In this Aug 29, 1993 file photo, pop singer Michael Jackson performs during his 'Dangerous' concert in National Stadium, Singapore. -- PHOTO: AP
LOS ANGELES - Police towed the car of a doctor from Michael Jackson's home on Friday and said it could contain drugs or other evidence offering clues in the pop star's death.
Los Angeles police spokeswoman Karen Rayner said coroner's investigators were seeking to interview the doctor but said she did not know the doctor's identity. She stressed the doctor was not under criminal investigation.
'His car was impounded because it may contain medications or other evidence that may assist the coroner in determining the cause of death,' Ms Rayner said.
Medical examiners prepared an autopsy for Jackson as a chorus of grief spread around the world, from statesmen to icons of music to legions of fans.
Los Angeles County coroner's watch commander Lt Brian Elias said on Friday morning the autopsy would begin shortly and take several hours, but he said other tests would take longer and determining the official cause of death would take weeks or more.
Brian Oxman, a former Jackson attorney and a family friend, said on Friday he had been concerned about Jackson's use of painkillers and had warned the singer's family about possible abuse.
'I said one day, we're going to have this experience. And when Anna Nicole Smith passed away, I said we cannot have this kind of thing with Michael Jackson,' Mr Oxman said on NBC's 'Today' show. 'The result was, I warned everyone, and lo and behold, here we are. I don't know what caused his death. But I feared this day, and here we are.'
Mr Oxman claimed Jackson had prescription drugs at his disposal to help with pain suffered when he broke his leg after he fell off a stage and for broken vertebrae in his back.
Jackson died on Thursday afternoon at UCLA Medical Center after being stricken at his rented home in the posh Los Angeles neighborhood of Holmby Hills. Paramedics tried to resuscitate him for three-quarter of an hours there before rushing him to the hospital.
His brother Jermaine said Jackson apparently suffered cardiac arrest, an abnormal heart rhythm that stops the heart from pumping blood to the body. It can occur after a heart attack or be caused by other heart problems.
Jackson was preparing for a monster comeback bid - a series of 50 concerts that was to begin next month in London. -- AP
