Jackson chef: 'So we knew something was wrong'

Transcript, July 30
Larry King Live

LARRY KING, HOST: Tonight, a prime time exclusive - hear for the first time from someone who was in Michael Jackson's home the day he died. His personal chef reveals the harrowing second by second account of what happened before paramedics were called to the deathbed. Screaming, sadness, chaos - an eyewitness account.

Our first guest tonight is Kai Chase. She was Michael Jackson's personal chef and in his home the day he died. We'll talk to Kai in just a moment.

Let's first go to CNN's Randi Kaye with breaking news on Dr. Conrad Murray and what investigators were looking for when they executed search warrants yesterday - Randi, what happened?

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Larry, as you know, there were two search warrants executed in Las Vegas, one at Dr. Conrad Murray's home, the other in his clinic there. Well, those were filed today, so now the information on what they were looking for and what they found has been made public.

And I can tell you, according to the warrants, detectives were looking for evidence demonstrating crimes of excessive prescribing and prescribing to an addict; also, manslaughter - evidence of manslaughter.

Now, the addict that they seem to be referring to in this case is Michael Jackson. But here's the key detail of the search warrant. It says that they were looking for any information related to Propofol or Diprivan. That is the very powerful sedative that authorities, as you know, believe killed Michael Jackson. It was found, reportedly, in his bedroom. I can tell you what the search warrant says. It says it's looking for records, shipping orders, distribution lists, anything relating to the purchase, transfer, receiving ordering, delivery and storage of Propofol or Diprivan.

KING: (INAUDIBLE).

KAYE: That is a really big deal.

I can tell what you they took. They took some hard drives. They took his iPhone. They took a couple of cell phone records. And they also were looking for any medical records or nursing notes related to the 19 aliases that are listed in this search warrant, that Michael Jackson was apparently using to obtain prescription drugs from various doctors - Larry.

KING: Thanks, Randi.

Reporting right from the roof here in Los Angeles.

Kai Chase joins us, the personal chef to Michael Jackson during the final months of his life. She was working in the mansion where Michael and his children were residing the day he died.

Have you seen the kids since the death?

KAI CHASE, MICHAEL JACKSON'S PERSONAL CHEF: Yes, I have, Larry.

KING: How are they doing?

CHASE: They're doing great. And I saw them a couple of weeks ago. And they look great and they're playing with their cousins and having a good time.

KING: All right, you started as a chef when?

CHASE: Ooh, about 14 years ago, professionally.

KING: And they let you go and brought you back, right?

CHASE: No, no. I thought you meant all over.

KING: Oh.

CHASE: With Mr. Jackson, in March.

KING: In March.

CHASE: In March.

KING: And then they let you go and brought you back?

CHASE: They let me go and then Mr. Jackson and the kids requested me to come back in June.

KING: Now, take me to that - that terrible day. CHASE: The morning I - I got in to work around 8:00, 8:30. I fed the kids their breakfast and - which is granola and almond milk - and then proceeded to, you know, to start doing the lunch, you know, which was usually around 12:00, 12:30. So around 10:00, something like that, normally Dr. Murray usually comes down. And...

KING: He's living there?

CHASE: Dr. Murray would stay in the evening.

KING: He stayed overnight?

CHASE: He stayed overnight. And normally, he'd come around 10:00, 10:30, downstairs, to get Mr. Jackson's juices or some sort of breakfast for him for that morning.

So around that time, I noticed that I hadn't seen Dr. Murray. You know, so I'm just - I'm thinking to myself, well, maybe Mr. Jackson is sleeping in late, you know, maybe because his rehearsal has been pushed back or something on that nature.

So I proceed, go to preparing the lunch and wrapped his lunch like Mr. Jackson likes - you know, wrapped it in Saran Wrap and - because he likes, you know, the - his lunch like he is at a hotel, you know, kind of like room service.

KING: Room service.

CHASE: Yes, exactly. So around 12:00, 12:05, 12:10, Dr. Murray comes down the stairs. There was a stairwell that leads into the kitchen. And he's screaming, hurry. Go get Prince. Call security. Get Prince. So I...

KING: Prince is?

CHASE: Michael Jackson's eldest son. And he - so I - I drop everything that - that I'm doing and I run into the den, which is very close to the kitchen. And I go get Prince. And Prince and I run back. And, you know, he meets Dr. Murray at the stairs. Prince stays with - downstairs with us and Dr. Murray goes up the stairs with - but within minutes, the paramedics are there. And the security is running upstairs, skipping stairs and all of a sudden we're all, you know, panicked - you know, what's going on?

What's happening?

