LOS ANGELES: The cardiologist who was with Michael Jackson during the pop star's final moments sat down with investigators for three hours to explain his actions, and his spokeswoman says he is not a suspect.

Doctor Conrad Murray, a physician with a tangled financial and personal history who was hired to accompany Jackson on his planned summer concert tour, reportedly performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation until paramedics arrived at Jackson's rented home. The pop star was declared dead later at UCLA Medical Center.

In his interview with police, the doctor "helped identify the circumstances around the death of the pop icon and clarified some inconsistencies," Murray's spokeswoman Miranda Sevcik said in a statement on Saturday. "Investigators say the doctor is in no way a suspect and remains a witness to this tragedy."

The statement said Murray has been in Los Angeles since Jackson's death, and plans to stay here until his cooperation is no longer needed.

Police confirmed that they interviewed Murray, adding that he was cooperative and "provided information which will aid the investigation."

The interview took place on a busy day when one of Jackson's lawyers was chosen to represent the family's legal interests and celebrities descended on Los Angeles for a star-studded public celebration of the King of Pop's life at the annual BET awards show.

Obama sends condolence

President Barack Obama has written to Michael Jackson's family expressing his condolences, White House adviser David Axelrod said yesterday on NBC television's Meet the Press.

Obama did not issue a statement following Jackson's death, but the White House has said the president saw the pop star as a spectacular performer whose life had sad and tragic aspects.

L. Londell McMillan, who represented Jackson last year in a breach of contact lawsuit and has advised high-profile clients such as Prince, was picked to help the family by Katherine Jackson, the singer's mother, said a person who requested anonymity because the matter is private.

The legal move came as the Rev. Jesse Jackson, a civil rights leader, revealed that Michael Jackson's family wants a second, private autopsy of the pop superstar because of unanswered questions about how he died.

"It's abnormal," Jesse Jackson said from Chicago a day after visiting the Jackson family. "We don't know what happened. Was he injected and with what? All reasonable doubt should be addressed."

People close to Jackson have said since his death that they were concerned about his use of painkillers. Los Angeles County medical examiners completed their autopsy on Friday and said Jackson had taken prescription medication.

Medical officials also said there was no indication of trauma or foul play. An official cause of death could take weeks to determine.

There was no word from the Jackson family on funeral plans. Many of Jackson's relatives have gathered at the family's Encino compound, caring there for Jackson's three children.

It remains unclear who Jackson designated as potential guardians for his children. Those details - likely contained in the 50-year-old singer's will - have not been released.

An attorney for Deborah Rowe, the mother of Jackson's two oldest children, issued a statement on Saturday asking that the Jackson family "be able to say goodbye to their loved one in peace."

Sisters Janet and La Toya arrived on Saturday at the mansion Jackson had been renting and left without addressing reporters. Moving vans also showed up at the Jackson home, leaving about an hour later. There was no indication what they might have taken away.

The Jackson family issued a statement on Saturday expressing its grief over the death and thanking his supporters.

"In one of the darkest moments of our lives we find it hard to find the words appropriate to this sudden tragedy we all had to encounter," said the statement made through People magazine. "We miss Michael endlessly."

Source:China Daily/AP