Michael Jackson’s father, Joe Jackson, says he suspects foul play in the death of his superstar son.

Jackson, 50, died Thursday after suffering an apparent cardiac arrest.

And the Jackson patriarch, 79, says he has a “lot of concerns” over events leading up to the tragedy.

“Michael was dead before he left the house. I’m suspecting foul play somewhere,” Joe told ABC7.

“He was waving to everybody and telling them he loves them and all the fans at the gate. A few minutes after Michael was out there, he was dead.”

Jackson’s initial autopsy — conducted by the L.A. County Coroner — concluded that there was no trauma to the star’s body and “no indication of foul play”.

The coroner said that Michael had been taking “some prescription medications.”

The coroner said the cause of death was deferred because additional testing — including toxicology and other tests — is needed. It will take 4-6 weeks to complete.

The Jackson family’s lawyer said more would be said after the results of a second post-mortem examination.

Mr Jackson said the singer’s children were the family’s “first priority” and that he and Michael’s mother, Katherine, have “authority for our son and his children”.

Asked about funeral arrangements, Mr Jackson said: “We haven’t got to that yet, we are working on that.”

Michael Jackson’s death has become a criminal investigation, the Jackson family lawyer said Sunday.

The singer, 50, died Thursday after suffering an apparent cardiac arrest at his home in Los Angeles.

Michael’s personal doctor, Dr Conrad Murray, was quizzed for three hours by Los Angeles Police Department on Saturday.

Murray is suspected of giving Jacko a shot of the potent painkiller Demerol before he collapsed and frantically tried to revive the singer long after he had died.

He is even believed to have plunged a syringe into Wacko’s heart in his efforts to revive him.

Homicide detectives investigating the death have insisted it is not a criminal investigation.

But Brian Oxman yesterday told Britain’s The Sun newspaper that the Jackson family have been told otherwise – and they want anybody who is found to be responsible to be brought to justice.

The family carried out their own private second autopsy on Saturday to give them evidence to launch legal proceedings after the coroner’s examination ruled out foul play.

“I can tell you, and this is a new development, there is a criminal investigation taking place by the Los Angeles Police Department,” Oxman said. “That is the case. They have told the family.

“What they are going to do, who they are going to talk to and what is going to happen, I don’t know. That is up to them. I don’t want to make any accusations as to any particular people. I want to wait till the toxicology tests are completed and let the authorities do their thing. Then we will find out.”

As for Dr Murray, Oxman added, “I don’t know what he did. But the reports I have heard are disturbing. A Demerol shot sure sounds consistent with what I knew.

“I have clients who have got themselves into a mess and they sit and go, ‘What am I going to do.’ And the brain goes into gridlock. Then after the gridlock breaks they start clearing up the mess.”

Michael Jackson was so broke, he was once forced to bed down in the New Jersey basement of one of his former employees, it has been claimed.

Jackson’s former nanny, Grace Rwaramba, claims that Jackson’s financial situation was so dire, he didn’t have anywhere to live.

“We were running out of friends,” said Grace. “But we suddenly showed up at the home of Frank Tyson. Now Frank’s family isn’t rich. They have a small house. But we stayed there for weeks. I felt so bad.”

Speaking to a British tabloid, Grace said she feared the pressure of his forthcoming London O2 comeback tour had taken its toll on Jackson.

She believed he was in such a state that he did not even realize he had signed up for 50 dates.

The tour had been eagerly awaited as the King of Pop had not set foot on stage since a disastrous appearance at the World Music Awards in 2006, when he managed to sing only two lines of We Are The World.

“Fifty performances!” Grace said. “I said, ‘What are you doing?’ He said ‘I signed only for 10′. He didn’t know what he was signing. He never did.”

“The truth is Michael didn’t have money,” Grace added. “One day out of the blue he received some cash but instead of buying a house somewhere so we didn’t have to keep moving from one hotel to another or stay with friends, he told me, ‘Go to Florence and buy antiques.’

“He asked me to spend £600,000. But we didn’t even have a home so we had to put them all into storage.

“Michael just did not have a clue about have money.

Jackson died Thursday after suffering an apparent cardiac arrest at his home in Los Angeles. He was 50.

Michael Jackson’s father, Joe Jackson, says the Jackson family is holding a summit — because they don’t like what has been happening.

“We’re holding a family meeting now,” Joe told People magazine at midday Saturday. “We don’t like what’s going on.”

“The kids have fallen apart today,” a source added. “They have taken it so, so hard. Yesterday everybody was being really strong for the kids, but today it just hit everybody. There are so many tears.

“There is so much sadness in the house today, it’s unreal. They are so confused. They are so in the dark.

