All Blog Posts from Crimesider

BERLIN - A hoax video purportedly showing Michael Jackson emerging from a coroner's van was an experiment aimed at showing how quickly misinformation and conspiracy theories can race across the Internet, German broadcaster RTL said Tuesday.

The video was posted by RTL on YouTube for a single day a week ago and received 880,000 hits. The broadcaster has since removed the video from YouTube, but it has been picked up by other Web sites around the world.

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LOS ANGELES - On the day Michael Jackson died, his personal chef says her first hint of something amiss was when his doctor didn't come downstairs to get the juices and granola he routinely brought the King of Pop for breakfast each morning.

Kai Chase, a professionally trained chef hired by Jackson to maintain a healthy food regimen, recalled in an interview with The Associated Press the singer's final days. She also spoke about the role of his personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, who is now the focus of a manslaughter investigation.

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LOS ANGELES - The investigation into Michael Jackson’s death seems to be tightening further around the pop star’s personal physician, Doctor Conrad Murray.

A law enforcement official told the Associated Press that Jackson's personal doctor gave him a powerful anesthetic through an intravenous drip to help him sleep, and authorities believe the drug caused the pop singer's death.

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HOUSTON - Authorities searched the Houston clinic of Michael Jackson's doctor Wednesday, and his attorney said they were seeking evidence of manslaughter.

Dr. Conrad Murray had been interviewed by police as a witness to the pop star's death, but has not been considered a suspect. Police have said little about the probe, neither confirming or denying the possibility of criminal charges.

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HOUSTON - Federal authorities are searching the Houston clinic of Michael Jackson's doctor.

CBS affiliate KHOU is reporting that officials with the Drug Enforcement Administration were at Dr. Conrad Murray's clinic in north Houston. Video showed two Houston police officers guarding the front door.

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LONDON - "He was worth more dead than alive."

That’s what Michael Jackson’s sister, LaToya Jackson, said to two British Sunday newspapers, as she believes her brother was murdered by a group of conspirators trying to get hold of his fortune.

LaToya Jackson said she knows who is responsible for her brother's death and is determined to see them brought to justice, the News of the World reported.

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NEW YORK - The Statue of Liberty is beheaded on a "Death to America" Youtube vid, Michael Jackson's father suspects "Foul Play" in his son's death, Ex-Yankee slugger Jim Leyritz sobs in court, coaches and teammates remember slain NFL star Steve McNair and frantic family members struggle with the desecration of their relatives' graves in a massive grave robbing scandal.

All that and more in Crimesider's Day in Pictures.

Watch the Slideshow Here

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LOS ANGELES (CBS/AP) - Michael Jackson’s death could be homicide, said Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton on CNN last night.

Bratton said that police are waiting for the coroner's report before ruling out any possibilities in their “comprehensive” investigation into the sudden death of the 50-year-old pop star two weeks ago.

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LOS ANGELES - For weeks, law enforcement has been dancing around the question. Did prescription drugs, given to Michael Jackson by his doctors, kill the King of Pop?

Now, the Los Angeles Times is reporting that the Los Angeles Police Department has executed at least three search warrants to find out. And police are talking to no less than five physicians who prescribed medications to Jackson.

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LOS ANGELES (AP) The investigation of Michael Jackson's death is widening as questions intensify about the drugs he took, the doctors who provided them and the actions of police.

Why didn't police seal the mansion where he had been living? Why were moving vans seen at the home, and were any items removed before police wrapped up their search? Why didn't they get immediate search warrants? Why did they tow away a doctor's car right after the death but not declare the home a crime scene?

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