Timmy84 said:

There are so many conflicting reports. I just found this one:
Michael Jackson's doctor becomes focus of manslaughter probe

Search warrants issued in Houston identify Dr. Conrad Murray as a target of the investigation into the pop star's death.

By Kimi Yoshino and Harriet Ryan
July 24, 2009

Michael Jackson's personal physician was identified as a suspect in the Los Angeles Police Department's manslaughter investigation into the pop star's death, according to court records filed Thursday in Houston.

A pair of search warrants filed in Harris County District Court stated that investigators were looking for "items constituting evidence of the offense of manslaughter that tend to show that Dr. Conrad Murray committed the said criminal offense."

The searches, which were carried out Wednesday at Murray's medical clinic and storage unit in Houston, gave authorities access to billing records, medication orders, shipping receipts, billing receipts, medical records and "implements and instruments used in the commission of a crime."

The court records were the first public confirmation by police that Murray was a focus of their probe. Detectives previously had interviewed Murray, but had declined to identify him as a suspect.

"I do not know what they are looking for, and I can't possibly tell you how anything they took in any way connects with the death of Michael Jackson," said Murray's attorney, Edward Chernoff, who was present at both of the searches.


Chernoff has said that his client did not give Jackson any narcotics or other medication that "should have" caused his death.

Acting on behalf of the LAPD, a member of the Houston Police Department's narcotics division obtained the search warrant for Murray's Houston office on Monday from a Harris County District Court judge.

They searched the office for 3 1/2 hours Wednesday, confiscating a computer, a Rolodex card with FedEx information and e-mails from one of Murray's former employees.

The inventory of items taken in the search included vials of two drugs: 27 tablets of phentermine, a prescription appetite suppressant; and one tablet of clonazepam, a muscle relaxant. During that search, authorities also seized public storage receipts, a rental agreement and a move-in receipt.

Sue Lyon, general manager of West 18th Street Self Storage, where Murray has rented a 10-by-15-foot storage unit since April, said authorities found information about her company at Murray's office, then sought the second search warrant.

"They found my business card," Lyon said. "That's how they put it together. They came straight over here."

Among the items seized from the storage unit were two computer hard drives, a medical board certificate, letters to a former employee, a list of contacts and papers pertaining to his practice. On the search warrant return and inventory, authorities listed a suspension notice from a Houston hospital. They also took letters from the Internal Revenue Service, a Texas Department of Public Safety controlled substance registration and public records from the Texas controller.

An administrative assistant at Doctors Hospital in Houston confirmed that Murray has been suspended from practicing at the hospital. The offense was "very much" routine and minor, she said.

Murray, a cardiologist with practices in Las Vegas and Houston, had been hired to care for Jackson at a monthly salary of $150,000. Murray was at Jackson's home and found the singer not breathing June 25. He administered CPR before paramedics were called. The singer was officially pronounced dead at UCLA Medical Center.

Sources familiar with the investigation have said that authorities removed propofol, a powerful anesthetic, and other medications from Jackson's home. Murray's attorney has declined to comment on whether the doctor administered the drug, which is most commonly used by anesthesiologists in hospitals.

L.A. County coroner's investigators have collected evidence from two other medical professionals who worked with Jackson before his death.

Earlier this week, Ed Winter, assistant chief coroner, obtained information from Dr. Randy Rosen, an anesthesiologist. Winter told The Times that Jackson had been treated at Rosen's Beverly Hills office but declined to say under what circumstances. Jackson's second child was delivered at the facility, according to birth records. Rosen's office did not return calls seeking comment .

