LAS VEGAS, Nevada (AFP) - - Police and federal agents swooped on the Las Vegas home of Michael Jackson's doctor on Tuesday as speculation about possible criminal charges in the case intensified.
Local television networks showed several police cars outside doctor Conrad Murray's residence in the Nevada gambling haven, less than a week after authorities carried out a raid on the doctor's Houston office.
Lawyers for Murray said Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents and detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) had executed a search warrant for Jackson's medical records.
"The search warrant authorized investigators to look for medical records relating to Michael Jackson and all of his reported aliases," Murray's legal team said in a statement.
Murray was present during the search and assisted officers who seized cell phones and a computer hard drive, the doctor's lawyers said.
Agents also carried out a search of Murray's Las Vegas office. A red curtain was erected in front of the doorway to the office to prevent outsiders from seeing activity inside, an AFP reporter witnessed.
Officers were combing both paper and computerized records, a source familiar with the investigation told AFP.
Last week DEA agents and police descended on Murray's Houston, Texas practice with a search warrant seeking evidence for the "offense of manslaughter."
CNN reported Monday that police believe Murray gave 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 Murray gave Jackson the drug intravenously has fueled speculation he may be charged with homicide.
Lawyers for 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.
"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."
TMZ.com reported that Murray had told police in an interview he gave Jackson Propofol via an intravenous 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.
The Los Angeles Coroner's office confirmed that results of tests carried out on Jackson's body will be revealed by the end of the week, a move that could enhance the likelihood of criminal charges depending on the findings.
ABC News reported Tuesday that pathologists also discovered a deadly cocktail of prescription drugs in Jackson's emaciated body, including the powerful painkillers OxyContin and Demerol.
In the aftermath of Jackson's death, friends of the singer's family said the clan had "unanswered questions" regarding the doctor's role, citing Murray's failure to call paramedics immediately after discovering the star.
Murray was also criticized for attempting to give CPR to Jackson while he lay on a bed, even though established medical practice calls for the patient to be placed on a hard surface.
"(Murray) owes it to the family and to the public to say, 'These were the last hours of Michael's life and here's what happened.' That's a reasonable expectation," family friend and civil rights activist Jesse Jackson said.
Jackson died aged 50 on June 25 in Los Angeles as he prepared to make a gruelling 50-date series of comeback concerts in London.
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