Arrest warrant urged for Jackson’s doctor

The doctor under investigation in pop star Michael Jackson's death faces another legal hurdle after missing a hearing in his child support case.

A Clark County Family Court hearing master Wednesday recommended a bench warrant for the arrest of Dr. Conrad Murray after he failed to show up for the hearing, District Attorney David Roger said.

The warrant must be approved by a district judge.

Murray owed more than $13,000 to Nenita Malibiran, who lives in California.

County prosecutors have been after Murray since February 2002, when they filed a lien against him because of unpaid child support.

In 2006 he was hit with another lien for nearly $3,100 in unpaid child support. As recently as June 10, the district attorney's office filed to collect $10,893 in back child support owed to Malibiran, according to county records.

Because of Murray's history of unpaid child support, Roger said, his office will ask the Nevada medical board to suspend his license to practice medicine.

"It's rare that we have to petition to suspend a person's professional license, but it is an option we have, and we'll exercise that option," Roger said.

Murray has been the prime target of the investigation into Jackson's June 25 death, which has been ruled a homicide. Court records say Murray told police he gave the pop superstar the powerful anesthetic propofol and other drugs in the hours before Jackson's death.

Investigators searched Murray's Las Vegas office and home this summer in their hunt for evidence.

Murray has since defaulted on his mortgage for the home at Red Rock Country Club, and he owes $71,332 in unpaid student loans for medical school and more than $363,700 in judgments from lawsuits against him or his business.

Contact reporter Brian Haynes at bhaynes@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0281.