On the day Michael Jackson died, his personal chef says her first hint of something amiss was when his doctor didn't come downstairs to get the juices and granola he routinely brought the King of Pop for breakfast each morning.
Kai Chase, a professional chef hired by Jackson to maintain a healthy food regimen, recalled the singer's final days in an interview with the Associated Press. She also spoke about the role of his personal physician, Dr Conrad Murray, who is now the focus of a manslaughter investigation.
Authorities searched Murray's Las Vegas home and medical office on Tuesday as part of an investigation that included raids last week of his clinic and storage in Houston.
Chase said on Tuesday that she had gotten used to seeing Murray coming and going from the mansion. The doctor usually arrived at about 9 or 9:30 pm and would go upstairs to Jackson's room, and she said she would not see him again before she left but understood he was staying the night.
In the morning, when she arrived for work, Chase said she would see the doctor coming down the steps carrying oxygen tanks. Chase said she never asked about the purpose of the oxygen and she saw no sign that Jackson was on drugs or was in failing health.
"Normally in the morning, he would bring oxygen tanks from upstairs downstairs, one in each hand," she said.
When Murray didn't come downstairs the morning of June 25, "I thought maybe Mr Jackson is sleeping late," Chase said.
"I started preparing the lunch and then I looked at my cell phone and it was noon. About 12:05 or 12:10, Dr Murray runs down the steps and screams, 'Go get Prince!' He's screaming very loud. I run into the den where the kids are playing. Prince (Jackson's oldest son) runs to meet Dr Murray and from that point on you could feel the energy in the house change."
"I walked into the hall and I saw the children there. The daughter was crying. I saw paramedics running up the stairs." At that point, Chase said, the small group that was gathered - the children, their nanny, a housekeeper and Chase - held hands and began to pray. As paramedics raced up to the room, Chase recalls, "We were all praying, 'Help Mr. Jackson be OK'. Then everyone was very quiet."
At about 1:30 pm she said security guards told her and other staff to leave the property because "Mr Jackson was being taken to the hospital".
Chase, 37, who has cooked for other celebrities, was hired by Jackson in March, let go in May, then returned on June 2. She said the pop star's focus was on fresh, healthy food for him and the children.
She prepared meals for the family and occasionally for Murray. She said Jackson was in training for his upcoming shows in London and told her: "You have to take care of me."
(China Daily/AP July 30, 2009)
