The Los Angeles County coroner ruled Michael Jackson’s death a homicide, a law enforcement official told the Associated Press on Monday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the findings have not been publicly released.
A spokesperson for the coroner’s office told Access Hollywood that the office had no comment on the AP report.
Meanwhile, a search warrant affidavit revealed that Jackson had lethal levels of the powerful anesthetic propofol in his system when he died in his rented Los Angeles mansion on June 25.
For all the madness that engulfed Michael Jackson in life and all the craziness that has ensued since his death, perhaps the biggest surprise about his memorial service was that it was so normal — at least as normal can be when there’s a golden casket onstage and the eulogists include Brooke Shields, Magic Johnson and Queen Latifah.
Consider the words of Pastor Lucious Smith, a friend of the family: “First and foremost, this man was our brother, our son, our father and our friend. In his very beautiful and very human heart, Michael Jackson wanted nothing more than to give love to the world. May this moment of remembrance … bring comfort and healing to those who loved our friend.”
Michael Jackson’s casket will be front and center during his star-studded memorial service today at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, morning infotainment shows reported.
The physical presence of the remains of the King of Pop — who died suddenly and suspiciously last week at age 50 — means “crowd control could become an even bigger issue,” said “Today” host Meredith Vieira, who was perched outside the downtown arena in the pre-dawn darkness broadcasting live alongside seemingly every other morning news program.
Family spokesperson Ken Sunshine, interviewed by Viera, refused to confirm or deny the casket reports. But he did want Meredith to know that the Jackson family “has shown extraordinary dignity in a very emotional time” and that “Michael Jackson is the biggest figure emitting love ever.”
Michael Jackson, the self-described king of pop, is dead. He was 50.
He died Thursday, at 2:26 p.m. PT, at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, after he was taken ill at his rented home in nearby Holmby Hills about two hours earlier.
The cause of death was unclear, but his brother Jermaine Jackson said at a brief press conference late Thursday that he appeared to have suffered cardiac arrest at home. The official cause won’t be known until after an autopsy. Jackson’s personal physician was with him when he was taken ill and attempted to resuscitate him, as did arriving paramedics, Jermaine Jackson said. He was unconscious when the ambulance delivered him to the hospital.
