Michael Jackson Autopsy Results Could Take Two More Weeks

Toxicology results that were expected this week or next have been delayed, coroner’s office says.
By Gil Kaufman

Michael Jackson

Photo: Tony Barson/ WireImage

The final autopsy results on Michael Jackson will likely take at least two more weeks, the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office said on Thursday. The Associated Press reported that coroner’s office officials are finding that it will take them longer than expected to complete toxicology tests after the initial autopsy failed to provide a definitive cause of death.

Jackson, 50, died on June 25, and officials had previously said that by later this week or early next week, they expected to have toxicology results, which could provide more detailed information about what might have caused the singer to go into cardiac arrest.

Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter said Thursday that those results are expected to take two more weeks, though he did not specify what is causing the delay. TMZ reported that unnamed sources pinned the delay on incomplete reports from several outside consultants. The final toxicology screen should detail what drugs were in Jackson’s system when he died and could determine whether criminal charges are brought in the case. If police find that the singer died as a result of an overdose of medication administered by medical personnel, that person or persons could face criminal charges.

Although Los Angeles police officials backpedaled earlier this week from reports that the probe into Jackson’s death could become a homicide investigation, Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office spokesperson Sandi Gibbons told TMZ on Thursday that the LAPD’s investigation is criminal.

“There have been conversations by district attorney personnel with police and coroner officials in connection with the ongoing investigation,” Gibbons said. “It is common for Los Angeles County law-enforcement agencies to be in contact with the district attorney’s office during criminal investigations.” Citing unnamed sources, TMZ has reported that LAPD detectives are focusing on the powerful anesthetic Diprivan as the primary cause of Jackson’s death. Jackson was said to have used the drug — intended for use in a surgical setting — to combat chronic insomnia, and vials of the intravenously administered drug were reportedly found in Jackson’s home.

The Los Angeles Times reported on Friday (July 17) that in addition to requesting medical records from a number of Jackson’s doctors, authorities are also investigating allegations that the singer frequently used pseudonyms in health matters. They are looking into reports that Jackson’s doctors often filled prescriptions for him under false names such as Omar Arnold and Bill Bray, a practice that is a violation of state and federal laws meant to curb the abuse of prescription medicines.

Doctors who work with celebrities say they sometimes request that prescriptions be written under pseudonyms in order to protect the patient’s privacy. But one physician who works at the rehab center Promises told the paper that the practice is a red flag for a serious drug dependence. As addiction escalates, higher doses are needed, often of the magnitude that “no rational physician” would prescribe, the doctor explained. Jackson was said to have had a strong addiction to prescription pain medications, possibly as a result of injuries suffered on the set of a Pepsi commercial in 1984, when he was seriously burned during a pyrotechnics accident, requiring several painful surgeries.

For complete coverage of the life, career and passing of the legendary entertainer, visit “Michael Jackson Remembered.”

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