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Official: Jackson death is ruled a homicide

A combination of drugs was the cause, the Los Angeles County coroner is said to have found.

LOS ANGELES - The Los Angeles County coroner has ruled Michael Jackson's death a homicide, saying a combination of drugs was the cause, a law enforcement official said, in a finding that makes it more likely that criminal charges will be filed against the doctor who was with Jackson when he died.

Forensic tests found that the powerful anesthetic propofol acted together with at least two sedatives to cause the pop star's death 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.

Conrad Murray, a Las Vegas cardiologist who became Jackson's personal physician weeks before his death, is the target of a manslaughter investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department. A search-warrant affidavit unsealed yesterday in Houston includes a detailed account of what Murray told investigators.

According to the document, Murray said he had been treating Jackson for insomnia for about six weeks with 50 milligrams of propofol every night via an intravenous drip. But he said he feared that Jackson was forming an addiction to the anesthetic, which is normally used in hospitals only, and was trying to wean his patient by lowering the dose to 25 mg and adding the sedatives lorazepam and midazolam.

That combination succeeded in helping Jackson sleep two days before his death, so the next day, Murray told detectives he cut off the propofol - and Jackson fell asleep with just the two sedatives.

Then about 1:30 a.m. June 25, starting with a 10-milligram tab of Valium, Murray said he tried a series of drugs instead of propofol to make Jackson sleep. The injections included two milligrams of lorazepam about 2 a.m., two milligrams of midazolam about 3 a.m., with repeats of lorazepam at 5 a.m. and midazolam at 7:30 a.m. But they did not work, he said.

Murray told detectives that about 10:40 a.m. he gave in to Jackson's "repeated demands/requests" for propofol, which he said the singer referred to as his "milk." He administered 25 milligrams of the white-colored liquid - a relatively small dose - and finally, Jackson fell asleep.

Murray remained with the sedated Jackson for about 10 minutes, then left for the bathroom, he told detectives. No more than two minutes later, he returned, and found Jackson had stopped breathing.

"There's no surprise there" that death could result from such a combination, said David Zvara, anesthesia chairman at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

"All those drugs act in synergy with each other," Zvara said. Adding propofol atop all the other sedatives, he said, "tipped the balance."

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 his death, the official said.

When he died, Jackson was skinny but not overly emaciated, and his body had bedsores, the official said. The singer is believed to have developed bedsores in the months after his 2005 acquittal on child-molestation charges, when he went into seclusion and spent long stretches in bed.

Murray has spoken to police and last week released a video saying he "told the truth, and I have faith the truth will prevail." Murray did not say anything about the drugs he gave to Jackson.

Murray's attorney, Edward Chernoff, had no immediate comment but has previously said that Murray never administered anything that "should have" killed Jackson.

A call to the coroner's office was not returned yesterday. The office has not publicly released its autopsy findings, citing a request from detectives to withhold results until they finish their investigation.

Jackson's family, in a statement yesterday, said it had "full confidence" in the legal process and the efforts of investigators. The statement concludes: "The family looks forward to the day that justice can be served."