Driven by drugs and fears he was dying
FOR the past two years Michael Jackson had been living in constant pain, his body ravaged by a lethal combination of painkillers and a diet so low in calories he was barely eating enough to survive.
Those closest to him say that for months the singer, struggling to keep thin and appear younger than his age, had been tormented by the fear that he was dying. The simplest of tasks were becoming harder for him every day.
On the face of it he was coping with rigorous rehearsals for his London O2 gigs but the reality was that every energetic dance session left the singer so exhausted and out of breath he barely had the energy to move, often resorting to a wheelchair to get around.
The remedy was a potentially lethal cocktail of drugs prescribed by a host of medics who, according to Jackson’s former family lawyer Brian Oxman, are criminals responsible for the singer’s death.
The tormented star had fought hard to get fit but was increasingly confiding to those close to him that his body was no longer coping and that when he went to bed at night, after yet another cocktail of sleeping draughts, he feared he would not wake up again.
‘The truth has still to be told’
A close family friend said last night: “He was trying to pretend that nothing was wrong but he knew that he struggled for both energy and air, due to the airway to his nose being damaged by surgery. He was constantly out of breath and struggled to walk. It was as if he was shutting down.
“The idea he could go on stage for more than a few minutes was laughable. He would have had to come off all the pills and start to eat a proper diet again with real food to give him any chance of recovery.”
Jackson’s personal heart specialist, who administered an injection moments before the singer died, has told murder squad detectives: “I did nothing wrong.”
Dr Conrad Murray, who was due to fly to London next month to be at the singer’s side during his 50 O2 Arena concerts, was interviewed by officers at UCLA Medical Centre where a stricken Jackson was rushed after he stopped breathing.
Yesterday, however, he was being sought by the Los Angeles Police Department for further questioning. His sister’s BMW car, left in the driveway of Jackson’s rented mansion, was impounded and it is thought a quantity of prescription drugs may have been taken away for analysis.
Officers stressed that there was no manhunt as such but they did still have questions that they believed Dr Murray could help them answer.
One senior detective told the Sunday Express, however: “He seems to have vanished. He told two officers at the hospital that he had done nothing wrong but no one now has a clue where he is.”
A dramatic emergency call for help revealed that Dr Murray had attempted to carry out CPR heart massage with Jackson lying on his bed. The emergency operator had to instruct the doctor to transfer him to a hard surface, essential for CPR to work.
Los Angeles County Coroner’s spokesman Craig Harvey confirmed that police have put a “security hold” on Jackson’s case, limiting the amount of information that can be released.
The order comes amid claims that the singer was addicted to prescription drugs, especially the potent painkiller Demerol, which one respected news website claimed he referred to as his “health tonic”. His father Joe Jackson yesterday added fuel to rumours, declaring: “There’s a lot to be told. I’ll tell you that right now. The truth! The truth is still to be told.”
The singer’s former spiritual mentor, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, declared: “I was sickened and saddened but neither shocked nor surprised by Michael’s death. I knew this day would come sooner rather than later. When I was close to Michael, we recorded 40 hours of conversation about who he really was. As I listened I was amazed at how much pain he was in.”
