Michael Jackson pleaded for a powerful sedative
Diprivan for his persistent insomnia in recent months, according to a nutritionist working with the singer as he prepared for his comeback shows in London.
Cherilyn Lee, a registered nurse specialising in nutrition, said she received a phone call from Jackson four days before his death that made her fear he had obtained Diprivan or another drug to induce sleep.
Lee said Jackson, who died of a heart attack on Thursday, complained that one side of his body felt hot and the other cold, leading her to believe that "somebody had given him something that hit the central nervous system".
"He was in trouble Sunday and he was crying out," she told the Associated Press.
The celebrity website TMZ, which broke the news of Jackson's death, reported that Diprivan was found at the singer's house after he died. It said Diprivan, the brand name for propofol, a powerful drug delivered intravenously to anaesthetise people before surgery, was available only to medical personnel.
"There is no conceivable way this drug can be properly prescribed for home use," an unnamed source told TMZ. Prolonged, high doses of propofol can lead to cardiac arrest.
Police have widened the circle of doctors they want to question about the medication Jackson was taking. His regular doctor, Conrad Murray, who found Jackson on Thursday and tried to resuscitate him, was interviewed by police at the weekend and, according to his lawyer, denied administering drugs that could have contributed to his death. Police are not treating the case as foul play.
As speculation continues over the possible connection between Jackson's drug use and his death, the star's will is due to be filed today. The document, dated 2002, said custody of his three children should go to his mother and that his assets be divided between her, his children and charities. There was apparently nothing for his father, Joe, with whom he had an unhappy relationship.
A judge has granted Jackson's 79-year-old mother, Katherine Jackson, temporary guardianship of her son's three children, aged between 7 and 12. The judge gave her control over some of her son's personal property that is now in the hands of an unnamed third party. There was no ruling yet on her requests to take charge of the children's and Jackson's estates.
Documents dated 2007 showed that Jackson had $567.6m (£344.7m) in assets, including his Neverland ranch and the rights to songs by the Beatles, but had debts of $331m, leaving him with a net worth of $236.6m.
Police and other authorities in California yesterday discussed plans to put Jackson's body on display on Friday at Neverland, a 2,500-acre property in the hills of Santa Barbara county, for a potentially chaotic public farewell.
Officials believe the event would be so popular that cars would stretch unbroken for 125 miles between Los Angeles and Neverland. Plans are being discussed to shut down Figueroa Mountain Road, the twisting rural lane outside the ranch. Television vans have already taken up stations along the road.
Yesterday, work crews delivered heavy construction equipment and large floral wreaths to Neverland, fuelling speculation that his estate plans to hold a funeral service or erect some sort of memorial on the property. News media reported that more than a dozen vehicles, including a tractor, a cement mixer and a backhoe, along with groups of gardeners and florists bearing huge wreaths, had been delivered.
Joe Jackson said on Monday his son would be not be buried at Neverland. A public viewing would reportedly be followed by a private memorial service on Sunday.
What is sedative Diprivan ? Why it is dangerous
