Police continued to investigate the sudden death of Michael Jackson yesterday as his family gathered to decide plans for the star’s funeral.

Conrad Murray, Jackson’s personal physician and the last man to see him alive, was interviewed by homicide detectives for three hours on Saturday evening. Dr Murray, a cardiologist, was living at Jackson’s rented mansion in Los Angeles when the singer suffered a cardiac arrest.

The doctor tried to resuscitate him and went with him to the hospital where Jackson was pronounced dead. Police had spoken to him briefly after the death but were looking for him all day on Friday.

Miranda Sevcik, a spokeswoman for the doctor, said that Dr Murray “helped identify the circumstances around the death of the pop icon and clarified some inconsistencies”. Police towed Dr Murray’s car from Jackson’s home hours after the singer died and said later that it could contain medications or other evidence.

Detectives said Dr Murray had “provided information which will aid the investigation”. He is not a suspect in the inquiry, which is being carried out on behalf of the LA County Coroner’s Office.

Friends, family and members of Jackson’s large entourage all face further interviews to establish the precise events leading up to the death.

The Jackson family also asked for a second, private post-mortem examination because of unanswered questions about how he died, and the celebrity website TMZ — which broke news of the star’s death — said that this had been carried out. The body is thought to be at a private mortuary after the coroner’s office released it to the family late on Friday.

Jackson was reportedly addicted to a cocktail of prescription drugs, including painkillers, and the family wants to investigate claims that he was given an injection of the powerful painkiller Demerol immediately before his death.

Dr Murray denied that he administered Demerol to the singer. Edward Chernoff, a lawyer acting for Dr Murray, said: “Dr Murray has never prescribed nor administered Demerol to Michael Jackson. Not ever. Not that day. Not OxyContin (either) for that matter.”

Mr Chernoff also discussed how his client found the dying Jackson. “He just happened to find him in his bed and he wasn’t breathing. Mr Jackson was still warm and had a pulse.”

Coroner’s officials have said that Jackson was taking prescription medicines, but declined to elaborate. Preliminary results from an official post-mortem by Los Angeles County medical examiners showed no sign of foul play. No official cause of death was given, but one is expected after the results of toxicology tests within six weeks.

The Rev Jesse Jackson, a family friend, said: “It’s abnormal. We don’t know what happened. Was he injected, and with what? All reasonable doubt should be addressed.”

More speculation about the cause of death — and Jackson’s lifestyle — was aroused when Grace Rwaramba, 42, nanny to Jackson’s three children, told The Sunday Times how she regularly had to pump Jackson’s stomach to remove dangerous cocktails of drugs.

Ms Rwaramba, who was dismissed six months ago, flew from London to Los Angeles in the hope of seeing the children. She said: “I had to pump his stomach many times. He always mixed so much of it.”

The family, including most of Jackson’s siblings, have gathered at the family compound in Encino, California.The Jackson family patriarch Joseph said in a statement: “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.

“Our beloved son, brother and father of three children has gone so unexpectedly, in such a tragic way and much too soon. It leaves us, his family, speechless and devastated to a point where communication with the outside world seems almost impossible at times.

“We miss Michael endlessly, our pain cannot be described in words. But Michael would not want us to give up now. So we want to thank all of his faithful supporters and loyal fans worldwide, you – who Michael loved so much.

“Please do not despair, because Michael will continue to live on in each and every one of you. Continue to spread his message, because that is what he would want you to do. Carry on, so his legacy will live for ever.”

Mr Jackson also added that the singer’s three children — Michael Joseph, 12, known as Prince; Paris Michael Katherine, 11; and their seven-year-old brother Prince Michael II, known as Blanket — were also touched by the support from fans worldwide.

President Obama has written privately to Jackson’s family expressing his condolence, David Axelrod, a White House adviser, said.

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