Was A Homicide ?

The Los Angeles coroner has ruled Michael Jackson's death as a homicide, U.S. law enforcement sources have claimed. The news came as court papers revealed the coroner had found lethal levels of the powerful anaesthetic propofol in the pop star's body.

The finding makes it more likely that criminal charges will be filed against the singer's personal doctor Conrad Murray, who was with Jackson when he died.

A law enforcement official, who wished to remain anonymous, said the coroner determined a fatal combination of drugs was given to Jackson hours before he died in his rented Los Angeles mansion.Forensic tests found the powerful anesthetic propofol in Jackson's system along with two sedatives, the official said.


The Los Angeles Chief Medical Examiner-Coroner, Dr. Sathyavagiswaran, indicated that he had reviewed the preliminary toxicology results and his preliminary assessment of Jackson's cause of death was due to lethal levels of propofol (diprivan),' according to a search warrant affidavit for Murray issued by California.

The document was released by the Harris County District Clerk in Houston, where Dr Murray has offices, which U.S. Agents raided on July 22, looking for evidence of manslaughter.

Dr Murray told detectives he gave the late King of Pop the drug to treat insomnia for about six weeks, the Los Angeles Times reported. The newspaper cited a newly unsealed affidavit accompanying a search warrant used in the investigation of Jackson's death. According to court records, Dr Murray had been giving Jackson 50 milligrams of propofol every night using an intravenous line.But fearing that the singer was becoming addicted to the drug, Dr Murray said he began trying to wean Jackson off propofol. He lowered the dosage to 25 milligrams and mixed it with two other sedatives, lorazepam and midazolam.

Two days before Jackson's death, Dr Murray administered just the two sedatives and not the propofol. According to the affidavit obtained the LA Times, on the morning Jackson died, Dr Murray tried to induce sleep without using propofol, and tried valium at 1.30am.But it did not work. The doctor then tried giving Jackson various drugs until 10.40am when the singer demanded propofol.

Dr Murray told detectives he was not the first doctor to give Jackson propofol, the court documents stated.The doctor said he repeatedly asked Jackson which other doctors were treating him and what drugs they were prescribing, but the singer refused to reveal the details. Dr Murray said he noticed injection marks on Jackson's hands and feet, which the star told him was a 'cocktail' to help him, the affidavit revealed.

Jackson suffered cardiac arrest and died on June 25 at age 50. Since then, police have probed his death in an investigation that appears focused on the use of prescription drugs and the role of doctors who treated him, including his personal doctor.An autopsy report in to Jackons' death remains sealed while police complete their investigation into the role prescription drugs may have played in his death and the actions of his doctors.