Tito Jackson Tito Jackson has spoken for the first time about the sudden death of his brother, Michael Jackson.

The 55-year-old admitted he "couldn't believe it" when he first heard the shocking news.

He also revealed the Jackson family had been attempting to stage an intervention over Jacko's use of prescribed painkillers.

Tito said he first heard that Michael had died from his sister Janet, as he was driving to the hospital in LA on the 25th June.

"I said, 'No, Janet, what's wrong?' She finally made me pull over and said Michael had passed away. I couldn't believe it. It just killed me. I just sat in the car and cried."

Tito added that he and his siblings had been concerned for some time over Michael's use of painkillers.

"I never saw him on drugs. Not once. He deliberately did it away from us. He didn't want his family to know anything about that part of him."Michael Jackson

He said the family once forced their way into Jacko's former estate, Neverland, to confront him on the issue, but that the superstar told his relatives they were "over-reacting".

Tito admitted he was unsure about his sister LaToya's conviction that her brother had been murdered.

"I don't know whether he was killed or not," Tito said. "But I would say that sometime he had people around him that were not in his best interests."

Meanwhile, in other MJ news, his former wife Debbie Rowe's lawyer has denied reports that she has reached a custody deal with the family over Michael's two eldest children.

In an open letter to the New York Post, attorney Eric George said: "Ms Rowe has not and will not give up her parental rights. No determination has been reached concerning custody or visitation."