Anaesthetic found in Jackson's home - report

LOS ANGELES (AP):

Unsealed search warrants in the Michael Jackson case reveal large quantities of general anaesthetic and dozens of tubes of skin-whitening creams were among items found in the singer's home after his death.

Investigators went to Jackson's rented mansion June 29 following a lengthy interview with his personal physician, Dr Conrad Murray, who told them he had placed a medical bag in a cupboard in a closet.

At the home, detectives found 11 containers of the powerful anaesthetic propofol, some of them empty, as well as a range of sedatives and various medical items, including a box of blood pressure cuffs, according to the warrants, which were redacted and unsealed last Friday after The Associated Press (AP) filed a legal motion.

Jackson's death on June 25 at age 50 was ruled a homicide caused by an overdose of propofol and other sedatives. Murray has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter.

Skin-cream discovery

During their search, detectives found 19 tubes of hydroquinone and 18 tubes of Benoquin, both of which are commonly used in the treatment of a skin condition Jackson had called vitiligo. The disease creates patches of depigmented skin, and creams can be used to lighten skin that has retained its colour to give a more even appearance.

The discovery of medical creams in Jackson's home dovetails with an odd remark Murray reportedly made soon after Jackson's death.

According to police statements obtained by the AP, Jackson's personal assistant, Michael Amir Williams, told detectives that in the hospital where Jackson was pronounced dead, Murray told him he wanted to return to Jackson's house "so that he could pick up some cream that Mr Jackson has so that the world wouldn't find out about it".

Alberto Alvarez, Jackson's logistics director, who was summoned to the stricken star's side as he was dying, told police Murray interrupted cardiopul-monary resuscitation on the pop star to collect drug vials. He gave the vials and an IV line with a milky substance resembling propofol to Alvarez, according to the statement Alvarez gave police. Dr Murray told Alvarez to put them in bags that were similar in description to those later found in the closet, according to Alvarez's statement.

The skin cream was not listed as a factor in Jackson's death, nor was it detected in a toxicology report. What killed Jackson, according to the autopsy report, was an over-dose of propofol, an anaesthetic normally used for surgery. Murray told police he gave it to Jackson to help him sleep, a use anaesthe-siology experts have said is grossly improper.

Dr Zeev Kain, anaesthesiology department chair at the University of California, Irvine Medical Center, said he was surprised by the amount of propofol detectives found. Among the 11 containers police said they found were three 100ml vials, which Kain said could be used as general anaesthesia for several hours.

"A doctor should not use propofol at home to start with," Kain said.

The warrants also show Murray shipped propofol and other medications to his girlfriend Nicole Alvarez's house in Santa Monica. It's unusual to send propofol to a private residence but not illegal.