Michael Jackson was bald, weighed just 8st and the right side of his face had caved in.

The 'severely emaciated' star resembled a horror figure in the final hours before his death.

Leaked autopsy details have revealed that Michael Jackson was malnourished, riddled with needle wounds and had been eating little but pills before he died.

The 50-year-old 'King of Pop' was reportedly a shadow of his former self, with a collapsed nose bridge, little hair and a network of plastic surgery scars.

Reports from LA also say that the official autopsy found four injection marks near the singer's heart, apparently from attempts to pump adrenaline into the organ in a bid to restart it.

Today Jackson's father Joe said that unanswered questions surrounding his death are disturbing the family.

They have already requested a second post-mortem, but he declined to go into any detail as to the nature of the concerns.

Speaking at Black Entertainment Television Awards (BET) last night, Joe Jackson said that funeral arrangements have still not been made.

Mr Jackson said that, for now, the singer's children -- Prince Michael Jr (12), Paris (11) and Prince Michael II (7) -- were the family's "first priority"

Possibly pre-empting a custody battle with the mother of the eldest two children, Debbie Rowe, Mr Jackson said that he and Michael's mother Katherine have "authority for our son and his children".

Asked about funeral arrangements, Mr Jackson said: "We haven't got to that yet, we are working on that."

It is believed that the official coroner's report shows that the pop star was recovering well from skin cancer having undergone an operation to shave cells from his chest.

The music icon had lost virtually all of his hair and was reportedly wearing a wig when he died.

However, there was unexplained bruising on Jackson's knees and on the fronts of both shins and there were cuts on his back, which may have indicated a recent fall.

Scarred

A scarred section of skin above Michael's left ear was entirely bald believed to be the result of a 1984 accident when his hair caught fire as he filmed an ad for Pepsi.

The Los Angeles County coroner's office have ruled out foul play but failed to determine what killed the entertainer, pending toxicology tests.

Jackson's doctor Conrad Murray has been quizzed by police about what happened at the singer's Californian home last Thursday.

Speculation has been rife in LA that Jackson was taking a daily concoction of prescription drugs, including the morphine-like painkiller Demerol.

But in a statement released today, Dr Murray's lawyer said he did not administer the drugs that contributed to his death.

"Dr Murray has never prescribed nor administered Demerol to Michael Jackson. Not ever. Not that day," the statement said.

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."

Paramedics were called to the mansion while the doctor was performing CPR.

Medics spent three-quarters of an hour trying to revive Jackson. He was pronounced dead later at UCLA Medical Centre.

Autopsy

Los Angeles County coroner's officials said their autopsy found no indication of trauma or foul play. But because of additional tests, an official cause of death could take weeks.

US President Barack Obama has written to the family to express his feelings over the singer's death, one of his key aides said.

hnews@herald.ie

- Kevin Doyle and Claire Murphy