Police investigating Michael Jackson's death looked into his medical treatment Friday, seeking to interview one of the pop king's doctors and seizing a car that they said may contain drugs or other evidence.

As medical examiners prepared to begin an autopsy of Jackson, police towed a BMW from his rented home "because it may contain medications or other evidence that may assist the coroner in determining the cause of death," police spokeswoman Karen Rayner said.

She said the car belongs to one of Jackson's doctors whom police wanted to interview. Rayner said she did not know the doctor's identity and stressed the doctor was not under criminal investigation.

chorus of grief

Meanwhile, a chorus of grief for the megastar spread around the world, from statesmen to icons of music to legions of heartbroken fans.

"I can't stop crying. This is too sudden and shocking," said Diana Ross, who helped launch Jackson's career. "I am unable to imagine this. My heart is hurting."

Brian Oxman, a former Jackson attorney and a family friend, said Friday he had been concerned about Jackson's use of painkillers and had warned the singer's family about possible abuse.

"I said one day, we're going to have this experience. And when Anna Nicole Smith passed away, I said we cannot have this kind of thing with Michael Jackson," Oxman said on NBC television. "The result was, I warned everyone, and lo and behold, here we are. I don't know what caused his death. But I feared this day, and here we are."

drugs at his disposal

Oxman claimed Jackson had prescription drugs at his disposal to help with pain suffered when he broke his leg after he fell off a stage and for broken vertebrae in his back.

Jackson died Thursday afternoon at UCLA Medical Center after being stricken at his rented home in the posh Los Angeles neighbourhood of Holmby Hills. Paramedics tried to resuscitate him for three-quarters of an hour there before rushing him to the hospital.

His brother, Jermaine, said Jackson apparently suffered cardiac arrest, an abnormal heart rhythm that stops the heart from pumping blood to the body. It can occur after a heart attack or be caused by other heart problems.