Police seek answers in medical mystery

All that can be heard of the doctor who gave Michael Jackson CPR during his last minutes is a low mumble on a 911 tape.

The Los Angeles Police Department is now turning to that doctor to reveal how the King of Pop spent his final hours before he flatlined at his home on Thursday.

The Los Angeles Times identified that physician as Conrad Robert Murray, a cardiologist who practises in Nevada and Texas.

Dr. Murray had been treating Mr. Jackson for only two weeks, after being hired by the singer's concert promoter, The Times reported. According to celebrity gossip site TMZ.com, Dr. Murray sent a note to his patients 11 days ago, telling them he was quitting his practice.

The concert promoter, AEG Live, needed the aging Mr. Jackson in top physical shape for his gruelling 50-show concert series, which was set to start on July 13.

"I don't know how I'm going to do 50 shows," Mr. Jackson told fans in June, soon after the dates of his tour were announced. "I'm not a big eater - I need to put some weight on."

Dr. Murray was first certified to practise cardiology and internal medicine in Nevada in 1999. Two years ago, he received his licence to also practise in Texas and opened up the Acres Home Heart and Vascular Institute in Houston. He attended Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tenn., and completed his residency at Loma Linda University Medical Center in California.

Los Angeles police officer Rosario Herrera said the doctor who was with Mr. Jackson in his final moments was co-operating with police, but as of last night, she could not confirm whether detectives had formally interviewed him.

In the 911 tape released by police, when the dispatcher asked if the doctor had seen what happened to Mr. Jackson before he went unconscious, the caller frantically asked the man, "Doctor, did you see what happened, sir?"

The response that crackled over the phone is unintelligible as the physician steadily gave Mr. Jackson's lifeless body chest compressions.

"He's pumping, he's pumping his chest but he's not responding to anything," the caller told the emergency dispatcher, minutes before an ambulance arrived at the residence.

TMZ reported that Mr. Jackson received an injection of painkiller Demerol from his doctor Thursday morning and had received daily injections for some time.

After a three-hour autopsy, the Los Angeles County Coroner's office had no clear answers about what drugs or medications might have caused Mr. Jackson's death.

"We know that he was taking some prescription medications," said Craig Harvey, a spokesman for the coroner's office.

It will be at least four more weeks before the coroner's office can pinpoint the cause of Mr. Jackson's death, but even before the toxicology report comes back, police hope they might get those answers from the pop star's doctor.

Friday, they towed the doctor's silver BMW from Mr. Jackson's Beverly Hills residence. "His personal physician's car was impounded," Officer Herrera said in an interview last night. "The car might contain some medication that could assist the coroner in determining the cause of death."

Despite having practices in Nevada and Houston, Dr. Murray reportedly struggled with his finances for years, much like the celebrity he was hired to treat.

The Times reported that Dr. Murray filed for bankruptcy in 1992. From 1993 to 2003, five tax liens totalling more than $44,600 were filed against him.

The physician had been in and out of court several times last year after three civil court cases in Nevada, in which creditors said he owed them $435,000. There are two other civil cases against him that have not yet been heard in court, according to the newspaper.