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Doctor queried again in Jackson death, 2nd autopsy held
Police on Saturday again questioned Michael Jackson's doctor, while a second autopsy has taken place privately.
- Agencies
- Published: 16:52 June 27, 2009
- Image Credit: AP
- Michael Jackson fans mourn during a vigil in Santiago. The 50-year-old pop star died on Thursday, just as he was preparing for a series of 50 concerts starting on July 13 at London's 02 arena.
Los Angeles: Los Angeles police on Saturday again questioned Michael Jackson's doctor, while the second autopsy on the singer's body has been completed, two days after his death shocked fans around the world.
The autopsy was conducted by a private pathologist hired by Jackson's family.
Los Angeles Times reported that the second autopsy came a day after an initial examination by the L.A. County coroner's failed to determine the exact a cause of the performer's death.
Jackson's father issued a statement urging fans not to despair because the singer "will continue to live on in each and every one of you." The family sought a second autopsy - the official one was conducted on Friday - amid reports about the 50-year-old singer's reliance on prescription medications.
Jackson's personal physician, Texas cardiologist Dr. Conrad Murray, who was with the singer when he collapsed at his rented mansion on Thursday, hired an attorney to accompany him to what was expected to be a lengthy meeting with the Los Angeles Police Department late on Saturday.
"Dr. Murray is considered to be a witness to the events surrounding Michael Jackson's death and he is not a suspect," Houston law firm Stradley, Chernoff & Alford said in a statement.
The statement added, "Dr. Murray hired legal counsel to help guide him through the police investigation process. The law firm was hired to make sure the police investigation is conducted properly."
An LAPD spokeswoman said she had no updates on the meeting, three hours after it was scheduled to begin.
According to media reports, Jackson was injected with the narcotic painkiller Demerol shortly before he went into cardiac arrest. Murray was desperately trying to revive Jackson when paramedics arrived, and he rode with the singer in an ambulance to the hospital where the pop star was pronounced dead.
The official autopsy, conducted on Friday, failed to determine what killed Jackson, pending toxicology tests that were expected to take up to six weeks. Such tests could reveal the presence of drugs in his system.
The celebrity website TMZ.com, which first broke the news of Jackson's death, reported that the second autopsy took place at an undisclosed location in Los Angeles on Saturday afternoon, on the orders of the Jackson family.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson, who has been serving as a spokesman for the singer's family, told ABC News the family also had questions for Murray.
"When did the doctor come? What did he do? Did he inject him? If so, with what?" he said in the interview.
Michael Jackson's father, Joseph, issued a statement through People magazine, calling his son's death "one of the darkest moments of our lives."
He added, "We miss Michael endlessly, our pain cannot be described in words. ... But please do not despair, because Michael will continue to live on in each and every one of you."
Jackson's parents, siblings and three young children were in seclusion at the family compound in the Los Angeles suburb of Encino, as distraught fans from around the world gathered outside its brick walls.
The singer's body is being held at an undisclosed mortuary after the coroner returned it to the family on Friday evening. Funeral plans have not been announced.
London concerts
Jackson's family wants to know more specifics about what role AEG, the concert promoter that was staging his 50-date concert series at London's 02 Arena, was playing in his life, said the person, who requested anonymity because of the delicate nature of the situation. They also want to know more about the role of his advisers and representatives, who they believe were put in place by the promoter.
Jackson never communicated to his family who he had in place to handle his business affairs, the person said, adding that they were told by the singer's phalanx of advisers that the singer likely had a will, but it may be many years old. The family is distrustful of what they are being told - but they are determined to find out more, the person said. "There are decisions going down without the family being in the loop" it's becoming an issue," the person said.
Randy Phillips, AEG Live president and chief executive, said on Friday that it was Jackson who insisted that Dr. Conrad Murray, a financially troubled cardiologist who was with the entertainer when he collapsed Thursday, be put on the tour payroll.
"As a company, we would have preferred not having a physician on staff full-time because it would have been cheaper without the hotels and travel, but Michael was insistent that he be hired," Phillips said. "Michael said he had a rapport with him."
UAE stores: Albums fly off shelves
Such was the spike in interest in Michael Jackson on Friday that shelves of music stores across the Emirates were stripped of every one of his albums by 10.20am, while AP reported in Britain sales of Jackson's albums are surging and he's virtually certain to reach No 1 in the coming days.
Staff at Virgin Megastores at Mall of the Emirates, Mercato, BurJuman and Deira City Centre in Dubai and the Abu Dhabi Mall say fans were queuing to snap up copies of CDs, DVDs and memorabilia.
A Virgin Megastore manager said all stores were expecting deliveries by 5pm on Saturday.
- Kelly Crane, Staff Reporter
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