On Wednesday, Winter visited the Inglewood office of Cherilyn Lee, a registered nurse who operates a Los Angeles-based nutritional counseling business. Lee said Jackson had complained to her earlier this year of insomnia and pleaded for her to get him propofol. Lee told The Times she never prescribed or gave Jackson drugs, but did design a nutritional program for him, which she provided to Winter. She said she warned Jackson against using propofol.

http://www.latimes.com/ne...0868.story

StillDirrty said:

I saw this before the "likely to be homicide probe" stories. It seems in TMZ's reporting, they put up that title and then a quote from a "source" but went on to explain that the charge would be manslaughter. Plus the LAPD is trying to make it clear that they are being quiet about this. So I don't think they would send a snitch to tell a tabloid what's going on. Like I said "someone's lying".

Also keep in mind what makes for more sensationalist headlines.
Death.
Manslaughter.
Murder.

Here's a grain of salt for all future postings in the lead up to an "official" report or statement.


Swa

TMZ has a snitch on their payroll I'm sure since they broke the news about his death first. & I was curious as to why they were so confident in sticking with their idea of homicide when the LAPD said no.

StillDirrty said:

According to jamgirl, X17 Online were the first one to report MJ's death.

Swa said:

I agree, because it's getting ridiculous. You might as well add "suicide" to the sensational MJ headlines story.

Timmy84 said:

I don't think that's true. I was on ONTD which is a huge celeb media site and while all the other news sources were saying that he was at the hospital, TMZ stood firm with dead.

Awww

.
[Edited 7/24/09 20:19pm]

StillDirrty said:

TMZ don't get a lot of things right, they get some info right but the majority is made-up drivel.

suga10 said:

Don't hit me but Blanket looks like Marlon Brando.

Timmy84 said:

They get the basics right. Not the details. They said long ago that it was a criminal case while everyone else said no and it's looking like the other news sources are tagging along. TMZ has a history of breaking news... Britney's meltdown at her house, they obtained the Rihanna photo along with the police report, and now that MJ was dead. & it was TMZ that got the photos of drugs from the Neverland Raid so it's not all b.s. You have to be able to tell when they have the facts and when they don't.

StillDirrty said:

But TMZ's still silly even with "criminal cases". I'm still like "I won't trust unless the department confirms them." As you can see there's still some doubt as if to what this case will lead to.
[Edited 7/24/09 20:31pm]

Timmy84 said:

There appears to be doubt about the charge but it's no secret that the LAPD and Feds are investigating the doctors like TMZ stated from the beginning. There was live feed of them doing it. & a lawyer on HLN said that it's not strange for the LAPD to deny the specifics of an ongoing investigation because they don't want to compromise the case. Levin probably has a snitch because he used to be alawyer. So he knows people. Harvey is clearly trying to use the MJ case to establish TMZ as a credible news source but he keeps going overboard with the nonfactual "details" of the case like he did with OJ.

StillDirrty said:

Knowing TMZ, they can't help themselves being sensational so of course they're going to wanna to go to overboard, like you said they're reporting the basics.

Countthedays said:

are you reading the articles or are you just skimming through?

Timmy84 said:

Well now they've resorted to repeating manslaughter articles over and over. But things like Katherine contesting the will okay that would be true. Rebbie raising the kids? Skeptical. There's no confirmation of that or if the judge would even allow it.

StillDirrty said:

That's what I mean, they will report rumors before they report facts as if they have the werewithall or their snitch be reporting wrong info.

Timmy84 said:

Well things like Rebbie isn't directly related to the death part. I think that is where the snitch lies...with the investigation. Because the LAPD already reported corrupt actions within the investigation. Anyways, no one really knows when it comes to the kids. Like they even tried to say at one point that Debbie might not be the mother when Paris looks just like her so I don't believe them when it comes to that. I think all they really know is that there is an investigation being launched with the doctor that they insist will lead to criminal charges. Although they did bring up good points today about Klein being sketchy because MJ was seen coming out of his office constantly and there must be something there since the LAPD asked him for the medical records.

StillDirrty said:

Yeah I give them that but I never trusted their reports.

