Posted Jul 4th 2009 12:23PM by TMZ Staff
As law enforcement officials comb through medical records to determine who supplied and administered the anesthesia Propofol and other drugs to Michael Jackson, we've learned there may be a fail-safe way of getting at the truth.
It's no secret -- especially in a celebrity town like L.A. -- some doctors use pseudonyms for celebrity patients and sometimes their medical charts somehow get "lost." But we've learned most doctors leave an indelible footprint when it comes to treating patients.
Many doctors -- especially ones with big practices -- use medical software systems from MD Systems, NexTech and other companies. These companies provide the software that makes it easy to input billing data.
Doctors typically input the patient's name, billing amount, type of treatment, type of drugs prescribed and administered, and date of service. Here's the thing -- that data cannot be deleted from the server.
The system allows doctors to add other data like medical charts, and those things can be deleted. But if someone deletes that info, the software shows the name of the user who did it and the date it was done.
Bottom line -- the basic billing information will not go away.
As we reported days ago, law enforcement found Propofol inside Jackson's house. Propofol is an anesthesia, which should never be administered outside a hospital, and it's looking like that drug killed Jackson. If cops find who supplied it and who administered it, the docs could well be prosecuted for manslaughter.
Filed under: Michael Jackson
Tags: billing, death, died, doctors, drugs, jackson, michael jackson, MichaelJackson, overdose, propofol
Posted Jul 4th 2009 9:50AM by TMZ Staff
How'd you like to have had Michael Jackson by your side when you exchanged your wedding vows?
Check out this photo of Michael Jackson with his lawyer, John Branca, at Branca's wedding in 1987. Jackson served as best man.
Branca worked for Jackson from 1980-2006, and was then re-hired by Jackson weeks before his death. Branca was named co-executor Jackson's will.
Filed under: Michael Jackson
Tags: best man, BestMan, john branca, JohnBranca, michael jackson, MichaelJackson, wedding photo, WeddingPhoto, will
Posted Jul 4th 2009 7:48AM by TMZ Staff
Don't book your plane tickets yet -- you're probably going to be watching the Michael Jackson memorial from home.
A spokesman for the Jackson family revealed that after only seven hours, over 500,000 people had entered the lottery for memorial tickets. Okay, time for some quick math: that means that roughly 71,500 people per hour have signed up. And if you extend that rate for the remaining 25 hours (especially since the lottery has been opened up to the entire world), you get a total number of around 2.3 million.
Only 8,750 of those people will get tickets to the memorial (two tickets per person), and some of those people will get only get passes to the "satellite event" in the Nokia Theatre across the street-- like watching it on TV but in a pressure cooker with thousands of other people.
The bottom line: a 0.4% chance of getting a ticket. The good news? You're still more likely to get a ticket than get struck by lightning.
Filed under: Michael Jackson
Tags: lottery, memorial, michael jackson, MichaelJackson, staples center, StaplesCenter
Posted Jul 4th 2009 6:47AM by TMZ Staff
Michael Jackson is clearly the international star in death that he was in life -- the memorial lottery is now open to the world.
Initially, only U.S.residents qualified for the ticket drawing to score seats for Tuesday's Staples Center memorial. But now the folks putting it together have decided to open up registration to all earthly beings, saying, "Additional legal terms have been incorporated into the conditions of entry to allow non-U.S. residents the opportunity to register for the random ticket drawing."
The drawing closes tonight at 6:00 PM PT. Click here to register.
Filed under: Michael Jackson
Tags: citizens, drawing, los angeles, LosAngeles, memorial, Michael Jackson, MichaelJackson, staples center, StaplesCenter
Posted Jul 4th 2009 5:42AM by TMZ Staff
Michael Jackson made the rounds at L.A. doctors' offices, often getting anesthesia for minor outpatient procedures -- procedures that did not require anesthesia.
Medical sources say Jackson would get cosmetic surgery, collagen injections, Botox and acne treatment for which he would often be put under or sedated, even when it was not medically necessary.
One medical source described Jackson as "an anesthesia addict."
We're also told Jackson would get controlled substances, such as Demerol, during and after these minor procedures.
The question now -- which docs were happy to oblige the singer?
As we first reported, police found the anesthesia Propofol in Jackson's house after he died, and it's looking like that's the drug that killed him.
Filed under: Michael Jackson
Tags: anesthesia, arrests, botox, demerol, docs, doctors, drugs, MD systems, MdSystems, michael jackson, MichaelJackson, narcotics, propofol
Posted Jul 4th 2009 3:29AM by TMZ Staff
While we wait to see whether or not she mounts a battle for custody of her possibly biological children, Michael Jackson's ex-wife Debbie Rowe was spotted out at her mother's house yesterday after running errands.
Filed under: Michael Jackson
Tags: biological mother, BiologicalMother, custody, debbie rowe, DebbieRowe, michael jackson, MichaelJackson, surrogate
Posted Jul 3rd 2009 2:41PM by TMZ Staff
A spokesperson for Lloyd's of London tells us she's never heard of a case where her company has insured someone for a drug overdose.
AEG, the company that was promoting Jackson's London concerts, claimed yesterday the policy it took out from Lloyd's did not cover death from natural causes but did cover overdoses.
Louise Shield -- the head of communications for Lloyd's of London -- tells us such a policy is "odd" and that she's never heard the company insuring for drug overdoses.
What's more -- Shield says the company typically requires a "medical assessment" .... a physical before the policy is written.
