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Police chief hasn’t ruled out foul play in Jacko investigation

By | Published on Monday 13 July 2009

So, yes, look, we are still leading with Jacko. Sorry. Blame the head of the LAPD, Police Chief William Bratton, for refusing to rule out murder in his investigation into Michael Jackson’s untimely death. He’s not said that there’s any reason to especially suspect foul play was behind the singer’s cardiac arrest, but he did tell CNN: “Are we dealing with a homicide or are we dealing with accidental overdose? I don’t have that information”. Bratton says that the results of the coroner’s toxicology tests will be key in deciding what routes of investigation to continue to pursue. As previously reported, it could still be a few weeks before the results of those tests are known.

Bratton told the news channel: “We are still awaiting corroboration from the coroner’s office as to cause of death. That is going to be very dependent on the toxicology reports that are due to come back. And based on those, we will have an idea of what it is we are dealing [with]. So as we are standing here speaking, I can tell you I don’t have that information”.

A spokesman for the coroner’s office repeated that there was no sign of foul play when they did the main autopsy on the singer shortly after his death, though they have admitted that there was “some prescription medication” in the singer’s system. In his CNN interview, Bratton confirmed that Jackson’s use of prescription drugs, and the people who supplied him with such medication, was at the heart of their investigation into the singer’s death. Therefore if there was foul play, as Bratton is still willing to believe, it is most likely it would have taken the form of deliberately supplying Jackson with the wrong kind or an excessive dose of some sort of prescription medication.

The police chief confirmed reports that a search of Jackson’s home shortly after his death had resulted in various prescription drugs being found. Bratton: “At the time of the death, with search warrants, we were able to seize a number of items from the residence where the death occurred and those will assist in the investigation”.

Police have since been talking to various doctors who worked with or treated Jackson over the years to get an idea of what medications he was taking, and on what frequency. Other people who had close access to the singer will also be questioned as part of that investigation, to get a picture of how drugs played a role in Jackson’s life day to day, and an idea of who it was who supplied and administered medication to the singer. Among those set to be interviewed are his former head of British security Matt Fiddes and one of his most high profile celebrity friends, UK-based Uri Geller.

Confirming he’d been approached by the police, Fiddes told the People newspaper: “Uri and I have been told we will be quizzed by detectives. We saw a lot of things and regularly met Michael’s circle of doctors. We don’t have anything to hide and will co-operate as best we can”. Geller added: “I didn’t live with Michael, but like Matt, the things I did witness were horrifying – and destroyed my hope for his future”.



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