“The family has no access to the will. [Michael's lawyers] won’t let the family see the will … The family has no idea what to do. They don’t even know when to bury him.

“They don’t know what to do about anything. They aren’t getting any answers from Michael’s lawyers.

“Michael’s people won’t give Mrs. Jackson [Katherine] anything.

“They haven’t heard from [Jackson's ex-wife] Debbie Rowe and don’t know what’s going on in that respect, either. Joe and Katherine really want the children.

“They for sure want the children.”

“They’re in shock and they want answers,” the source says. “The issue is the people around him: vampires and blood suckers.

“They are coming together and Joe is running the show. It was tough for them all growing up, but the parents never stole from Michael and they had his best interests at heart.”

The family has reportedly requested a second autopsy.

Michael Jackson was terrified of being alone — and had been traveling with a personal physician since the early 1990s, according to a new report.

The singer, 50, died Thursday after suffering an apparent cardiac arrest at his home in Los Angeles.

It has been reported that Jackson’s doctor, Conrad Robert Murray, administrated the star his daily shot of of a synthetic narcotic similar to morphine — Demerol — and it killed him.

“There was a doctor with Michael at all times,” a source told Fox News. “He traveled with a doctor. Michael got injections of drugs daily.

“Michael was doing massive amounts of skin grafting. It was very unhealthy and sad to witness it all.”

“Michael,” the source added, “was worried about losing his popularity and his relevance. Even when he was at a personal high, he was terrified of losing his edge.

“He felt very alone. Michael had no close friends around him and he always harbored miserable feelings with his father. He was always sad that his family was not with him.

“If there wasn’t a doctor with him, or a security team, then it was managers or a lawyer or a publicist. He was never alone. He surrounded himself with people who used him, and he was terribly paranoid about people using him, so he fired staff constantly. It was just nonstop people in and out of his life.

“He loved making music or just singing old songs. Music allowed him temporary peace when he went into his studio. He would relax and open up more.”

Whitney Houston, Sir Bob Geldof, Dame Shirley Bassey and Naomi Campbell have become the latest celebrities to pay tribute to Michael Jackson, who died Thursday after suffering an apparent cardiac arrest at his home in Los Angeles.

Houston:  “I have always admired Michael Jackson. The world has lost one of the greats, but his music will live on. I am full of grief.” (continue)

American President Barack Obama and Beatles legend Sir Paul McCartney have paid tribute to pop superstar Michael Jackson, who died Thursday after suffering an apparent cardiac arrest at his home in Los Angeles.

“It’s so sad and shocking,” McCartney said in a statement. “I feel privileged to have hung out and worked with Michael. He was a massively talented boy man with a gentle soul. His music will be remembered forever and my memories of our time together will be happy ones. (continue)

Michael Jackson’s ex-wife and the mother of two of his children, Debbie Rowe, is “inconsolable” about the death of the King of Pop, her former lawyer said Friday.

Rowe remains the legal parent to Prince Michael, 12, and Paris, 11, her two children with the late star.

Lawyer Iris Finsilver says he has “no idea” if Debbie will take on custody now that the Jacko had passed, but insisted he will “support her 1000 percent.”

“She is inconsolable,” Finsilver added. “But she will always love Michael and she always considered him a dear friend.”

Rowe wed Jackson in 1996 (he was a patient in the dermatologist’s office, where she worked as a nurse). They divorced in 1999, but during their custody fight, she agreed to give up her parental rights, insisting Jackson was a good father.

Speculation that singer Michael Jackson died from an overdose hit fever-pitch Friday — after Brian Oxman, who has served as the Jackson family’s attorney for more than 20 years, said he suspects prescription drug abuse may have played a role in the star’s death.

“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 them there was the misuse of prescription medications by people who were enabling him; his handlers, folks who should never have been permitted to allow him to use those medications in the manner I observed.” (continue)

Michael Jackson was an alcoholic who abused prescription drugs — and his family attempted an intervention in Las Vegas, it was claimed today.

According to People magazine, as far back as 2006, members of the Jackson family feared that Wacko’s escalating dependence on prescription drugs had become a danger to his life.

“The family believes Michael is addicted,” a source told the mag. “There was an intervention in Las Vegas. Janet was on the phone, but Randy, Jackie and Rebbie were there in person,” the source said, referring to several of Michael’s eight siblings.

“Michael got p—ed off. He said he wasn’t on drugs. But they didn’t believe him.”

At the time of the Vegas intervention, another source close to the family blamed a Jackson aide for supplying the superstar with drugs from prescriptions acquired from multiple doctors. (continue)