Cyprus-Forum.com

[psycho]

Michael Jackson is to be melted down and made in to toys so children can play with him for a change.

[cyprusgrump]

Oh dear, I'm filling up here...

He touched so many young lives.

[EPSILON]

Speculation mounted today that Michael Jackson's fatal heart attack might have been brought on by an injection of painkilling drugs after a rehearsal at a Los Angeles arena for the star's comeback concerts in London.

As thousands of fans gathered outside the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, where Jackson was pronounced dead yesterday afternoon, LAPD detectives searched the rented mansion in the Holmby Hills area of the city where the singer had been living.

Jackson's death was confirmed by his brother Jermaine in an emotional press conference at the hospital. “We believe he suffered a cardiac arrest at his home, however the cause of his death is unknown until the results of the autopsy are known," he said.

"The personal physician who was with him at the time attempted to resuscitate him.”


Times Archive, 1972: The Jackson Five live at Wembley
Michael Jackson's twinkling feet scarcely seemed to touch the stage

Paramedics were called to the Jackson home at 12.21pm local time to respond to a "50-year-old male" who was "not breathing at all". He was rushed to the UCLA hospital but doctors were unable to revive him and his death was confirmed at 2.26pm.

The star's sudden death shocked the world of music and entertainment. Elizabeth Taylor, a close friend, was said to be "devastated" while Madonna said: "I can't stop crying over the sad news."

By any reckoning, Jackson was the King of Pop, a former child star with the Jackson Five who went on to create the world's bestselling album with his 1982 release Thriller, which sold up to 57 million copies. Among those paying tributes was his ex-wife Lisa Marie Presley, whose father Elvis Presley met a drug-induced death in 1977 at the age of 42.

Ms Presley said that she was "sad and confused with every emotion possible" and "heartbroken" for the singer's three children.

Last night his body was flown by helicopter to the coroner's office and an autopsy is scheduled later today. But officials warned that it could take weeks to determine a cause of death because of the complicated toxicology tests needed to determine if Jackson had any drugs, alcohol or prescription medications in his system.

The Sun newspaper today reported that Jackson aides told medics at the UCLA emergency room that the star had collapsed after an injection of the drug Demerol, a powerful painkiller which is similar to morphine and which is known to come with the risk of cardiac arrest.

“Shortly after taking the Demerol he started to experience slow shallow breathing," the newspaper quoted one source as saying. “His breathing gradually got slower and slower until it stopped."

No confirmation was immediately available on that report, but the celebrity website TMZ said that Jackson had on Wednesday night attended a rehearsal at LA's Staples Center to prepare for the series of 50 concerts scheduled for London's O2 dome that had been due to start next month and last into next year.

Brian Oxman, a Jackson family lawyer and spokesman, told CNN that Jackson had been struggling to cope with the after-effects of various performance injuries, including a damaged vertebra and a broken leg, which had been interrupting scheduled rehearsal for the London dates.

He went on to accuse those around Jackson of letting him slip into dependency on prescription drugs and painkillers.

"I can only tell you that this is not something which has been unexpected," Mr Oxman told CNN from the LA hospital as family members came to terms with the news from doctors.

"This family has been trying for months and months to take care of Michael Jackson. The people who have surrounded him have been enabling him: if you think that the case of Anna Nicole Smith was an abuse, it is nothing to what we have seen taking place in Michael Jackson's life."


Times Archive, 1972: The Jackson Five live at Wembley
Michael Jackson's twinkling feet scarcely seemed to touch the stage

He added: "I can tell you for sure that this is something I warned about. Where there is smoke there is fire."

Jackson's home in the Holmby Hills - once the home of the British actor Sean Connery - was searched by detectives from LAPD's Robbery Homicide division at the behest of city police chief William Bratton - although officers called it an "everyday" event.

Jackson’s reputation as a singer and moonwalking dancer was overshadowed in recent years by his increasingly abnormal appearance, and bizarre lifestyle, which included his friendship with a chimpanzee named Bubbles and a preference for the company of children.

He named his estate in the central California foothills Neverland Valley Ranch, in tribute to the J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan stories, and filled it with amusement park rides and a petting zoo.

Jackson was twice accused of molesting young boys and was charged in 2003 with child sexual abuse. He became even more reclusive following his 2005 acquittal and vowed that he would no longer live at Neverland.

Facing a battered reputation and mountain of debts that the Wall Street Journal reported ran to $500 million, Jackson had spent the last two months rehearsing for the London concerts, the latest on Wednesday night at Staples Center arena, home to the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team.

Despite reports of Jackson’s ill-health, the promoters of the London shows, AEG Live, said in March that Jackson had passed a 4-1/2 hour physical examination with independent doctors.