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July 31, 2009

Search Warrants Call Michael Jackson a Drug Addict


Michael Jackson's doctor was charged with domestic violence in 1994.

To his fans, Michael Jackson was the King of Pop. To his children, he was daddy.But to investigators looking into how Jackson died and who contributed to his death, the pop icon was an

That word was used in the search warrants for the eight-hour raid on Dr. Conrad Murray's Las Vegas home and office.

Language found in the documents, obtained by ABC News, indicates authorities intend to pursue multiple criminal charges, including prescribing excessive narcotics to an addict and unprofessional conduct. Both are misdemeanors that carry potential prison sentences and fines.

"It will cause Dr. Murray a lot of problems," defense attorney Bryan Altman said of the possible charges Murray could face. "At a minimum, I cannot see how he would escape issues before the licensing authorities of his state just for this alone."

Search warrants for a raid last week on Murray's Houston office indicates authorities are also looking for evidence to back up a possible manslaughter charge. In addition, Murray has come under fire after his lawyer made comments that the doctor waited 30 minutes to call 911 after he found Jackson unresponsive and that he performed CPR while Jackson was on a bed, against standard protocol.

ABC News has confirmed that the coroner's report may be delayed longer than previously thought as his investigation into what killed Jackson expands even further. Coroner Ed Winter told ABC News that he served Dr. Lawrence Koplin, a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon, with a subpoena Thursday, but would not say what other doctors he may be looking at.

Jackson was reportedly addicted to painkillers, including Oxycontin and Demerol. But it was his use of propofol, a powerful anesthetic typically found in hospital operating rooms, that's gotten the most attention from authorities. It was listed as a contributing factor in Jackson's death in a preliminary autopsy report.

Propofol, also known by the trade name Diprivan, is not meant for use outside the hospital. Patients who are given the drug in a hospital setting typically receive oxygen and their vital signs are monitored to prevent respiratory arrest.

Investigators have removed evidence from Jackson's rented Los Angeles home that would indicate he had been using propofol to sleep at night, including vials of the drug, IVs and oxygen tanks. Investigaors want to know if Murray administered the drug to Jackson in the hours before he died.

Search Warrants Call Michael Jackson a Drug Addict
Search warrants for the raid on Dr. Conrad Murray's Las Vegas home and office identify Michael Jackson as a drug addict.
(AP Photo)

Aliases Used By Jackson Include Names of Son, Employees

TMZ reported overnight that Jackson may not have spent his final hours in his own bedroom as previously thought, but in Murray's bed, where they say the doctor gave Jackson the propofol.

"They're going to need evidence of the actual administration of the drug which they probably have from the actual autopsy and test results," Altman said. "They've obtained hard drives, they're obtained receipts for medications. There's a lot of material they'll be looking at."

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The Los Angeles Police Department and federal Drug Enforcement Administration -- who are working cooperatively, but separately from Winter -- are also looking for prescriptions in the names of 19 alleged Jackson aliases.

The names Jackson used to obtain multiple prescriptions, according to the search warrant, include those of his 12-year-old son Prince Michael I and numerous employees, including Kai Chase, Jackson's personal chef who was in the house the day her boss died.

Chase appeared on CNN's Larry King Live Thursday night and said she had no idea her name was listed as a Jackson alias.

"I think that is appalling," she said. "I have no clue what that is about."

In an interview with the Associated Press earlier this week, Chase said Murray seemed off the day Jackson died. Murray, she said, did not come down to get Jackson's typical breakfast of granola and almond milk, instead rushing down the stairs after noon screaming for Prince.




While Michael Jackson's doctor Conrad Murray remains a free man after raids of his home and offices in two states, this is not the first time he's caught the attention of law enforcement.

Michael Jackson's doctor was charged with domestic violence in 1994.
(ABC News)

ABC News has learned that Murray was arrested on domestic violence charges in 1994 after an incident with his then-girlfriend. The doctor was tried and acquitted.

Whether he'll remain free of charges related to the June 25 death of Michael Jackson remains to be seen. Court papers have shown that the raid Tuesday on Murray's Las Vegas home and office and last week's raid at his Houston office collected evidence to be used in an investigation of possible manslaughter charges, according to the police search warrants.

Tuesday's raid netted envelopes, yellow cases, cell phones and a computer hard drive.

On Wednesday Murray's lawyer Ed Chernoff confirmed that authorities were looking for documents and drug information with the names of Jackson's many aliases, they believed he used to when getting prescriptions.

