Michael Jackson's Doctor: Raids, Death Investigation Not First Brush With Law

Dr. Conrad Murray, arrested in '94, continues to be focus of manslaughter probe.

ByABC News
July 1, 2009, 6:46 PM

July 29, 2009— -- While Michael Jackson's doctor Conrad Murray remains a free man after raids of his home and offices in two states, this is not the first time he's caught the attention of law enforcement.

ABC News has learned that Murray was arrested on domestic violence charges in 1994 after an incident with his then-girlfriend. The doctor was tried and acquitted.

Whether he'll remain free of charges related to the June 25 death of Michael Jackson remains to be seen. Court papers have shown that the raid Tuesday on Murray's Las Vegas home and office and last week's raid at his Houston office collected evidence to be used in an investigation of possible manslaughter charges, according to the police search warrants.

Tuesday's raid netted envelopes, yellow cases, cell phones and a computer hard drive.

On Wednesday Murray's lawyer Ed Chernoff confirmed that authorities were looking for documents and drug information with the names of Jackson's many aliases, they believed he used to when getting prescriptions.

"The warrant authorized detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department and the federal Drug Enforcement Administration to seize prescriptions, files, billing information, tests results, electronic records and other material kept under pseudonyms, including Omar Arnold, Paul Farance, Bryan Singleton, Jimmy Nicholas, Blanca Nicholas, Roselyn Muhammad, Faheem Muhammad, Frank Tyson, Fernand Diaz, Peter Madonie, Josephine Baker and Kai Chase. Also listed was the name of Jackson's son Prince," Chernoff said in a statement.

Several of aliases were known assocaites of Jackson including Frank Tyson, a friend and personal assistant, and Kai Chase, the singer's personal chef who was at Jackson's home the day he died.

The foucsed attention on Murray, experts said, does not bode well for the cardiologist.

"This seems like death by a thousand cuts," ABC News legal analyst Dana Cole told "Good Morning America." "They're just not going to let up on this guy. We'll have to see what it ultimately reveals."

The LAPD confirmed that toxicology reports from Jackson's autopsy will be delayed another week, but preliminary results show the powerful anesthetic propofol was a contributing factor in the pop icon's death. And it was Murray who reportedly administered the drug to Jackson the day he died.

Jackson's personal chef has also spoken out recently, Telling the Associated Press that Murray seemed off his normal routine the day Jackson died. While he usually came to get Jackson's breakfast in the morning, which included granola, the chef reported that Murray only came downstairs a little after noon, yelling for the singer's eldest son, Prince Michael I, 12.

Jackson's parents and siblings question Murray's role in Jackson's final hours, according to the Rev. Jesse Jackson, a longtime friend of the family. Rev. Jackson previously told ABC News that the family is suspicious.

The fact that the doctor had left the scene, was not available to sign the death certificate or answer the family's questions about their son's final moments did not sit right at all with the Jacksons, according to Rev. Jackson.

"When did the doctor come? What did he do? Did he inject him? If so, with what?" said Rev. Jackson. "Was he on the scene twice? Before and then reaction to? Did he use the Demerol? It's a very powerful drug. Was he injected once? Was he injected twice?"

Murray's lawyer Ed Chernoff, defending his client, has said that once Murray realized that CPR was not bringing Jackson back, Murray, he said, tried to dial 911 on his cell phone but did not have the exact address of Jackson's home. And with none of the phones in the home working "for privacy reasons," Murray ran around the house till he found Jackson's chef, who alerted security.

It was the security person, Chernoff said, who eventually dialed 911. CPR, he said, was done for 25 to 30 minutes before emergency officials arrived.

After Jackson's death, police officers towed a silver BMW from outside Jackson's Los Angeles home, which police confirmed belonged to Jackson's "personal physician" and which they believed contains evidence crucial to the investigation.

Law enforcement sources, however, confirmed to ABC News, that the car towed from Jackson's home is registered to one Susan Mary Rush. Rush is the sister of Dr. Conrad Robert Murray.

"The car was impounded," said Amanda Betat, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Police Department. "One reason it was impounded was because it may contain medication or evidence that could assist the coroner in determining the cause of death."

Megan Chuchmach contributed to this report.