So the energy in the house had kind of just kind of changed from that happy kind of day that we were having and preparing lunch and having a good time to just kind of eerie.

KING: Well, what were the kids doing when this was going on?

What were they saying?

Were they...

CHASE: The - the daughter, she says - Paris, she starts screaming, "Daddy. Daddy. Daddy."

We all started, you know, crying and...

KING: You knew something was wrong with Michael?

CHASE: So we knew something was wrong.

KING: Right.

CHASE: Something was wrong. And - and she's screaming, "Daddy," and starts crying. And then we started crying and we all come together in unity in a circle and we started holding hands. And we started praying, you know, God please let Mr. Jackson...

KING: You knew it was deadly bad?

CHASE: I didn't know what. I just had a feeling that something...

KING: You knew it was real serious?

CHASE: ...that something was very serious.

KING: The doctor first relayed that you by the way he came down the stairs?

CHASE: By the way he came down the stairs.

KING: You did not hear the 911 call, though?

CHASE: No. No.

KING: What didn't...

CHASE: I was never allowed up the stairs, you know.

KING: Oh, you never went up to his room?

CHASE: No. No, no. No. That was part of the rule of the house, you know. You had to...

KING: How did the food get up to him?

CHASE: Oh, Mr. Jackson would come downstairs and eat.

KING: He would come and eat this?

CHASE: With his children - lunch and dinner with his children.

KING: You never went up to the upper quarters?

CHASE: No, never.

KING: Did he eat three meals a day, by the way?

CHASE: I prepared three meals a day. And, you know, sometimes he would take meals with him to rehearsal and some of the times he'd eat them here - I mean at his home, you know.

KING: Did you see anybody remove the body?

CHASE: No. They asked us to leave - go home around 1:30 - 1:00, 1:30, something like that. Security had asked us to leave. And we asked if Mr. Jackson was OK. And they said we need to take him - he's going to be going to the hospital.

KING: Did the rescue workers say anything to you?

CHASE: No. No one spoke.

KING: Did they act very worried?

CHASE: Everyone was very concerned. They were panicked, you know. No one knew. This - it's just hurry, let's rush.

KING: Had you seen Michael the day before?

CHASE: Yes, I did. I saw him. I - we did - I fed him lunch, him and his children, the day before. And he ate lunch with his children at the dinner table. And then I packed his lunch - his dinner for him to go to his rehearsal.

KING: How did he appear at lunch?

CHASE: He seemed like he was just, you know, tired. And I thought probably because of, where, you know, he's been rehearsing very - he had been rehearsing a lot.

KING: Had he been eating well?

CHASE: When I was - I had left in May. So in May, I don't know what was, you know, how his eating habits were.

When I came back in June, the third day in, he had asked me - he had pulled me to the side and he said, you know, he told me, I need you. I know you know what you're doing. You do a very good job. I - I want you here. I need you to be here. I need you to keep feeding me healthy.

Do you have my beet juice?

Do you have my organic juices, my - my healthy food?

I need to stay healthy and strong.

He was excited about this tour.

KING: Did he eat a lot of solid foods?

CHASE: Oh, yes. On Saturdays, you know, gumbo, fried chicken, KFC, barbecue chicken, corn on the cob - he and the children.

KING: Kai, by the way, has written a dramatic blog exclusive about what happened that day. Read it only on CNN.com/larryking. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: We're back with Kai Chase.

You have not been to the house since, right?

CHASE: No, I haven't.

KING: You saw the kids at his mother - Katherine's house?

CHASE: Yes. Yes.

KING: Why do you think the doctor called for Prince?

CHASE: Well, I think you know, at that point, he may have - he may have panicked. And...

KING: The doctor panicked?

CHASE: It just seemed like he was in a panicked state. You know, he called for Prince. He called for the security - just somebody, you know, that could go upstairs - that was allowed to go upstairs.

KING: Had you seen much of Dr. Murray before that?

CHASE: I - I saw Dr. Murray a lot in June, when I came back. And he was there on a regular.

KING: Did that question - did you question that at all, what is a doctor doing here?

CHASE: No. No. No. Because I knew that Mr. Jackson was rehearsing, so I figured he was - he - that he was there, he was employed and he was there to take care of him.

KING: Would you say he was eating well?

CHASE: I fed him well.

KING: You fed him well and he ate well?

CHASE: And he ate well.

KING: Because there are all these stories he didn't eat.

CHASE: No, that's not - no. He ate. He ate very well. He ate organic and fresh. He's - you know, he's - he is into the health foods and juices and things of that nature. But he ate very well.

KING: Was he a good employer?

