Michael Jackson predicted he would be murdered in handwritten notes he gave to a friend weeks before his death

Michael Jackson predicted he would be murdered in handwritten notes he gave to a friend weeks before his death of a drugs overdose in 2009.

The letters will bolster the belief of many, including Jackson's daughter Paris and sister La Toya, that the King of Pop was unlawfully killed.

In the 13 messages he declared: 'They are trying to murder me' and 'I am scared about my life.'

Their existence has been revealed for the first time by German businessman Michael Jacobshagen, 34 – who maintained a two-decade-long friendship with the star – in an interview with broadcaster Daphne Barak for Australian TV show Sunday Night.

Jacobshagen tells Barak how a tearful Jackson called him from a Las Vegas hideaway. The star was preparing for a tour at London's O2 but begged his friend to fly from Germany to the US to be with him.

'He was in emotional meltdown saying, 'They are going to murder me,' ' Jacobshagen recalled. After he flew out and spent three days with the troubled star, Jackson handed Jacobshagen the notes. Jacobshagen said that the notes kept telling him 'they' were trying to murder Jackson.

The singer never clarified who 'they' were but some notes refer to concert promoters AEG, which was organising concerts in London that he was shortly due to perform.

One said: 'AEG. Make so much pressure to me… I'm scared about my life.'

The Thriller singer was found dead just weeks later.

The official cause of death was an overdose of the sedative propofol. His personal doctor Conrad Murray served two years of a four-year jail sentence after being found guilty of involuntary manslaughter for administering a lethal dose of the drug.

Jackson's daughter Paris, 19, recently claimed her father was murdered

But Jacobshagen claims Jackson had been using propofol for more than a decade to treat his insomnia.

He says he has gone public with the notes now to support Jackson's daughter Paris, 19, who recently claimed her father was murdered. The interview will be broadcast next month in Australia, the US and other markets to coincide with the anniversary's of the star's death.