MTVNEWS Reports
The search warrants that were used to comb the home and offices of Dr. Conrad Murray in Las Vegas on Tuesday suggest that police believe Michael Jackson was a drug addict. According to The Associated Press, the warrants, released on Thursday, refer to the late pop star as an "addict," and were seeking evidence of the prescribing of the powerful anesthetic Propofol and of the misdemeanor of "excessive prescribing."
When officers from the Los Angeles and Las Vegas Police Departments and the Drug Enforcement Administration searched Murray's Las Vegas home and offices they were doing so with warrants that were issued because there was probable cause to believe they would uncover evidence of excessive prescribing, prescribing to an addict, excessive treatment or prescribing, unprofessional conduct, prescribing to or treating an addict and manslaughter. Since his death, reports have surfaced that Jackson allegedly suffered from a long-term addiction to pain medication, possibly as a result of injuries sustained during a failed pyrotechnic stunt on the set of a 1984 Pepsi commercial.
A variety of sources have confirmed that Murray is the focus of a manslaughter investigation into the June 25 death of Jackson. The cardiologist had been hired at the cost of $150,000 a month to be Jackson's personal physician in the lead-up to the launch of the singer's attempted 50-show comeback residency at the O2 Arena in London.
The AP reported that there are California state codes for doctors that cover prescribing — including ones prohibiting the prescription of drugs to anyone with a chemical dependency or anyone who is using drugs for a non-therapeutic purpose — and violations could lead to a revoked or suspended license.
On Monday, the AP reported that Murray gave Jackson Propofol prior to his death, and the warrants said that police had been searching on Tuesday for all documentation relating to the "purchase, transfer, receiving, ordering, delivery and storage of Propofol." Numerous bottles of Propofol (also known by the brand name Diprivan) were found in Jackson's rented Holmby Hills, California, home at the time of his death. The warrants also sought medical records related to any of the 19 aliases Jackson is alleged to have used in order to obtain prescription medications.
The Las Vegas searches resulted in the seizure of an iPhone, copies of several computer hard drives, a CD with the name Omar Arnold on it — one of the aliases Jackson reportedly used — and a binder containing invoices for medical equipment and supplies, according to the AP. No Propofol was found in the searches.
Jackson is said to have used the surgical anesthetic as a sleep aid to combat chronic insomnia. Investigators are working under the assumption that the drug caused the singer's heart to stop. The cause of death in the case has not yet been announced, and on Thursday Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter said after speaking to investigators that autopsy results have been indefinitely delayed pending further investigation.
Though Murray has not been named as a suspect in the death of Jackson, reports have said that he is the central focus of the investigation. He has spoken to police twice and his lawyer has said that Murray did not prescribe anything that "should have" killed Jackson, but has not commented on whether Murray administered Propofol to Jackson.
TMZ reported on Friday (July 31) that contrary to initial reports, Jackson was not found in his bed by Murray, but spent the final night of his life in the doctor's bedroom. Citing multiple unnamed law-enforcement sources, the site claimed that Jackson did not want anyone coming in and out of his room as he was hooked up to an intravenous drip of Propofol, so he laid down in Murray's bed as the doctor allegedly administered the drug in the hours before the singer's death.
Police sources said Murray may have been using his room almost nightly to hook Jackson up to the IV drip of the drug, which is intended for use in a medical setting where heart and breathing functions can be monitored by trained professionals. Among the items emergency workers reportedly found in Murray's room on the morning of Jackson's death were an IV stand, an empty IV bag and tanks of oxygen.
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