Police question Michael Jackson's doctor

LOS ANGELES — The doctor who tried to resuscitate Michael Jackson after he was stricken at his home met with Los Angeles police detectives Saturday as the Jackson family reportedly had a second autopsy done.

The police have said they are not conducting a criminal investigation but had wanted to speak with the doctor, Conrad Murray, 56, a cardiologist who was with Jackson when he fell ill Thursday. Jackson, 50, who had been preparing for a series of concerts in London, suffered cardiac arrest and died at a hospital.

Murray's lawyer said the doctor was not a suspect in Jackson's death and he would "continue to cooperate in every respect" in the investigation.

Detectives are trying to reconstruct Jackson's final hours and assist an investigation into the cause of death by the Los Angeles County coroner.

The coroner's office, which is awaiting the results of tests expected to take weeks to complete before ruling on a cause of death, returned Jackson's body to his family late Friday. The office said Jackson had been taking prescription medication, but officials declined to say what kind or whether it was a factor in his death.

The Jackson family hired a private pathologist who completed a second autopsy on the performer's body Saturday, sources said, without providing details.

The police had been seeking to question Murray, whom the London concert promoter described as Jackson's personal physician, at length after a brief conversation he had with officers after Jackson was pronounced dead. The doctor's whereabouts had been unclear to them, and they impounded his car, saying it could contain information they needed in the investigation.

On Saturday, a lawyer in Houston, Matthew Alford, confirmed his firm had been hired by Murray, and that his partner, Edward Chernoff, would accompany the doctor at the interview.

Jackson's family Saturday largely remained in their compound in the Encino neighborhood of the San Fernando Valley. The Rev. Jesse Jackson spoke with the family patriarch, Joe Jackson, on Friday. Jesse Jackson told ABC News the singer's family had concerns about Murray. The questions, Jesse Jackson said, included: "When did the doctor come? What did he do? Did he inject him? If so, with what?"

Also Saturday, spiritual teacher Deepak Chopra, who is a physician, said he had been concerned since 2005 that Michael Jackson was abusing prescription painkillers and most recently spoke to the pop star about suspected drug use six months ago.

Chopra said Jackson, a longtime friend, asked him for painkillers in 2005. Chopra said he refused. He also said the nanny of Jackson's children repeatedly contacted him with concerns about Jackson's drug use over the next four years.

He said she told him a number of doctors would visit Jackson's homes. Whenever the subject arose, Jackson would avoid his calls, Chopra said.

Material from The Associated Press and the Los Angeles Times is included in this report.