Police search home of Jackson doctor

Police and federal agents swooped on the Las Vegas home of Michael Jackson's doctor yesterday as speculation about possible criminal charges in the case intensified.

Local television networks showed several police cars outside Conrad Murray's gated residence in the Nevada gambling haven, less than a week after authorities carried out a raid on the doctor's Houston office.

The TMZ.com website said agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) were executing a search warrant for Mr Jackson's medical records. A spokesman for the LAPD confirmed detectives were searching Dr Murray's home as part of the "ongoing investigation" into Mr Jackson's death. Dr Murray's lawyers were not immediately available for comment.

Last week DEA agents and police descended on Murray's Houston practice with a search warrant seeking evidence for the "offense of manslaughter".

CNN reported on Monday that police believe Dr Murray gave Mr Jackson a lethal dose of an anesthetic Propofol, which is marketed under the trade name Diprivan.

Propofol is used in hospitals to induce unconsciousness in patients ahead of major surgery. Experts say the drug should only be administered by a trained anesthesiologist under strict monitoring conditions.

The possibility that Dr Murray gave Mr Jackson the drug intravenously has fuelled speculation he may be charged with homicide.

Lawyers for Dr Murray, who have repeatedly insisted he is innocent of criminal wrongdoing, issued a statement late Monday urging calm amid the flurry of reports suggesting the physician faced criminal charges.

"It's a waste of time responding to all these timed 'leaks' from 'anonymous' sources," attorney Ed Chernoff said. "I feel like a horse swatting flies.

"Everyone needs to take a breath and wait for these long delayed toxicology results... Things tend to shake out when all the facts are made known, and I'm sure that will happen here as well."

The TMZ.com entertainment news website reported that Dr Murray had told police in an interview he gave Mr Jackson Propofol via an IV drip.

The website reported police believe Murray may have fallen asleep while the drug was being administered and awoke to find the singer already dead.