Michael Jackson's doctor becomes focus of manslaughter probe - Los Angeles TimesMichael Jackson's doctor becomes focus of manslaughter probe
Search warrants issued in Houston identify Dr. Conrad Murray as a target of the investigation into the pop star's death.Michael Jackson's personal physician was identified as a suspect in the Los Angeles Police Department's manslaughter investigation into the pop star's death, according to court records filed Thursday in Houston.
A pair of search warrants filed in Harris County District Court stated that investigators were looking for "items constituting evidence of the offense of manslaughter that tend to show that Dr. Conrad Murray committed the said criminal offense."The searches, which were carried out Wednesday at Murray's medical clinic and storage unit in Houston, gave authorities access to billing records, medication orders, shipping receipts, billing receipts, medical records and "implements and instruments used in the commission of a crime."Chernoff has said that his client did not give Jackson any narcotics or other medication that "should have" caused his death.
The court records were the first public confirmation by police that Murray was a focus of their probe. Detectives previously had interviewed Murray, but had declined to identify him as a suspect.
"I do not know what they are looking for, and I can't possibly tell you how anything they took in any way connects with the death of Michael Jackson," said Murray's attorney, Edward Chernoff, who was present at both of the searches.
Acting on behalf of the LAPD, a member of the Houston Police Department's narcotics division obtained the search warrant for Murray's Houston office on Monday from a Harris County District Court judge.
They searched the office for 3 1/2 hours Wednesday, confiscating a computer, a Rolodex card with FedEx information and e-mails from one of Murray's former employees.
The inventory of items taken in the search included vials of two drugs: 27 tablets of phentermine, a prescription appetite suppressant; and one tablet of clonazepam, a muscle relaxant. During that search, authorities also seized public storage receipts, a rental agreement and a move-in receipt.
Sue Lyon, general manager of West 18th Street Self Storage, where Murray has rented a 10-by-15-foot storage unit since April, said authorities found information about her company at Murray's office, then sought the second search warrant.
"They found my business card," Lyon said. "That's how they put it together. They came straight over here."
Among the items seized from the storage unit were two computer hard drives, a medical board certificate, letters to a former employee, a list of contacts and papers pertaining to his practice. On the search warrant return and inventory, authorities listed a suspension notice from a Houston hospital. They also took letters from the Internal Revenue Service, a Texas Department of Public Safety controlled substance registration and public records from the Texas controller.
An administrative assistant at Doctors Hospital in Houston confirmed that Murray has been suspended from practicing at the hospital. The offense was "very much" routine and minor, she said.
Murray, a cardiologist with practices in Las Vegas and Houston, had been hired to care for Jackson at a monthly salary of $150,000. Murray was at Jackson's home and found the singer not breathing June 25. He administered CPR before paramedics were called. The singer was officially pronounced dead at UCLA Medical Center.
Sources familiar with the investigation have said that authorities removed propofol, a powerful anesthetic, and other medications from Jackson's home. Murray's attorney has declined to comment on whether the doctor administered the drug, which is most commonly used by anesthesiologists in hospitals.
L.A. County coroner's investigators have collected evidence from two other medical professionals who worked with Jackson before his death.
Earlier this week, Ed Winter, assistant chief coroner, obtained information from Dr. Randy Rosen, an anesthesiologist. Winter told The Times that Jackson had been treated at Rosen's Beverly Hills office but declined to say under what circumstances. Jackson's second child was delivered at the facility, according to birth records. Rosen's office did not return calls seeking comment .
On Wednesday, Winter visited the Inglewood office of Cherilyn Lee, a registered nurse who operates a Los Angeles-based nutritional counseling business. Lee said Jackson had complained to her earlier this year of insomnia and pleaded for her to get him propofol. Lee told The Times she never prescribed or gave Jackson drugs, but did design a nutritional program for him, which she provided to Winter. She said she warned Jackson against using propofol.
July 24, 2009
Michael Jackson's doctor becomes focus of manslaughter probe - Los Angeles Times
POPPA DOC Sperm Derm Donor and that Michael Jackson brain tingling...buried with one white glove or creepy?
Michael Jackson to be buried with one white glove: cool or creepy? | The Dish Rag | Los Angeles Times
Still so many lingering questions about Michael Jackson. ...What killed Michael?
Here's Michael Jackson's official death certificate. The cause of death is listed as "deferred."
Where is Michael Jackson’s body being kept?
After Tuesday's memorial service, LAPD Chief William J. Bratton would say only, “ "We have to keep some secrets.”
Sources familiar with the case told the L.A. Times that MJ's body was in safekeeping after being released to the family following the autopsy by the Los Angeles County coroner.
But the other big question is where is Michael Jackson's brain?
L.A. Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter says that Jackson brain, or at least some of it, is still being held by investigators and would be returned to the family for burial after all the tests are completed."As soon as we are done with the brain, we will return it," Winter said. "There is a whole series of tests that will be done."
