Michael Jackson's family on Saturday asked for a second autopsy on the body of the superstar, who unexpectedly died on Thursday at a Los Angeles hospital, the local coroner's office said.

The body of the 50-year-old "King of Pop" was released to a mortuary by the coroner's office Friday night after a three-hour autopsy. Investigators said the revelation of the exact cause of death has been deferred pending toxicological tests, which take four to six weeks.

According to Brian Elias of the Los Angeles County coroner's office, Jackson's family has told the office that they wanted to have a second autopsy conducted before the body was released.

Jackson apparently got an injection of Demerol, a strong painkiller similar to morphine, shortly before he was rushed to the hospital in deep coma by fire department paramedics on Thursday afternoon. He was pronounced dead later at the hospital.

Jackson had been reportedly addicted to Demerol for about 20 years.

(Xinhua News Agency June 28, 2009)