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"The warrant authorized detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department and the federal Drug Enforcement Administration to seize prescriptions, files, billing information, tests results, electronic records and other material kept under pseudonyms, including Omar Arnold, Paul Farance, Bryan Singleton, Jimmy Nicholas, Blanca Nicholas, Roselyn Muhammad, Faheem Muhammad, Frank Tyson, Fernand Diaz, Peter Madonie, Josephine Baker and Kai Chase. Also listed was the name of Jackson's son Prince," Chernoff said in a statement.

Several of aliases were known assocaites of Jackson including Frank Tyson, a friend and personal assistant, and Kai Chase, the singer's personal chef who was at Jackson's home the day he died.

The foucsed attention on Murray, experts said, does not bode well for the cardiologist.

"This seems like death by a thousand cuts," ABC News legal analyst Dana Cole told "Good Morning America." "They're just not going to let up on this guy. We'll have to see what it ultimately reveals."

The LAPD confirmed that toxicology reports from Jackson's autopsy will be delayed another week, but preliminary results show the powerful anesthetic propofol was a contributing factor in the pop icon's death. And it was Murray who reportedly administered the drug to Jackson the day he died.

Jackson's personal chef has also spoken out recently, Telling the Associated Press that Murray seemed off his normal routine the day Jackson died. While he usually came to get Jackson's breakfast in the morning, which included granola, the chef reported that Murray only came downstairs a little after noon, yelling for the singer's eldest son, Prince Michael I, 12.

Raids, Death Investigation Not First Brush With Law for Michael Jackson Doctor Conrad Murray
Dr. Conrad Murray, who is under investigation as part of a probe into the death of Michael Jackson, has had a brush with the law before when he was tried and acquitted of domestic violence charges in the '90s.
(AP Photos/Getty Images)


Jackson Doc Reportedly Facing Foreclosure

Murray has also been flamed in the media and by other doctors not only for waiting 30 minutes to call 911 after he found Jackson unresponsive but for performing CPR on a bed, when standard protocol calls for the lifesaving measure to be performed on the floor or another hard surface.

Murray, through his lawyers, has repeatedly proclaimed his innocence, saying he never gave Jackson anything that should have caused his death.

"At the end of the day, it was really just Dr. Murray and his patient Michael Jackson in the room, and his patient was found dead," Cole said.

Jackson had many doctors, and ABC News has learned that as many as five may be under investigation. But so far, it seems Murray is the of the Los Angeles Police Department and federal Drug Enforcement Administration agents who are leading the probe.

And the investigation may not be his only problem.

ABC News has learned that the Murray is facing foreclosure. Documents obtained by ABC News' Primetime show that the doctor owes more than $15,000 in back payments from January for his Las Vegas home.

Jackson's Mother Wants Contract Access

While investigators continue to build their case, Jackson's mother appears to be gearing up for a fight of her own.

Katherine Jackson Tuesday served the administrators of her son's estate with subpoenas seeking access to Jackson's contracts, including the "This Is It" tour agreement with AEG.

Administrators John Branca and John McLain said that it was Jackson himself who requested they control his estate, and that while they offered to share the contracts with his mother if she agreed to a confidentiality agreement, she has refused to those terms.

A hearing on control of Jackson's estate will be held next week.

The Day Michael Jackson Died

Jackson's parents and siblings question Murray's role in Jackson's final hours, according to the Rev. Jesse Jackson, a longtime friend of the family. Rev. Jackson previously told ABC News that the family is suspicious.

The fact that the doctor had left the scene, was not available to sign the death certificate or answer the family's questions about their son's final moments did not sit right at all with the Jacksons, according to Rev. Jackson.

"When did the doctor come? What did he do? Did he inject him? If so, with what?" said Rev. Jackson. "Was he on the scene twice? Before and then reaction to? Did he use the Demerol? It's a very powerful drug. Was he injected once? Was he injected twice?"

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Murray's lawyer Ed Chernoff, defending his client, has said that once Murray realized that CPR was not bringing Jackson back, Murray, he said, tried to dial 911 on his cell phone but did not have the exact address of Jackson's home. And with none of the phones in the home working "for privacy reasons," Murray ran around the house till he found Jackson's chef, who alerted security.

It was the security person, Chernoff said, who eventually dialed 911. CPR, he said, was done for 25 to 30 minutes before emergency officials arrived.After Jackson's death, police officers towed a silver BMW from outside Jackson's Los Angeles home, which police confirmed belonged to Jackson's "personal physician" and which they believed contains evidence crucial to the investigation.

Law enforcement sources, however, confirmed to ABC News, that the car towed from Jackson's home is registered to one Susan Mary Rush. Rush is the sister of Dr. Conrad Robert Murray.

"The car was impounded," said Amanda Betat, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Police Department. "One reason it was impounded was because it may contain medication or evidence that could assist the coroner in determining the cause of death."