It is not uncommon for the coroner to hold on to a brain or samples from it. Families sometimes delay burying a loved one until after the brain has been returned.
Where do you think he should be buried?
And would you visit a Neverland grave? What would you leave as a token of your affection?
Dr. Arnold Klein, a Beverly Hills dermatologist with a powerful and pampered celebrity clientele, admits he once donated sperm to a sperm bank.
And he also admits he gave Michael Jackson prescriptions for Demerol, although he did not prescribe Diprivan, found in Jackson's home when he died and suspected of causing his death.
Klein said Wednesday that he discovered that Jackson was using Diprivan while on tour in Germany. Klein warned Jackson the drug was dangerous. "I told him he was absolutely insane."
Yeah, because warning a drug addict about using drugs always does a world of good.
You may recall this was the Dangerous Tour, after which Jackson publicly admitted an addiction to prescription painkillers and was hospitalized and even went into rehab.
But wait til you hear what Klein says about his sperm donation and who should get Michael's kids.
When Larry King asked Klein if he was the sperm donor for Michael's children, Klein did not meet his gaze.
When King pressed him on whether he was the biological father of Michael's kids, this exchange occurred:
KING: Now what about all the rumors about you and the fathering of those children?
KLEIN: Here's the most important thing. Michael loved those children as a father. Those children loved him as a father. As far as I am concerned, that's the most important grouping that is.
KING: That's not answering the question.
KLEIN: No, because I'm not going to answer it the way you want me to answer it, because...
KING: Well, you can say no.
KLEIN: I can say no then. I will say no if that's what you want to hear.
KING: No, I want to hear what you know.
KLEIN: What I will tell you is I think what's most important about this whole thing, to end this thing, is that the most important thing in who the father is -- who the children want their father to be.
Klein also feels his former nurse Debbie Rowe should get the kids because Katherine Jackson is too old and Joe Jackson is out of it.
Yeah, not like a reclusive and disfigured 50-year-old drug addict who needs painkillers to make it through the day and intravenous anesthesia to sleep.
Klein didn't go to the memorial. He says he's an Orthodox Jew and doesn't approve of the body not being buried by now.
But was he even invited?
After all, the Jackson family gave LAPD a list of doctors they were suspicious of. And whaddya know? Klein's name was on the list.
What do you think about this guy? Are you curious?
Michael Jackson will be reportedly wear one of his favorite white sparkly gloves in his coffin.
Gaspar Gloves owner Dorothy Gaspar, who designed gloves for the "This Is It" tour, tells TMZ that Michael's sister La Toya Jackson wanted Michael to wear a glove inside the casket.
La Toya chose a white leather glove Dorothy made for Michael 10 to 12 years ago -- a white leather glove covered in Swarovski crystals.
It's not that far-fetched. Read about what other celebrities have worn to their own funeral.
Civilizations have long buried their dead with clothing, riches and personal items. King Tut was buried with a solid gold mask on his mummified head, hundreds of gold figurines, an ebony and ivory chair, ornamental vases, weapons, and enough seeds for a sizable garden in the afterlife.
Actor Bela Lugosi, most famous for his role as Dracula, was buried in his long flowing high-collared vampire cape. What, no earth from his homeland?
Humphrey Bogart starred in the 1944 film "To Have and Have Not" with Lauren Bacall, his fourth wife. One of her lines to Bogie was, "If you need anything, just whistle." Bacall put a whistle inscribed with that line inside the silver urn with his ashes when he was interred in 1957.
Whether MJ will be buried encased in concrete to prevent grave robbers is another matter.
That's just a rumor, folks -- one among hundreds of unconfirmed whispers floating around the Web. Believe what you will.
What do you think Michael Jackson should wear to his own funeral?
Which one of his iconic costumes is most suitable for the afterlife?
More Michael Jackson dish:
Propofol Found in Jackson's Two Autopsies : LimeLife
Propofol Found in Jackson's Two Autopsies : LimeLifePropofol Found in Jackson's Two Autopsies
In Celebs by SplashNews , on Wednesday, July 22, 2009, 2:45 PM (PDT).
Courtesy of SplashNews.com
Propofol has been found in Michael Jackson's body, the results of two autopsies have revealed. The results are from an official autopsy by the Los Angeles County Coroner and a private pathologist's autopsy carried out for the Jackson family.
Both have found propofol in his system, while the second private autopsy has confirmed the needle track marks found on his body in the first. The drug, a powerful sedative and anaesthetic agent, is not available outside of hospitals and is not a controlled substance. Propofol, sold under the trade name of Diprivan, is being seen as the "smoking gun" in the multi-agency investigation of Jackson's sudden death on June 25 at his Holmby Hills residence. County officials have confirmed that Jackson was taking prescription medications when he died. A public report on their findings is not expected until at least next week because of the ongoing probe into the case. The private autopsy was performed on June 27, two days after Jackson died and a day after the coroner's examination of the body.
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