UPDATE: 3:03 p.m.: Court adjourned early today in observance of Yom Kippur, which begins at sundown. They're taking Monday off for Columbus Day and will resume on Tuesday at 8:45 a.m.
UPDATE 2:40 p.m. Murray looked on the verge of tears as he listened to himself describing to investigators how he tried to save Jackson's life on June 25, 2009. He said that he asked the staff to call 911 and had Jackson's bodyguard, Alberto Alvarez, help him move the singer onto the floor so they could start CPR and get him ventilated. While his testimony pretty much confirmed everything that prosecutors have been saying about Jackson's propofol habit, legal analysts felt that Murray came off looking sympathetic today because of his seemingly genuine emotion when he talked about trying to save his patient.
UPDATE: 2:10 p.m.: Per the recording, Murray recalled warning the pop star that he wasn't getting natural sleep from the propofol and said he was hoping to wean him off the substance, a little bit at a time. He said that Jackson was worried about his ability to perform if he didn't get enough rest.
UPDATE: 1:58 p.m.: In the taped interview, Murray tells Smith that Jackson had asked for "his milk" to help him sleep, and confirmed that he was referring to propofol, "a sedative that can also be used for anasthesia." Ultimately, Murray said at the time, the powerful drug was the only thing getting Jackson to sleep.
UPDATE 12:00 p.m.: Prosecutors got just a few minutes into playing the recording of Smith and fellow LAPD detective Orlando Martinez's interview with Murray, conducted June 27, 2009 at the Ritz Carlton Marina del Rey. Murray explained that he first met Jackson in 2006, when he was referred to the star, in order to treat Jackson's kids. Court has recessed for lunch and the recording, and Smith's testimony, will resume at 1:30 p.m.
UPDATE 11:40 a.m.: Smith takes the stand and the prosecution immediately shows footage taken off a security camera from the UCLA Medical Center showing Murray walking unaccompanied out of the building the afternoon of June 25, 2009. It was followed by various photographs of Michael's master bedroom taken by Smith the same day. He described the state of the room as "extremely messy" and in the shots, the jury saw an overcrowded vanity sink area, with drawers opened, debris on the floors, notes taped to the mirror and empty pill bottles on the floor.
UPDATE 10:51 a.m.: During Chernoff's attack dog-style questioning of Fleak, an E! News reporter in the courtroom overheard Rebbie Jackson, seated in the second row of the courtroom, lean over to brother Randy and whisper that Chernoff was an "asshole." While the profane comment might otherwise result in a contempt charge or her removal from the courtroom, it was luckily not heard by the judge.
UPDATE 10:50 a.m.: Ed Chernoff testily asks Fleak, "Is there anything you're keeping from us? Is there anything you forgot to tell us?" which, as expected, was objected to. Next up on the stand: Scott Smith, the veteran detective of 20 years who conducted the police interview with Murray.
UPDATE 10:20 a.m.: The D.A. asked Fleak to clarify her earlier testimony and explain the two seemingly conflicting photos of Jackson's bedroom which showed the bedside IV stand in two positions—once with the tubing wrapped around the pole, and again four days later with the tubing straightened out. The court has recessed for its morning break.
UPDATE 10:10 a.m.: L.A. County Coroner investigator Elissa Fleak, who testified earlier this week and faced tense questioning from the defense as to whether or not she botched the collection of evidence from Jackson's home, has been called back to the stand.
UPDATE 9:45 a.m.: Amid questioning that the coroner's office didn't pay enough attention to lorazepam levels in Jackson's body, Anderson said, "I think it's important, but it's not the red flag that caught my eye. The propofol in our results is important, almost more important than any other drug."
UPDATE 9:15 a.m.: And we're back! L.A. County Coroner toxicologist Dan Anderson is back on the stand, continuing his cross-examination by defense that began yesterday. Murray's attorney Michael Flanagan is attempting to go deep into the effects and appropriate therapeutic levels of propofol and lorazepam, topics Anderson said he felt more comfortable leaving to those set to testify after him who are experts in those fields. "It's really getting above my level," he said. "You're starting to get very deep into pharmacology."
When pressed further of an exact range of therapeutic levels on the drugs and the post-mortem redistribution of those drugs, Anderson refused to budge. "I can't give you an exact number, everyone tolerates drugs a little different," he said.
If you've been waiting to hear from the man at the center of this circus, today's the day for you.
While Conrad Murray won't be taking the stand today, the prosecution is expected to play a two-hour-plus interview police conducted with the doctor while he was in custody, which laid out his take on the sequence of events that led up to Michael Jackson's death.
Somewhat surprisingly considering our leak-happy times, the recording has never been played in public before and nary a portion of a transcript of the conversation has ever been released.
The recording is expected to be played after Los Angeles Police Department Det. Scott Smith, one of the two cops who conducted the interview, takes the stand.
Testimony in the case resumes at 8:45 a.m. PT, and E! Online will be streaming live from the courthouse all day long.
—Additional reporting by Baker Machado and Ashley Reinke