Doctor not a suspect in Jackson's death, spokeswoman says
Jackson's family will probably call for an independent autopsy
Last Updated: Saturday, June 27, 2009 | 10:09 AM ET
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A Michael Jackson fan holds a picture of him during a daytime vigil in Mexico City on Saturday. (Alexandre Meneghini/Associated Press)The doctor who was with Michael Jackson when he died has met with police and is not considered a suspect in the death of the pop star, a spokeswoman for the cardiologist says.
Investigators met with Dr. Conrad Murray for three hours on Saturday to "clarify some inconsistencies," Miranda Sevcik said in a statement.
Sevcik said investigators believe "the doctor is in no way a suspect and remains a witness" and he and his attorney "answered every and all questions." Sevcik said Murray will continue to be co-operative.
Meanwhile, Jackson's family is expected to call for an independent autopsy on the pop singer's body.
Police monitor the situation as a moving van arrives at the rented L.A. home of pop star Michael Jackson on Saturday. (Associated Press)Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson, who has spent time with the Jackson family since the singer's death on Thursday, said Saturday that family members are suspicious about his death and about his personal physician.
The Los Angeles County Coroner's Office performed an autopsy on Jackson's body Friday but deferred a pronouncement on the cause of death pending further tests that could take more than a month to complete.
Jackson's body is in an undisclosed mortuary after being released to his family on Friday night.
Most of the Jackson family members, including the late pop star's three children, have gathered at the family compound in the Encino district of Los Angeles.
The family issued a statement Saturday expressing grief over the death and thanking Jackson's supporters.
"In one of the darkest moments of our lives we find it hard to find the words appropriate to this sudden tragedy we all had to encounter," said the statement made through People magazine. "We miss Michael endlessly. Our beloved son, brother and father of three children has gone so unexpectedly, in such a tragic way and much too soon."
Jesse Jackson said none of the Jackson family has met Murray, who was Jackson's personal doctor for more than a year and had been living with the singer.
Questions about doctor, promoters
He said the family wants Murray to fill in the missing hours between the time when Jackson went to bed and when he was discovered unconscious.
"All we know is that something happened to Michael with the doctor present," he said. "How long had he stopped breathing, how long was he unconscious?"
"Dr. Murray has never left L.A. since Mr. Jackson's death, and he remains there. Investigators have indicated Dr. Murray is considered a witness and is not in any way a target of any kind," his lawyer, William M. Stradley told The Associated Press.
Jackson's family also wants to know the role AEG Live, the concert promoter that was staging the singer's comeback concert series in London's O2 Arena, had been playing in his life.
AEG spokeswoman Natalie Whorms in London had no comment on Saturday.
Also Saturday, eight moving vans took dollies and packing equipment through the gates of Jackson's rented Los Angeles estate, where his sisters, Janet and LaToya Jackson, had arrived separately.
A date for the singer's funeral has yet to be announced, and the family has not yet decided whether it will be a private service or a large celebration open to the public.
Jackson was raised as a Jehovah's Witness, but prior to his death reports emerged that he had converted to Islam. Muslim funeral customs call for a body to be buried as close to the time of death as possible.
Whether private or public, the service is expected to attract massive crowds.
Jackson, 50, died in a Los Angeles hospital on Thursday after apparently suffering a cardiac arrest at home.
Internet swarmed
Public interest in information about Jackson's hospitalization and death generated a rush of internet traffic, as fans scrambled for online news about the pop star.
The spike in search queries led Google News to mistake it for an automated attack, Google Inc. said on its company website Friday. It called the rush of Jackson-related searches "volcanic."
As a result, for about 25 minutes on Friday, visitors to Google News saw a "We're sorry" page.
Micro-blogging service Twitter also suffered a slowdown in service.
And web portal AOL said its AIM instant-messaging service was down for about 40 minutes.
With files from The Associated Press
