Jackson's doc gave him drug before death: report

Authorities believe the powerful anesthetic Michael Jackson's doctor gave the pop singer to help him sleep is what killed him, the Associated Press reported Monday.

An anonymous official told reporters that investigators, though they are still waiting for toxicology reports, believe the propofol administered by Dr. Conrad Murray caused Jackson's heart to stop.

Although Murray is under investigation for manslaughter, his lawyer, Edward Chernoff, announced the doctor "didn't prescribe or administer anything that should have killed Michael Jackson." The lawyer also refused to comment on the unnamed official's statements.

Jackson hired Murray as his personal physician in May, and Murray had been staying with the pop singer in the rented Los Angeles mansion where he later found Jackson unconscious on June 25, 2009.

After Jackson's death, police searched the home and found many drugs, including propofol, a drug that is usually only administered in hospital due to its risks.

The official said that Jackson enlisted doctors to prescribe propofol to help him sleep, but that Jackson was using the drug in a way that was far beyond the scope of the drug's intended purpose.