"He feared somebody wanted to kill him," Brian Oxman, Michael's family lawyer tells Life & Style. "He was even concerned people would kill him to somehow try to take control of the Beatles back catalog."

In the hours after Michael Jackson was pronounced dead, the world seemed to come together to grieve. But a dark new controversy was already starting to emerge. Two days after the LA County Coroner's office performed a routine autopsy, Jackson family members announced they were demanding a second autopsy. Why the need for another examination? Life & Style has learned that even before Michael's sudden death, the star's family believed Michael was deliberately being kept in a drugged state by people who wanted to get their hands on his money.

"He appeared to be taking a variety of strong narcotics, and many of those drugs were obtained in the names of his staff and associates," an insider tells Life & Style. "While the people around him insist they were acting in his best interest, the drugs were used to control and manipulate Michael -- and the drugs eventually killed him." And now that Michael's gone, "his family has asked the LAPD to investigate [whether there was any thing unusual about his money trail]," says the insider. "A team has already started probing his finances."

Michael was in such a fatigued, unhealthy state not only because of anorexia--insiders say he was limiting himself to just one meal a day to stay thin--but because those in his inner circle were pushing him to work in order to pad their own wallets. "Michael was under massive mental stress because of the pressure of the tour," says the insider. "He kept saying that he owed a lot of money and people would kill him if he didn't do the concerts. He felt trapped and terrified."

Fulfilling his commitment wasn't the only thing scaring Michael. "He feared somebody wanted to kill him," Brian Oxman, Michael's family lawyer tells Life & Style. "He was even concerned people would kill him to somehow try to take control of the Beatles back catalog."

For more in-depth coverage of Michael Jackson's sudden death, pick up the new issue of Life & Style, on newsstands now.