CHASE: He was very nice to me. He's nice. You know, he - you know, he liked people around him that were, you know - and in his home - that were, you know, genuine and - and real. I thought he was a very nice man.

KING: Did you notice oxygen tanks, because if it was Diprivan and they have to measure blood - they have to measure your blood pressure?

They also need oxygen tanks if you're giving that drug.

CHASE: Um-hmm.

KING: Did you notice them?

CHASE: I saw the oxygen tanks, yes.

KING: Where were they?

CHASE: I would see Dr. Murray carrying the oxygen tanks down in the mornings.

KING: On that morning or other mornings?

CHASE: No. I didn't see him that morning. I saw him in the afternoon, but other mornings.

KING: He would carry them down?

CHASE: Carry them down.

KING: They were portable oxygen tanks?

CHASE: Yes.

KING: Let's listen to some of that 911 call that brought emergency personnel to the house.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) your emergency?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir. I need to - I need an ambulance as soon as possible, sir.

We have a - a gentleman here that needs help and he's not breathing. He had - he's not breathing and we need to - we're trying to pump him, but he's not - he's not (INAUDIBLE)...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. OK.

How old is he?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's 50 years old, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fifty?

OK. But he's unconscious?

He's not breathing? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, he's not breathing, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. And he's not conscious either?

He's not breathing...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, he's not conscious, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

All right. Do you have him - what - is he on the floor?

Where is he at right now?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's on the bed, sir. He's on the bed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, let's get him on the floor.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Let's get him down to the floor. I'm going to help you with CPR right now, OK?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need them to get - we need just (INAUDIBLE)...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. We're on our way there.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

KING: Dr. Murray, his attorney has said that the delay in calling 911 was the phones in the house were disconnected.

Did you know that?

CHASE: No.

KING: Do you have any knowledge of that?

CHASE: No.

KING: Did you ever use the phone in the?

CHASE: No. No.

KING: OK. So you wouldn't know whether that was?

CHASE: No. No.

KING: The warrants to search the doctor's offices cited your name as a suspected alias for Michael Jackson.

What do you know about that?

CHASE: I was just made aware of that from my publicist, Michael Sans (ph) just recently. I think that is - is appalling. I have no - I have no clue what that is about.

KING: Has the police questioned you?

CHASE: The detectives came to my home right after the death because of the situation.

KING: But did they ask you anything about these prescriptions or your name or?

CHASE: No. That - this is new.

KING: As an alias?

CHASE: No. This is all new, you know.

KING: So what do you make of this, Kai?

What's your read on this?

CHASE: As far as the prescription?

I think...

KING: The doctor, the - the whole situation.

CHASE: I think - you know, I don't know what to - to make of it. I know that what, you know, the situation with, you know, the oxygen tanks and the doctor - you know, the doctor, you know, was there, I thought, to do his job as his physician.

KING: Are you suspicious of the doctor?

CHASE: You know, I'm - I - I don't know what to make of it.

KING: Well, when you hear about drugs and things?

CHASE: Well, now. Now, you know (INAUDIBLE)...

KING: But you weren't then?

CHASE: No.

KING: We'll be back in 60 seconds.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: We're back with Kai Chase, Michael Jackson's personal - by the way, did you know that he had a nutritionist?

CHASE: I was just made aware of that when I heard it on the news. I (INAUDIBLE)...

KING: Wouldn't a nutritionist talk to a chef?

CHASE: She wasn't working there when I was there. I've never met her, you know. KING: What is this box of happiness?

CHASE: Isn't this adorable?

KING: Let's see if we can get that on camera.

CHASE: It's so cute.

Isn't it cute?

This is - Paris made this for me. The children made this for me when I came back. So it was kind of...

KING: After you had left work and now come back...

CHASE: (INAUDIBLE).

KING: ...they missed you.

CHASE: They missed me, yes. So it was a box of happiness that it contained really pretty notes and...

KING: Like?

CHASE: ...and gifts and things. So, you know, just little letters, you know, from - from Prince, you know, thanking me about - thanking me for the gumbo and the gifts.

KING: "Dear Kai, thank you for the gifts and the gumbo. I hope you enjoy the gift. I think you'll like it. Love, Prince Jackson."

CHASE: Yes. And then this is really cute, from Paris.

KING: "Hey, Kai, thanks for getting me apricots. Daddy loves them."

(LAUGHTER)

CHASE: Yes.

KING: Let's look at this. You - he loved apricots?

CHASE: Oh, yes. Organic. Yes. Exactly. He was - he was getting ready for the tour. We were - he was eating.

KING: Would you say, just from observation, that he looked in good health except for a little tired from rehearsing?

