HOUSTON — The Michael Jackson investigation took a stunning turn Wednesday as authorities raided the offices of the doctor who was with the pop star when he died and the physician’s lawyer said investigators appear to be building a manslaughter case.
Two dozen federal drug agents and a pair of Los Angeles police officers spent more than two hours in a clinic that Dr. Conrad Murray sometimes shares in a lower- income area of north Houston, taking copied files from an office hard drive and 21 documents, according to Murray’s attorney, Edward Chernoff.
“The search warrant authorized law enforcement to search for and seize items, including documents, they believed constituted evidence of the offense of manslaughter,” Chernoff said.
Authorities did not disclose what information was taken and said they still do not consider Murray a suspect.
In the four weeks since Jackson’s death, rumors have proliferated about what killed him. Several members of Jackson’s family have said they suspect foul play. Investigators appear to be focusing on a powerful anesthetic, propofol. The drug was found in the Beverly Hills mansion Jackson was renting, according to a person with knowledge of the investigation.
While doctors regularly moved in and out of Jackson’s life — including those who prescribed him pain medication over the years — it was Murray who joined Jackson’s entourage in May as the King of Pop prepared for a series of comeback concerts in London. On June 25, Murray found Jackson unconscious in a bedroom of the mansion, Chernoff has said, tried to revive him and ultimately helped summon paramedics.
While Jackson went into cardiac arrest, it’s still not known what caused his death at age 50. An autopsy was conducted but results are not expected until next week. The Jackson family had a second autopsy performed, and those results also are pending.
Police have twice interviewed Murray, including at the Los Angeles hospital where Jackson was taken and pronounced dead. The coroner’s office wanted its own interview, which the lawyer agreed to; it may happen Friday without Murray present, a Chernoff spokeswoman said.
“Based on Dr. Murray’s minute-by- minute … description of Michael Jackson’s last days, he should not be a target of criminal charges,” Chernoff said before the raid. “Dr. Murray was the last doctor standing when Michael Jackson died and it seems all the fury is directed toward him.”
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