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Offices of Jacko doc searched

By | Published on Thursday 23 July 2009

So, Michael Jackson’s private physician is now well and truly in the spotlight as LA authorities try to establish what exactly caused the sudden death of the late King Of Pop. Dozens of police and federal agents yesterday descended on the Houston offices of Dr Conrad Murray in the search of any evidence that may help them ascertain whether any wrongdoing – negligent or deliberate – brought about the singer’s demise. As much previously reported, the most popular theory at the moment is that Jackson was injected with a strong prescription drug shortly before his death, and that that drug caused the cardiac arrest that killed him.

Murray’s attorney, Ed Chernoff, confirmed last night that the raid on his client’s office was in relation to investigations of the possible manslaughter of Jackson, but again stressed his client did not cause the singer’s death, and pointed out the medic continued to cooperate with all police investigations into his former client’s demise. Police and other officials said little about the two and half hour raid, except that they were looking for certain key documents.

Chernoff also confirmed a copy of his client’s hard drive was taken by officials, suggesting that police weren’t just looking for documents relating to Jackson’s health and treatment, but also email correspondence between the singer and the doc, in which prescription medication may or may not have been discussed.

The attorney concluded in a statement: “The coroner wants to clear up the cause of death; we share that goal. Based on Dr Murray’s minute-by-minute and item-by-item description of Michael Jackson’s last days, he should not be a target of criminal charges”.

As previously reported, both the police and Jackson’s family remain hopeful that the toxicology tests done on the late singer’s body may throw more light on to the exact cause of his death. Despite hopes those test results would be available as soon as this week, it now looks likely it will be another couple of weeks before a full coroner’s report is available.

Elsewhere in the LAPD’s investigations, a spokeswoman for Jackson’s nutritionist, Cherilyn Lee, confirmed that her client had been subpoenaed by the LA coroner’s office and would now share information on the advice she had given the singer in recent months. Lee’s rep said the diet doctor was already co-operating with officials, but that the subpoena was required in order for her to hand over confidential paperwork relating to a former patient.

Elsewhere in Jackson news, plans continue for the previously reported O2 Jacko tribute show that is being mooted for 29 Aug, what would have been the singer’s 51st birthday. As previously reported, the tribute show would be staged by AEG Live in one of the slots reserved for the cancelled Jackson residency at The O2 in east London. Some of the sets built for the cancelled shows might also be used. Talent wise though, two of the big names previously associated with such a tribute look unlikely to participate.

Sources close to Janet Jackson say she has no plans to participate, seeing her music career as being quite separate from that of Michael and the rest of her brothers. Justin Timberlake, another top pop act previously linked to a Jacko tribute show, he being so influenced by the late king of pop, also seems unkeen to be involved.

On the bill so far are just Jackson’s brothers Jermaine, Tito, Marlon and Jackie. It’s still not clear to me how they plan to get out of those previously reported contractual commitments to not perform before a planned Jackson reunion special in the US next year, unless that special is now considered cancelled following Michael’s death, or the legal action the promoters of that show launched against Jacko before he died.



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