London: In a new twist to the controversy surrounding Michael Jackson's death, his sister La Toya has claimed that the 'King of Pop' was murdered for his 1 billion pound fortune as "he was worth more dead than alive". Her claim comes just two days after the chief of Los Angeles police admitted they were investigating Jackson's death as possible homicide.
La Toya said she and the family are convinced her brother's apparent drugs overdose was "foul play" by a shadowy group out to get their hands on his 1 billion pounds fortune, the News of the World reported.
"Michael was murdered. And we don't think just one person was involved. Rather, it was a conspiracy of people. I feel it was all about money. Michael was worth well over a billion pounds in music publishing assets and somebody killed him for that. He was worth more dead than alive," the newspaper quoted La Toya as saying.
The 53-year-old claimed that the pop icon, who died at the age of 50 on June 25, was fed a series of addictive drugs to keep him submissive and controlled.
"Michael had many needle marks on his neck and on his arms, and more about those will emerge in the next few weeks. But nothing has changed my mind that this was murder, and I won't give up until I find out what killed my brother," she said.
"I can't say who I believe is responsible as I don't want to jeopradise the police investigation. But not everybody had Michael's best interests at heart. A month ago, I felt Michael was going to die before he did his London concerts," La Toya claimed.
She believes that Jackson was being controlled by some people, who deliberately kept him away from the family. "We wanted to know why we were being kept away and my father Joe was always trying to get to see him. He tried so hard to be there for Michael. He was seen as a threat but he was trying to help. And if you keep the family away, you can conquer. It's like they say, divide and conquer."
La Toya said she last saw her brother three weeks before his death at the 60th wedding anniversary celebrations for their parents.
"Michael was fit, happy and enjoyed every minute of it. Sure he was thin, but Michael was always thin. From my understanding, he was very healthy," La Toya said. She believes that the tragedy has united the whole family.
"This has united the family. We're all in pain and suffering the loss of Michael... but we're also determined to get to the bottom of what happened to him. He was taken from us too soon. Michael didn't have to die," she added.
Circumstances surrounding the death of Jackson continue to baffle the investigators amid reports that the pop star was taking potentially lethal cocktail of drugs when he died.