Vials of anesthetic, tubes of skin-lightening cream found in home

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Vials of anesthetic, tubes of skin-lightening cream found in home

Watkins, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

LOS ANGELES - Detectives found large quantities of general anesthetic and dozens

of tubes of skin-whitening creams in 's home after the singer's

death, search warrants unsealed Friday show.

Investigators went to 's rented mansion June 29 following a lengthy

interview with his personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, who told them he had

placed a medical bag in a cupboard in a closet.

At the home, detectives found 11 containers of the powerful anesthetic propofol,

some of them empty, as well as a range of sedatives and various medical items

including a box of blood pressure cuffs, according to the warrants, which were

redacted and unsealed after The Associated Press filed a legal motion.

's June 25 death at age 50 was ruled a homicide caused by an overdose of

propofol and other sedatives. Murray has pleaded not guilty to involuntary

manslaughter.

During their search, detectives found 19 tubes of hydroquinone and 18 tubes of

Benoquin, both of which are commonly used in the treatment of a skin condition

had called vitiligo. The disease creates patches of de-pigmented skin,

and creams can be used to lighten skin that has retained its colour to give a

more even appearance.

" Some people with vitiligo get to the point where there is so much of them that

is pale, it makes more sense to remove the bits that are brown, " said Dr.

Sawcer, assistant professor of clinical dermatology at the University of

Southern California.

Benoquin is derived from hydroquinone. Though the creams can be used at the same

time, it is unusual to do so, Sawcer said. The medications typically come in

travel-toothpaste-sized tubes and each treatment usually lasts a few months.

Side effects include acute sensitivity to the sun.

" In the places they have no pigment, they are exactly like an albino, " Sawcer

said.

The discovery of medical creams in 's home dovetails with an odd remark

Murray reportedly made soon after 's death.

According to police statements obtained by the AP, 's personal assistant,

Amir , told detectives that in the hospital where was

pronounced dead, Murray told him he wanted to return to 's house " so that

he could pick up some cream that Mr. has so that the world wouldn't find

out about it. "

Alberto Alvarez, 's logistics director, who was summoned to the stricken

star's side as he was dying, told police Murray interrupted CPR on the pop star

to collect drug vials. He gave the vials and an IV line with a milky substance

resembling propofol to Alvarez, according to the statement Alvarez gave police,

and told him to put them in bags that were similar in description to those later

found in the closet.

The skin cream was not listed as a factor in 's death nor was it detected

in a toxicology report. What killed , according to the autopsy report,

was an overdose of propofol, an anesthetic normally used for surgery. Murray

told police he gave it to to help him sleep, a use anesthesiology

experts have said is grossly improper.

Dr. Zeev Kain, anesthesiology department chair at the University of California,

Irvine Medical Center, said he was surprised by the amount of propofol

detectives found. Among the 11 containers police said they found were three

100ml vials, which Kain said could be used as general anesthesia for several

hours.

" A doctor should not use propofol at home to start with, " Kain said.

The warrants also show Murray shipped propofol and other medications to his

girlfriend Alvarez's house in Santa . It's unusual to send propofol

to a private residence but not illegal.

-

AP Entertainment Writer McCartney contributed to this report.