Michael Jackson: Autopsy Underway

While police are trying to get ahold of Michael Jackson’s doctor for a second interview, an autopsy was started Friday morning (June 26) to resolve the exact cause of his death.

According to the latest reports, Los Angeles County’s top end medical examiner will be performing the procedure.

The “Thriller” performer and singer was confirmed dead at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, Thursday afternoon. Jackson underwent cardiac arrest in his home and was then airlifted across town to the offices of the Los
Angeles coroner for the autopsy that began fewer than 24 hours later.

Police interviewed the physician, who was with 50 year-old Jackson when the incident occurred.

The doctor “is not a missing person,” explained LAPD spokeswoman Officer Karen Rayner. The doctor “needs to be interviewed further, but the interview, just has not happened yet,” she said.

The doctor’s car was also impounded because “it contains potential information, medications or other evidence.”

Dr. Lakshmanan Sathyavagiswaran, the coroner, has dealt with high-profile murder cases such as O.J. Simpson and Phil Specter.

The autopsy should take several hours, according to Ed Winter, chief of investigations for the coroner’s office.

Although there were allegations of prescription drug abuse by the entertainer, the final determination of the cause of death will likely have to await toxicology tests, which can take up to days or even weeks.