MICHAEL JACKSON'S DEATH RULED A HOMICIDE

I knew it was only a matter of time before this brother went down...

Michael Jackson's death has been ruled a homicide by the Los Angeles County coroner, according to law enforcement sources quoted by the Associated Press.

This makes it likely criminal charges will be brought against Conrad Murray, the physician who admitted he administered a powerful anesthetic propofol the morning he died. Detectives have been investigating whether Murray's decision to administer Jackson propofol outside a hospital and as a sleep aid would be classified as negligence for an involuntary manslaughter charge.

The Los Angeles coroner's office found lethal levels of propofol in Jackson's body after he died, according to a search warrant affidavit unsealed in a Houston court Monday.

The Los Angeles Times, which obtained the warrant, reports Murray admitted to LAPD detectives that he'd been treating Jackson for insomnia with propofol every night for six weeks.

Murray told LAPD detectives he was nervous Jackson was becoming addicted to propofol, so he was trying to wean him off. He'd been lowering the dosages and mixing it with two other sedatives, lorazepam and midazolam. He says on June 23, he gave Jackson two medications and withheld propofol.

On June 25 -- the day Jackson died -- Murray gave Jackson a number of sedatives. When none worked, he gave him a dose of propofol, according to court records. (Propofol is only supposed to be administered in hospitals.)

On the morning Jackson died, Murray gave Jackson valium at 1:30 a.m. When that was unsuccessful, he injected lorazepam intravenously at 2 a.m. At 3 a.m., he gave the still-awake singer midazolam. He continued to try different drugs over the course of the morning.

At 10:40 a.m., Murray gave Jackson 25 milligrams of propofol -- down from his usual dosage of 50 milligrams -- after Jackson repeatedly demanded the drug, court records show.