Jackson death ruled as homicide

he death of Michael Jackson was homicide due to intoxication by anaesthetic, an LA coroner has said.

The singer died in June from cardiac arrest at his home in Los Angeles.

The powerful anaesthetic Propofol and Lorazepam, a sedative, were the "primary drugs responsible for Mr Jackson's death", the report said.

Police have interviewed his doctor, Conrad Murray, but he has not been named as a suspect. He has strenuously denied any wrongdoing.

"The cause of death was established as acute Propofol intoxication," the coroner's report said.

"The manner of death has been ruled: Homicide," it adds. In the US, the crime of homicide includes manslaughter.

A cocktail of drugs - including Midazolam, Diazepam, Lidocaine, Lorazepam and Ephedrine - were detected in his body, the report said.

The full toxicology report remains sealed, at the request of the LA Police Department and the city's district attorney.

An initial affidavit by the city's chief coroner had said that lethal levels of Propofol were judged to be the cause of Jackson's death.

According to those documents, Jackson's doctor told police he had been giving the singer the drug as part of his treatment for insomnia.

But, he said he had been concerned Jackson was becoming addicted to the drug and had been trying to wean him off.

The singer's remains will be buried on 3 September at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, a suburb of Los Angeles, in a private ceremony.

The burial was initially scheduled to take place on 29 August - on what would have been Jackson's 51st birthday.--BBC--