Feds Raid Office of Michael Jackson Doc in Manslaughter Probe
Federal agents raided the Texas office of one of Michael Jackson’s physicians today, executing a search warrant seeking evidence in a manslaughter investigation.
However, a lawyer for Dr. Conrad Murray has said the Houston physician has done nothing wrong, is cooperating fully with the investigation and should not be the target of any criminal charges, reports the New York Times.
“Dr. Murray was the last doctor standing when Michael Jackson died and it seems all the fury is directed toward him.” stated attorney Ed Chernoff. He says authorities seized computer records at Murray’s office today.
The raid by the Drug Enforcement Administration and other authorities was conducted at the request of the Los Angeles Police Department.
The investigation reportedly may be focusing on propofol, an anesthetic administered intravenously in hospitals on patients undergoing surgery that is not considered appropriate for in-home use, as discussed in a prior ABAJournal.com post. Today Los Angeles County officials served a subpoena on a nutritionist for Jackson who has contended he may have used propofol, according to the Associated Press.
A spokeswoman tells the AP Cherilyn Lee is cooperating but needed a subpoena because the records are legally protected. In an earlier AP article Lee says she repeatedly rejected Jackson’s requests for propofol and expressed concern that he apparently might be using it.
Murray, 51, discovered the famous pop singer unconscious in his bedroom on the day of his death last month and performed CPR until paramedics arrived, recounts the L.A. Now blog of the Los Angeles Times. His primary practice is in Las Vegas.
No determination has yet been made of the cause of Jackson’s death, the Times notes, and it is unclear whether it was a homicide or an accident.
Earlier related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Probe of Michael Jackson’s Death Zeros In On Prescription Drug Issues”
Updated at 5 p.m. to include information from Associated Press about subpoena served on Cherilyn Lee.
