Demerol Overdose to Blame For Michael Jackson's Death?

This is far from confirmed, but there are reports circulating that Michael Jackson may have died after getting a Demerol injection yesterday.

The Sun (UK) and TMZ are reporting shortly after the injection of the drug, Jackson's breathing got "slower and slower until it stopped."

Again, we cannot confirm this story.

However, after Jackson was badly burned during the filming of a Pepsi ad, he became addicted to painkillers and ended up at the Betty Ford Clinic.

As for painkillers, there are reports he was given Demerol. During his child molestation trial, cops seized syringes and drugs, including Demerol.

Also, law enforcement officials are reportedly looking for a doctor who lived at Jackson's home - and the doctor is nowhere to be found.

An autopsy will be performed on Jackson's body today by a coroner in L.A. Until then, the exact cause of the icon's death remains unknown.

Nevertheless, Brian Oxman - who was the Jackson family's attorney for more than 20 years - suspects that prescription drug abuse may have played a role in Michael Jackson's death, which shocked the world yesterday afternoon.

The legendary Michael Jackson (1958-2009).

"I don't know what caused Michael's death, and I don't want to speculate as to what the causes are," Oxmon said. "I only know that I warned [the family] there was the misuse of prescription medications by people who were enabling him."

"So is that the cause of it? I don't know. People die from various and sundry causes - they have congenital malformations of the heart, they have difficulty with various infections. I don't know what Michael Jackson's death is a result of."

Oxmon says Jackson "had no particular health concerns except that he had broken his leg many years ago, and it hurt him. He had cracked a vertebrae in his back and he took painkillers to try to ease the pain. And now we find ourselves here."

"I don't know if the two are connected. I had warned him that the misuse of medications would result in this, and I am heartbroken that we are here."

Oxmon declined to elaborate on the types of medications Michael Jackson was taking "because it is something which is private to Michael, and we'll have to wait for the toxicology reports before we jump to any kind of conclusions."

"I only know I warned that his day may come. And lo and behold, here we are."

The autopsy is planned for today, but results may not be final until toxicology tests can be completed, which could take several days and sometimes weeks.

Numerous accounts of how the star spent his final days have been reported.

A source close to the singer who didn't want to be identified told People magazine that "Michael hasn't been feeling well. All last week he had stopped coming out of his house to see his fans. He was doing that every day."

Says Dr. Firpo Carr, a friend and confidante of Jackson's, "I sensed something was wrong and, quite honestly, I wasn't terribly surprised when I got the news. I would get word from people in his camp that things weren't quite right."

As part of his preparations for the high-stakes UK concert tour, Jackson had been training – hard. He has put in 10-hour rehearsals, a witness says, for the sort of stage spectacle his millions and millions of fans had come to expect.

Promoters insisted the 50-year-old entertainer was physically ready for the tour. But there was concern among his inner circle that Jackson might push too hard.

"They didn't want him to overtax himself," family friend Kevin McLin said. "You look back in history, he never completed all the dates of his shows because he gave so much in each performance – he would go non-stop for two hours."

Follow the link to check out Michael's career in pictures.