As we first reported, Jackson's body had dozens of injection sites in various places. So the question -- how could a policy be issued with clear evidence of a problem?
Shield would not comment on the policy, and found it strange AEG discussed it publicly. She's not saying if overdoses were covered or not.
Filed under: Michael Jackson
Tags: AEG, insurance, Lloyds of London, LloydsOfLondon, Louis Shield, LouisShield, michael jackson, MichaelJackson, od, overdose
Posted Jul 3rd 2009 12:04PM by TMZ Staff
Michael Jackson's memorial service will be held at two separate venues on Tuesday morning -- the main event will be at the Staples Center and a simulcast will play at the Nokia Theatre.
A lottery has been set up for fans to obtain the free tickets -- and they can sign up for the random drawing on the Staples Center website ... good luck logging on.
17,500 tickets are available for the event -- 11,000 for Staples and 6,500 for Nokia -- which will be divvied out 2 per person. If you are one of the 8,750 people selected, you will then be alerted on Sunday with further instructions.
Oh yeah ... only U.S. residents can apply.
Also, the family wouldn't say if Michael's body would be at the memorial.
Filed under: Michael Jackson
Tags: memorial tickets, MemorialTickets, michael jackson, MichaelJackson, nokia theatre, NokiaTheatre, staples center, StaplesCenter
Posted Jul 3rd 2009 11:30AM by TMZ Staff
AEG took out a hefty insurance policy in case Michael Jackson's 50 London concerts fell through -- turns out the policy covered an MJ overdose.
AEG's chief executive Randy Phillips said the $17.5 million insurance policy from Lloyd's of London didn't cover a death from natural causes.
Phillips said the policy would still fall short of the money spent on Jackson's advance, producing the show, covering some of MJ's debts and paying his staff and rent -- which cost between $25 and $30 million.
Filed under: Michael Jackson
Tags: AEG, insurance, Michael jackson, MichaelJackson, od, overdose
Posted Jul 3rd 2009 9:29AM by TMZ Staff
Debbie Rowe may not have Michael Jackson's children under her care, but she was spotted tending to her horses on her ranch yesterday.
The 50-year-old says she will fight for custody and submit to a DNA test to prove she is the biological mother of her two kids with Michael Jackson.
Filed under: Michael Jackson
Tags: custody battle, CustodyBattle, debbie rowe, DebbieRowe, michael jackson dies, michael jacksons kids, MichaelJacksonDies, MichaelJacksonsKids
Posted Jul 3rd 2009 9:16AM by TMZ Staff
California State Attorney General Jerry Brown has launched an investigation into the prescribing practices of Michael Jackson's doctors.
Brown says his office will help the LAPD track the controlled substances that made their way to Jackson. The State's Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement will be combing files. It's the same method Brown used to track prescriptions in the Anna Nicole Smith case.
As we first reported, Jackson used various aliases to score drugs, including Omar Arnold and Jack London. We've learned at least one high-end pharmacy in the area where Jackson lived did its own search and has turned up the name Omar Arnold in its database.
Filed under: Celebrity Justice, Michael Jackson
Tags: Anna Nicole Smith, AnnaNicoleSmith, jack london, JackLondon, Michael Jackson, MichaelJackson, omar arnold, OmarArnold
Posted Jul 2nd 2009 9:30PM by TMZ Staff
AEG and reps for the Jackson family just announced a memorial service for Michael Jackson will take place at the Staples Center on Tuesday at 10:00 AM.
11,000 tickets will be distributed free of charge to the general public -- a press conference will be held tomorrow morning to address the situation further.
Filed under: Michael Jackson
Tags: aeg, body, jackson family, JacksonFamily, memorial service, MemorialService, Michael Jackson, MichaelJackson, staples center, StaplesCenter
Posted Jul 2nd 2009 6:35PM by TMZ Staff
We've learned who's getting what in Michael Jackson's trust. Here's how it breaks down.
Katherine Jackson will get 40% of the assets.
Michael's 3 kids will get another 40%.
And the remaining 20% goes to several children's charities. We're told the charities have not been designated yet and are not specified in the trust.
We've also learned the California Attorney General is filing legal papers right now in the probate case -- the docs relate to the charitable gifts. The A.G. regulates charities in California.
A lawyer for the A.G.'s office will be in court at the next hearing.
Filed under: Michael Jackson
Tags: michael jackson, michael jacksons trust, MichaelJackson, MichaelJacksonsTrust, will
Posted Jul 2nd 2009 6:22PM by TMZ Staff
A $25,000, solid bronze, 14-karat gold plated, custom casket has been ordered for Michael Jackson.
The casket -- ordered last night from Batesville Casket Company -- is called a Promethean and will feature a flame blue velvet interior and a hand-polished, mirror finish.
This is the same casket used to bury James Brown... and is extremely rare.
Filed under: Michael Jackson
Tags: batesville casket company, BatesvilleCasketCompany, james brown, JamesBrown, michael jackson, MichaelJackson
Posted Jul 2nd 2009 3:10PM by TMZ Staff
So finally we have something firm on Michael Jackson.
On Tuesday morning a motorcade will go from Forest Lawn Mortuary in L.A. to the Staples Center complex in downtown Los Angeles where the public memorial will be held.
We're told the family still hasn't decided whether the memorial will be at the Staples Center or the smaller Nokia Theatre. A decision on that is expected shortly.
Filed under: Michael Jackson
Tags: funeral, Michael Jackson, MichaelJackson, nokia theatre, NokiaTheatre, staples center, StaplesCenter
