Michael Jackson death detectives: 'This isn't a man who should have died'

Michael Jackson (Credit: AP)
Michael Jackson (Credit: AP)

The detectives who investigated the death of Michael Jackson have spoken out about the condition of singer’s body shortly after his untimely passing.

Speaking in then new documentary Killing Michael Jackson, the detectives revealed that he was badly scarred from and had almost no hair on his body, but he was otherwise completely healthy for his age.

They added: “This isn’t a man who should have died.”

The documentary, which aired in the UK on Saturday, takes a closer look at the King of Pop’s suspicious death and the events surrounding it.

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Michael Jackson suffered second degree burns to his scalp while filming a Pepsi advert in 1984 (AP)
Michael Jackson suffered second degree burns to his scalp while filming a Pepsi advert in 1984 (AP)

Jackson died in 2009 of a cardiac arrest attributed to a fatal dose of the anaesthetic propofol. The star’s physician Dr Conrad Murray was later convicted of involuntary manslaughter and served two years in prison.

Detective Scott Smith of the LAPD said in the documentary: “The thing that was odd that I found myself periodically looking at was his head, his scalp. Because whenever he was out in public he was wearing a wig.

“Looking at his scalp, the top of his head had been severely scarred. Hardly any hair at all on the sides. To what he had looked like in public with the flowing hair, that was a bit different.”

Jackson sustained second degree burns to his scalp in 1984 after his hair caught fire while filming an advert for Pepsi. The singer suffered hair loss and also became addicted to pain killers.

The detectives also described the strange items they found in the room in which Jackson died ( Credit: Killing Michael Jackson)
The detectives also described the strange items they found in the room in which Jackson died ( Credit: Killing Michael Jackson)

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“I’m not defending his use of prescription medicine by any means, but when you experience something like that it kind of opens up the door for painkillers and whatever else that may lead to,” said Smith.

Speaking of Jackson’s autopsy, Detective Dan Myers, also of the LAPD, said: “The initial autopsy didn’t show much. Nothing much that you [would] be shocked a 50-year-old body would have.

“He was relatively healthy. This isn’t a man who should have died.”

The detectives also described the state of the room Jackson was found in, along with a series of strange items, which included a lifelike child's doll, needles, a noticeboard covered with pictures of babies, and a number of post-it notes tapped over all the walls, mirrors and doors with slogans and phrases.

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