Los Angeles police on Saturday again questioned Michael Jackson’s doctor, while the family of the pop music icon ordered its own private autopsy two days after his death shocked fans around the world.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.
“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.
‘DID HE INJECT HIM?’
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. Jackson is not related to the singer’s family.
“When did the doctor come? What did he do? Did he inject him? If so, with what?” he said in an interview with ABC.
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.”
He reportedly sent moving vans to empty his son’s mansion in the upscale Holmby Hills neighborhood, concerned that items would be stolen. The singer’s younger sister, Janet, spent several hours at the estate, which city records show is worth $20 million and owned by a trust linked to apparel mogul Herbert Guez.
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.
Jackson’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.
“We need something where we can mourn and celebrate his life, say our goodbyes,” said Donna Green, a 44-year-old resident of Las Vegas who once ran a Jackson fan club.
Posts Tagged Toxicology Tests
Former Wilco guitarist Jay Bennett died of an overdose of a pain killer, a coroner said Tuesday, and authorities are viewing his death as accidental.
Toxicology tests showed the 45-year-old musician died from an overdose of fentanyl, Champaign County Coroner Duane Northrup said in a brief news release that noted the drug is found in patches commonly prescribed to treat chronic pain.
The release did not indicate whether Bennett had used such a patch but Northrup told The (Champaign) News-Gazette that Bennett had a patch containing fentanyl on his back when he died May 24 after being found unresponsive in his home in Urbana, 110 miles south of Chicago.
Northrup did not return a call from The Associated Press and his office declined to immediately provide a copy of Bennett’s autopsy, saying the investigation remains open.
Several companies recalled fentanyl patches last year after discovering that some leaked, causing labored breathing and possible overdose. There was no indication Bennett had used a recalled patch.
In a recent posting on his MySpace page, Bennett wrote that he was getting ready for hip replacement surgery after years of pain.
“As time has passed my mobility has continued to erode, to the extent that, for quite some time now, it has even been difficult to sit at the computer for more than just a few minutes,” Bennett wrote in a posting dated April 25.
Members of Bennett’s family could not immediately be located for comment. There was no immediate response to an e-mail sent to his record company.
Bennett worked as a sound engineer and played instruments for Wilco from 1994 to 2001.
He sued Wilco lead singer Jeff Tweedy in early May. Bennett claimed he was owed royalties for songs during his seven years with the group.
After learning of Bennett’s death Tweedy said Bennett made significant contributions to Wilco and said he would be remembered “as a truly unique and gifted human being.”
Bennett was born in the Chicago suburb of Rolling Meadows and graduated from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign.