Jackson autopsy shows no trauma
Possible heart problem, medications are focus
LOS ANGELES—The final act of Michael Jackson’s life came into clearer focus Friday, a picture of a fallen superstar working out with TV’s “Incredible Hulk” and under the care of his own private cardiologist as he tried to get his 50- year-old body in shape for a grueling bid to reclaim his glory.
While the exact circumstances of his death remained unclear, early clues suggested he may simply have pushed his heart too far.
Police said they had towed the doctor’s BMW from Jackson’s home because it may include medication or other evidence, and a source familiar with the situation told the Associated Press that a heart attack appeared to have caused the cardiac arrest that led to the pop icon’s sudden death.
An autopsy showed no sign of trauma or foul play to Jackson, who died Thursday at UCLA Medical Center after paramedics not could not revive him.
The AP source who said Jackson apparently suffered a heart attack was not authorized to speak publicly and requested anonymity.
Authorities said they spoke with the doctor briefly Thursday and Friday and expected to meet with him again soon. Police stressed that the doctor, identified by the Los Angeles Times as cardiologist Conrad Murray, was not a criminal suspect. “We do not consider him to be uncooperative at this time,” Beck said. “We think that he will assist us in coming to the truth of the facts in this case.”
Craig Harvey, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County coroner, said there were no signs of foul play in the autopsy and further tests would be needed to determine cause of death. He said Jackson was taking some unspecified prescription medication but gave few other details.
Meanwhile, a 911 call released by fire officials shed light on the desperate effort at the mansion to save Jackson’s life before paramedics arrived Thursday afternoon. Jackson died later at UCLA Medical Center. In the recording, an unidentified caller pleads with authorities to send help, offering no clues about why Jackson was stricken. He tells a dispatcher that Jackson’s doctor is performing CPR.
“He’s pumping his chest,” the caller says, “but he’s not responding to anything.”
Asked by the dispatcher whether anyone saw what happened, the caller answers: “No, just the doctor, sir. The doctor has been the only one there.”
The president of the company promoting Jackson’s shows said Murray was Jackson’s personal physician for three years. Jackson insisted Murray accompany him to London, said Randy Phillips, president of AEG Live.
Phillips quoted Jackson as saying: “Look, this whole business revolves around me. I’m a machine, and we have to keep the machine well-oiled.” Phillips said Jackson submitted to at least five hours of physicals that insurers had insisted on.
On Friday, the autopsy was completed in a matter of hours, but an official cause of death could take up to six weeks while medical examiners await toxicology tests. No funeral plans had been made public.
Jackson had remained out of the public spotlight during intense rehearsals for the London concerts, but those with access said he was upbeat and seemingly energized by his planned comeback. Ken Ehrlich, executive producer of the Grammys, said he watched Jackson dance energetically as recently as Wednesday.
“There was this one moment, he was moving across the stage and he was doing these trademark Michael moves, and I know I got this big grin on my face, and I started thinking to myself, ‘You know, it’s been years since I’ve seen that,’ ” he said.
Lou Ferrigno, the star of “The Incredible Hulk,” said he had been working out with Jackson for the past several months.
Still, Jackson’s health had been known to be precarious in recent years, and one family friend said Friday that he had warned the entertainer’s family about his use of painkillers.
“I said one day we’re going to have this experience. And when Anna Nicole Smith passed away, I said we cannot have this kind of thing with Michael Jackson,” Brian Oxman, a former Jackson attorney and family friend, told NBC’s “Today” show. “The result was I warned everyone, and lo and behold, here we are. I don’t know what caused his death. But I feared this day, and here we are.”
Oxman claimed Jackson had prescription drugs at his disposal to help with pain suffered when he broke his leg after he fell off a stage and for broken vertebrae in his back.
Hundreds made a pilgrimage to the Jackson family’s compound in Los Angeles, leaving flowers and messages of love.
His ex-wife, Lisa Marie Presley, posted a long, emotional statement on her MySpace page in which she said her ex-husband had confided to her 14 years ago that he feared dying young and under tragic circumstances, just as her father, Elvis Presley, had.
“I promptly tried to deter him from the idea, at which point he just shrugged his shoulders and nodded almost matter of fact as if to let me know, he knew what he knew and that was kind of that,” Presley said.
After his acquittal on child molestation charges in 2005, Jackson’s prosecutor argued against returning some items that had been seized from Neverland, the Santa Barbara County estate Jackson had converted into a children’s play-land. Among the items were syringes, the powerful painkiller Demerol and other prescription drugs. Demerol carries a long list of warnings to users. The government warns that mixing it with certain other drugs can lead to reactions including slowed or stopped breathing, shock and cardiac arrest.
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