Los Angeles County coroner has ruled Michael Jackson's death a homicide, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press.
This finding makes it more likely that criminal charges will be filed against the Grenada-born Trinidadian doctor who was with the pop star when he died. The coroner determined that a fatal combination of drugs was given to Jackson hours before he died on June 25 in his rented Los Angeles mansion, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, because the findings have not been publicly released.
Forensic tests found that the powerful anesthetic, propofol, acted together with at least two sedatives to cause Jackson's death, the official said. Dr Conrad Murray, a Las Vegas cardiologist who became Jackson's personal physician weeks before his death, is the target of a manslaughter investigation by Los Angeles Police Department. According to a search warrant affidavit unsealed on Monday in Houston, Texas, Murray told investigators he administered a 25 mg dose of propofol around 10:40 am, after spending the night injecting Jackson with two sedatives in an unsuccessful attempt to get him to sleep.
The warrant, dated July 23, states that lethal levels of propofol were found in Jackson's system. Besides the propofol and two sedatives, the coroner's toxicology report found other substances in Jackson's system, but they were not believed to have been a factor in the singer's death, the official said.
Murray has spoken to police and released a video last week, saying he "told the truth, and I have faith the truth will prevail." His attorney, Edward Chernoff, had no immediate comment, but has previously said Murray never administered anything that "should have" killed Jackson. A call to the coroner's office was not returned. Murray did not say anything about the drugs he gave to Jackson.