we arrived there". Gourjian asks if the time of arrest could have been 12:01 -12:05PM.
Defense again asks if CM could have been getting his wallet. Objection. sustained. Defense asks if CM asked RS to close his eyes or step outside the room. RS says no.
Brazil re re direct
Brazil reminds of the preliminary hearing and asks if it's correct that RS said the arrest could be anywhere from 20 minutes to 1 hour ago. RS says correct.
Defense re re cross
Defense asks if CM stopped doing what he was doing when RS walked into the room. RS says no CM continued to do what he was doing.