I filter them out. They've appeared a lot more credible than the t.v. new shows & tabs to me during this whole fiasco. At least they know better than to suspect that Omer Bhatti is his secret son. For now at least they've been ignoring it. & I didn't see them run that stupid hateful prosthetic nose story either.
[Edited 7/24/09 21:26pm]

StillDirrty said:

Yeah that's an upgrade, lol. Even scum like Harvey don't believe that shit.

suga10 said:

He probably was child like and weird, a lot of people said that about Michael. He was probably high as a kite too.

Timmy84 said:

LOL, he knows better. This whole thing is just making the media look like a joke imo. I don't know why they can't just admit that they don't know what the hell is going on. It shows by the conflicting stories that they keep running.

Experts: Jackson case now a full criminal probe

‘This is about building a criminal case,’ not cause of death, lawyer says

LOS ANGELES - The odd array of evidence police collected from Michael Jackson’s personal physician’s clinic and storage unit shows authorities are trying to follow a trail of drugs and looking into the doctor’s record keeping as they attempt to unravel what led to the pop star’s death.

Search warrants targeting Dr. Conrad Murray’s Houston clinic and his storage unit mean authorities have moved into a full-fledged criminal investigation, looking toward the kind of court case they could build against the physician, legal experts said Friday.

“This is no longer a cause of death investigation,” said attorney Mark Geragos, who once represented Jackson. “This is about building a criminal case.”


Loyola University law professor Laurie Levenson said she expects to see search warrants served at more places associated with Murray and for investigators to be interviewing his employees.

“I do think they believe there’s high suspicion that he may be responsible” for Jackson’s death, she said."

Los Angeles police and Drug Enforcement Administration agents executed the warrants Wednesday. The language in the documents said the evidence is being gathered as part of a manslaughter investigation targeting Murray. Authorities have not publicly termed their investigation criminal and still say Murray is not a suspect.

Items seized

The items seized included 27 tablets of the weight loss drug phentermine, a tablet of the muscle relaxant clonazepam, business cards, storage receipts, notices from the Internal Revenue Service and computer hard drives. Authorities also took e-mails from and correspondence addressed to Stacey Howe. Records listed Howe as “administrator” at Murray’s Las Vegas business, Global Cardiovascular Associates Inc. Attempts to reach her Friday were unsuccessful.

Michael Jackson’s inner circle

The late singer had eight siblings, three children and two ex-wives, plus numerous doctors, advisers, and famous friends. Here's a look at who's who.

Murray, 51, was hired as Jackson’s personal physician not long before he died. He was in Jackson’s rented Los Angeles mansion when the pop star was found unconscious the morning of June 25 and tried unsuccessfully to revive him.

Murray has kept a low profile since Jackson’s death. He was interviewed twice by police but has not spoken publicly. Doors to his Las Vegas office were locked Friday with red curtains drawn behind them.

Los Angeles County assistant chief coroner Ed Winter said a final determination on Jackson’s cause of death is not expected until the end of next week, when toxicology reports should be finished.

Long medical history
Jackson had a long history of prescription drug use and was under anesthesia for many medical procedures over the years.

Propofol, a powerful anesthetic that should only be used by specially trained medical professionals, has emerged as an important part of the investigation. Doses of it were found in Jackson’s mansion, according to a person with knowledge of the investigation who is not authorized to speak publicly.

The search warrants granted permission for authorities to seize items “including but not limited to billing records, medication orders, transport receipts, billing receipts, medical records and computerized medical records.”

‘A once in a lifetime opportunity’

Geragos said that indicates police are following a trail which involves purchases of drugs by Murray and possible shipment of drugs to Jackson’s home.

Jackson doctor target of manslaughter probe

July 24: Court documents reveal Dr. Conrad Murray, Michael Jackson’s personal physician, is the target of the manslaughter investigation into the singer's death. NBC’s Jeff Rossen reports. The documents seized from his clinic included a “suspension notice” from Doctor’s Hospital in Houston as well as “papers regarding incomplete chart” at the same hospital. Also on the list was an expired medical board certificate.

