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NEWS : STORIES
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06.28.2009 12:41 PM EDT
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Michael Jackson's Doctor Meets With Police
Dr. Conrad Murray was 'cooperative and provided information which will aid the investigation,' police say in statement.
by
MTV News staff
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Michael Jackson
(Photo:
Dave Hogan/Getty Images
)
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Michael Jackson's cardiologist, Dr. Conrad Murray, met with detectives for three hours in Los Angeles on Saturday and provided information that will help with the investigation into the
singer's death, the Los Angeles Police Department said in a statement, according to CNN. The doctor may have been the last person to see Jackson alive.
"Dr. Conrad Murray, the physician who was with Michael Jackson at the time of his collapse, voluntarily contacted the Los Angeles Police Department," the statement said.
"Detectives assigned to Robbery-Homicide Division met with Dr. Murray and conducted an extensive interview. Dr. Murray was cooperative and provided information which will aid the investigation."
On Friday, the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office announced at a press conference that a determination of the cause of the singer's death following his autopsy had been deferred pending further tests. The Los Angeles Times, citing "sources familiar with the case," reported late Saturday that Jackson's family hired a private pathologist who completed a second autopsy on the singer's body.
The department had been seeking to speak again with Murray after conferring with him briefly on Thursday after Jackson's death. The Reverend Jesse Jackson spoke with reporters on Saturday and said that the Jackson family wished to speak with the doctor as well, but had been unable to reach him.
"The routine inquiry is now an investigation," Jesse Jackson said, according to CNN. "[The Jackson family] didn't know the doctor. ... He should have met with the family, given them comfort on the last hours of their son."
Murray's lawyer said earlier that the doctor was willing to cooperate. "It's a human tragedy and he's upset obviously over the loss of Mr. Jackson. But he is not a suspect in the death of Mr. Jackson," Matthew Alford said.
Detectives impounded Murray's car, which was parked at Jackson's rented home, because it may contain evidence related to the singer's death, including prescription medications. Police have not released information on what was found in the car.
Coroner's officials said Jackson had been using prescription drugs, and the investigation is examining whether he overdosed. A law enforcement source told the Los Angeles Times there was "no red flag" and "no smoking gun" revealed in the interview to suggest criminal wrongdoing or the possible cause of death. Media reports have speculated that Jackson was using Demerol and/ or morphine in the weeks leading up to his death, but no official statement has been made and the coroner's office's toxicology reports will not be available for several weeks. The singer was reported to have struggled with prescription medications and reportedly entered rehab during the 1990s. In 2007, Jackson settled a lawsuit filed by a Beverly Hills pharmacy that claimed he owed more than $100,000 for prescription drugs over a two-year period, according to The Associated Press.
This report is provided by MTV News
 
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