CHASE: You know, he looked very well to me in April. Yes, he did. He - you know, I remember one - one evening, he came downstairs, I mean, dressed nice. He had on his black jeans, straight leg and a black blazer, his black aviator glasses and his cell phone. And he comes downstairs and he says, to me, he goes: "Do you look like Dionne Warwick?"

And I said to him, I was like, "Oh, my goodness. Do I do love her? Yes. I have the same album you have at my house."

He gives me a thumbs up. Burt Bacharach all the way. So he was a charming man. I loved him.

KING: More with Kai Chase after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: We're back with Kai Chase.

A custody deal for Michael's children was announced today. Katherine gets full custody. Debbie Rowe will have visitation rights.

What's your read on that?

CHASE: I think that's wonderful. Katherine and the kids - that's beautiful. I mean I saw the interaction with them when I went to the home. And they - they love their grandma, you know. They've got this wonderful - and I think Debbie Rowe should see and raise her children.

KING: Did the kids ever talk about Debbie?

CHASE: No. They never, never did.

KING: Did you meet Debbie?

CHASE: No, I have never met her.

KING: But being the biological mother, you feel it's OK for her to have visitation?

CHASE: Of course. Absolutely.

KING: This tie with Katherine, how strong?

CHASE: Well, you know, the - their - Michael loved his mother, you know. And the children obviously love their grandmother. He spoke very highly of his - of his mother. And it's a beautiful - it's a beautiful bond that they have together. You know, she's loving. They love her.

KING: Did he ever have any health complaints?

Did he ever say I'm not feeling well or I have some chest pains or something is not right?

CHASE: No. Never anything like that. I - I remember one day - the third day I was there, when I came back, he had told me, you know, they're killing me. They're killing me because I'm working too much. I'm rehearsing too much.

KING: Who was they?

CHASE: I'm assuming whoever, you know, (INAUDIBLE).

KING: The concert people?

CHASE: (INAUDIBLE) possibly. He was - he was rehearsing a lot. You know, I need to eat healthy. I need to stay strong, you know. I'm tired, you know. So, you know, keeping...

KING: So he complained?

CHASE: Just that one day to me.

KING: Was he looking forward to England?

CHASE: Oh, yes. Oh, absolutely. We all were. He was looking forward...

KING: Were you going to go?

CHASE: Yes. He - he had Prince - you know, Prince, his son, came and told me one day, daddy wants me to tell you that he wants you to go to London. And I said, well, please tell your daddy I said thank you and I would be honored. And the kids started jumping up and down - you know, yes, Kai is going to London.

And then we started talking about bringing, you know, video games and stuff to the private jet. And it was just, you know, he was very excited about going on this - doing this tour. This is his comeback.

KING: Did you cook for Dr. Murray?

CHASE: I would prepare meals for Dr. Murray in the evening with Mr. Jackson's meals before I left the home.

KING: And what was he like?

CHASE: Dr. Murray was - he seemed very nice. He seemed like a nice man. He'd come, we'd talk. He'd - he would bring - you know, in the mornings he would get Mike - Mr. Jackson's juices - maybe one or two, maybe a mango or papaya juice or a beet juice or both. And he'd take them upstairs and he'd make sure that he ate. He had dinner with the family. I served them, you know.

He seemed like a nice man.

KING: Was he a late riser, Michael?

CHASE: Mr. Jackson - it just - it depended, you know. But he - he would - he would make sure that he would have lunch with his children.

KING: With his children?

CHASE: With his children.

KING: And their interaction was good?

CHASE: Oh, absolutely. You know, I would bring the dinner - the lunches and set them on the table and they'd all come in and sit, close the door and they'd dine privately. And you would just hear laughter and story telling and just beautiful things. He's - those were his babies.

KING: Why are you come forward now, Kai?

CHASE: I don't know if I would call it coming forward. I just think that, you know, I just want to - to tell the fact that Mr. Jackson, he ate. He loves - he loved food. And he was excited about this tour. (INAUDIBLE).

KING: So that's a good thing to clear up, that he wasn't some kind of anorexic.

CHASE: I never saw that. I saw the man eating.

KING: When you saw the tape of the rehearsals, did that impress you?

CHASE: Oh, absolutely. You know, it was like a light switch went on and he's there. You know, he's - he's amazing. He's an entertainer.

KING: So this, to you, is a double shock?

I mean it's a - there's - you can't even express it, can you?

CHASE: Right.

KING: Seeing him like one second and the next second gone.

CHASE: Absolutely. It was very devastating, very devastating. You know, it was just unreal.

KING: Thank you, Kai.

CHASE: You're very welcome.

KING: Thanks for coming here.

CHASE: Thank you, Larry.