“I can hear the prosecution opening statement in this case already,” Geragos said. “They’re going to talk about a doctor who had privileges suspended at a hospital for poor record keeping, has financial difficulties and now he gets this once in a lifetime opportunity to get a large paycheck and be the live-in doctor to Michael Jackson.”

Geragos said he was not implying that Jackson committed suicide but that reckless use of a drug or a combination of drugs may have led to death.

Slapped with court judgments

Mike Bullard, chief executive officer of Doctor’s Hospital, said Murray was on staff and worked in a cardiac lab. He said because Murray lived in Las Vegas he was at the hospital only a few days a month and last was seen there in April. Bullard refused to confirm whether Murray had been given a suspension notice. But Bullard said that if a suspension notice is not on file with the state of Texas — and the state has no such record — then such a notice would likely be for a minor infraction like a paperwork mistake. It’s unclear whether the seized IRS notices were related to recent financial troubles at Global Cardiovascular. In a 10-month period ending last fall Murray’s business was slapped with more than $400,000 in court judgments: $228,000 to Citicorp Vendor Finance Inc. in November 2007, $71,000 to an education loan company in June 2008 and $135,000 to a leasing company last September.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/...?gt1=43001

* Born: 5 August 1862
* Birthplace: Leicester, England
* Died: 11 April 1890 (natural causes)
* Best Known As: The Elephant Man

Joseph Merrick was called the Elephant Man because of the abnormal masses of flesh which began growing on his face and body when he was a child. (Merrick was first presumed to have elephantiasis and later neurofibramatosis, but more recent studies have suggested that Merrick suffered from a still rarer affliction called Proteus Syndrome.) Treated as a freak for much of his life, Merrick eventually found work as a sideshow attraction. He was later befriended by surgeon Frederick Treves and ended his days as a permanent resident of London's Whitechapel Hospital, where he died at age 27. His story was revived by the 1980 movie The Elephant Man, directed by David Lynch and starring John Hurt as Merrick.

Though in his own autobiography Merrick states that he was born in 1860, the true year is believed to be 1862... Treves, in his memoirs, refers to Merrick as "John." This has often led to confusion about Merrick's true name, which was Joseph... Despite 1980s rumors, pop star Michael Jackson did not buy the Elephant Man's bones... The 1980 movie includes the famous line "I am not an animal! I am a human being! I am a man!"

mimi07 said:

Lord, now Mark Geragos has joined into the fucking fray!

http://omg.yahoo.com/news...e/25637?nc

NEW YORK, New York -- Sean "Diddy" Combs shared a dance floor memory of Michael Jackson on "The Late Show With David Letterman" on Thursday - one with a former "Single Lady."

After David showed the hip-hop mogul a photo of himself with Michael Jackson, Diddy explained that the King of Pop had shown up at his door in search of another star.

"That was taken like six years ago, he came to one of my parties," Diddy said. "I didn't even invite Mike to the party and he just showed up to the party. And guess what he was looking for?"

"Dip?" David responded. "That's what I would be looking for."

"No," Diddy laughed before telling his story. "So I'm in the party, I'm hosting, and the security came up to me and they were like, 'Mr. Combs, Mr. Michael Jackson is here to see you.' I'm like, 'Get out of here!' So I find Mike and... right after the shot was taken, he whispers in my ear and says 'Where's Beyonce?'"

Beyonce's now married to Jay-Z - but Diddy said the party was during her single days.

"This is before Jay-Z," Diddy clarified. "He came to the party to holler at Beyonce, finds her and dances with Beyonce in the party! Mike was smooth, Jack."

Longtime MJ admirers SWV ("Human Nature"/"Right Here") dedicated Patti's "If Only You Knew" to MJ a few days ago in the ATL:

As someone who grew up on Bollywood, knowing Michael's influence there... just wanted to post this short audio interview about it:

http://64.71.145.108/audio/0626092.mp3