A law enforcement official has told the Associated Press that Michael Jackson’s death is being ruled a homicide.
The coroner has ruled that Jackson had lethal levels of the anesthetic propofol in his body at the time of his death which his personal doctor told detectives he gave Jackson to treat insomnia.
The document was released by the Harris County District Clerk in Houston in court documents that included an unsealed affidavit accompanying a search warrant included in the investigation of Jackson’s death.
"The Los Angeles Chief Medical Examiner-Coronor, Dr. Sathyavagiswaran, indicated that he had reviewed the preliminary toxicology results and his preliminary assessment of Jackson’s cause of death was due to lethal levels of propofol (diprivan)," the search warrant affidavit for Murray issued by California said.
Police have been involved in an investigation focused around the doctors who treated thesinger, including his dermatologist Dr. Arnold Klein and his personal doctor, Conrad Murray.
Murray has offices in Houston, which U.S. Agents raided in search of evidence for manslaughter on July 22.
The propofol finding could make it more likely that criminal charges will be filed against Murray, who gave the singer a fatal combination of drugs hours before his death at a rented Los Angeles mansion June 25.
The autopsy report is still sealed until police finish the investigation into his death.
