Police tow car, seek clues in Jackson death

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Police towed the car of a doctor from Michael Jackson's home Friday and said it could contain drugs or other evidence offering clues in the pop star's death.

Los Angeles police spokeswoman Karen Rayner said coroner's investigators were seeking to interview the doctor but said she did not know the doctor's identity. She stressed the doctor was not under criminal investigation.

"His car was impounded because it may contain medications or other evidence that may assist the coroner in determining the cause of death," Rayner said.

Medical examiners prepared an autopsy for Jackson as a chorus of grief spread around the world, from statesmen to icons of music to legions of fans.

Los Angeles County coroner's watch commander Lt. Brian Elias said Friday morning the autopsy would begin shortly and take several hours, but he said other tests would take longer and determining the official cause of death would take weeks or more.

Brian Oxman, a former Jackson attorney and a family friend, said Friday he had been concerned about Jackson's use of painkillers and had warned the singer's family about possible abuse.

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"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," Oxman said on 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.

Jackson died Thursday afternoon at UCLA Medical Center after being stricken at his rented home in the posh Los Angeles neighborhood of Holmby Hills. Paramedics tried to resuscitate him for three-quarter of an hours there before rushing him to the hospital.

His brother Jermaine said Jackson apparently suffered cardiac arrest, an abnormal heart rhythm that stops the heart from pumping blood to the body. It can occur after a heart attack or be caused by other heart problems.

Jackson was preparing for a monster comeback bid - a series of 50 concerts that was to begin next month in London.

A handful of bleary-eyed fans camped out throughout the night with media outside the Jackson family house in the San Fernando Valley and near his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. People heading to work in New York stopped to pay respects outside Harlem's Apollo Theater, where Jackson performed as a child.

"When the autopsy comes, all hell's going to break loose, so thank God we're celebrating him now," Liza Minnelli told CBS' "The Early Show" by telephone.

After Jackson was acquitted on child molestation charges in 2005, Santa Barbara County District Attorney Tom Sneddon argued against returning some items belonging to Jackson he labeled "contraband." Sneddon said those included syringes, the drug Demerol and prescriptions for various drugs, mainly antibiotics, that were in different people's names.

Stephen Hill, an executive producer for the BET Awards, said Sunday's show would be dedicated to Jackson because of his influence on music and pop culture.

"I think what you're going to find is that acceptance speeches for awards will have nothing to do about the artists themselves, but about the influence that Michael Jackson had on them," Hill said in a phone interview.

Universal Pictures' "Bruno" screened in Los Angeles on Thursday night with a scene involving Jackson's sister La Toya Jackson cut from the movie. A spokesman for Universal said the studio had no comment.

Jackson's death brought a tragic end to a long, bizarre, sometimes farcical decline from his peak in the 1980s, when he was popular music's premier all-around performer, a uniter of black and white music who shattered the race barrier on MTV, dominated the charts and dazzled even more on stage.

His 1982 album, "Thriller" - which included the blockbuster hits "Beat It," "Billie Jean" and "Thriller" - is the best-selling album of all time worldwide.

Yet after selling more than 61 million albums in the U.S. and having a decade-long attraction open at Disney theme parks, Jackson died reportedly awash in about $400 million in debt, on the cusp of a final comeback after well over a decade of scandal.

As word of his death spread, MTV switched its programming to play videos from Jackson's heyday. Radio stations began playing marathons of his hits. Hundreds of people gathered outside the hospital. In New York's Times Square, a low groan went up in the crowd when a screen flashed that Jackson had died, and people began relaying the news to friends by cell phone.

The public first knew him as a boy in the late 1960s, when he was the precocious, spinning lead singer of the Jackson 5, the singing group he formed with his four older brothers out of Gary, Ind. Among their No. 1 hits were "I Want You Back," "ABC" and "I'll Be There."

He was perhaps the most exciting performer of his generation, known for his backward-gliding moonwalk, his feverish, crotch-grabbing dance moves and his high-pitched singing, punctuated with squeals and titters. His single sequined glove, tight, military-style jacket and aviator sunglasses were trademarks, as was his ever-changing, surgically altered appearance.

"For Michael to be taken away from us so suddenly at such a young age, I just don't have the words," said Quincy Jones, who produced "Thriller." "He was the consummate entertainer and his contributions and legacy will be felt upon the world forever. I've lost my little brother today, and part of my soul has gone with him."

Jackson ranked alongside Elvis Presley and the Beatles as the biggest pop sensations of all time. He united two of music's biggest names when he was briefly married to Presley's daughter, Lisa Marie. Jackson's sudden death immediately evoked comparisons to that of Presley himself, who died at age 42 in 1977.

"I am so very sad and confused with every emotion possible," Lisa Marie Presley said in a statement. "I am heartbroken for his children who I know were everything to him and for his family. This is such a massive loss on so many levels, words fail me."

The Los Angeles Times

Michael Jackson's Official Site

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