When I Was Young

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June 30, 2009 -- Updated 2317 GMT (0717 HKT)

By Alan Duke

CNN

Story Highlights

• Public service for Michael Jackson to be held Friday at Neverland
  
• Jackson's hometown of Gary, Indiana, hoping to be burial site
  
• Gary will host a memorial service July 10
  

Michael Jackson, shown at a rehearsal June 23 -- one of his last -- was to perform in London in July.

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Michael Jackson's body will be taken to his Neverland Ranch on Thursday morning for a public viewing Friday, a law enforcement source said Tuesday.

A private memorial service is scheduled for Sunday at Neverland.

Also, a Jackson will written in 2002 has been found, according to family lawyer Londell McMillan.

Planning is under way for a 30-car motorcade carrying Jackson's remains to leave the Los Angeles area at 10 a.m. for Santa Barbara County, California, on Thursday, a source said.

Another state law enforcement source said the California Highway Patrol had not been formally requested to escort the motorcade.

The question of where Jackson will be buried remains unanswered.

The singer's hometown of Gary, Indiana, is asking the family to send him there, according to the mayor's spokeswoman.

Gary Mayor Rudy Clay has been in contact with the Jackson family, hoping to make that happen, spokeswoman Lalosa Burns said Tuesday.

Clay told Chicago radio station WGN that he expects that Jackson's body will, at the least, be taken to Gary for a memorial service he is planning next week.

"I believe that his body will lie in state in Gary, Indiana," Clay said Tuesday. "Now, it may not happen, but I believe it will."

The Jackson memorial service is set for July 10 at U.S. Steel Works ballpark in Gary, Burns said.

It would be "a memorial that's fit for the prince of peace and a memorial that's fit for Gary, Indiana's favorite son, the greatest entertainer that ever lived," Clay said.

A burial site for the singer could be near a proposed Jackson family museum and a performing arts center, Burns said.

"The mayor had spoken with a contact of the Jackson family and expressed our interest in having that to be a part of the history of this great family," Burns said. "We have not received confirmation on that."

Jackson's father, Joe, visited the city last year and talked with Clay about a Jackson museum, Burns said.

Michael Jackson purchased the Neverland Ranch, north of Santa Barbara, in 1987 and filled it with animals and amusement rides. He ran into financial problems with the property but retained a stake in it at the time of his death June 25.

The ranch is named for the fictional world in J.M. Barrie's "Peter Pan."

The newly discovered will may be one of several, lawyer McMillan said.

"We need a certain amount of time to look at that," he said of whether other wills exist. "I don't personally know, but it's possible."

Until now, the Jackson family has said it has not seen a will for the singer.

Without a legal will, the division of his estate would be decided in court.

The 2002 will surfaced Monday after a Los Angeles judge gave the singer's mother, Katherine Jackson, temporary control of her son's "tangible personal property."

The pop icon's three children -- ages 7, 11 and 12 -- were also placed under the temporary guardianship of Katherine Jackson.

McMillan said he has seen the will but would not disclose its details.

"There is a process called 'probating the will' that will validate any will in due course," he said.

Probate is the legal process to prove whether a will is authentic and valid. The process is used to pass on items in the will from the deceased to the beneficiaries.

The biological mother of Jackson's two oldest children, Debbie Rowe, will be invited to a hearing Monday in which the judge will consider who should have custody of them. She has not publicly indicated whether she will challenge the Jacksons for custody.

From CNN.com; see the source article here.

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Updated 1 hour, 12 minutes ago

Story Highlights

• NEW: Judge approves guardianship request from Michael Jackson's mother
  
• NEW: Family filed a petition asking that Katherine Jackson handle estate
  
• Jackson has three children: Michael Jr., Paris and Prince Michael II
  
• Autopsy performed Friday; toxicology results will exonerate physician, says attorney
  

From left: Prince Michael Jackson II, Paris-Michael Katherine Jackson and Michael Joseph Jackson Jr.

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- A Los Angeles judge granted temporary guardianship of Michael Jackson's three children to Jackson's mother, a court official said.

Judge Mitchell Beckloff issued the order Monday morning, soon after Katherine Jackson filed a petition in Los Angeles Probate Court seeking legal guardianship of the children.

The family also filed a petition asking that Katherine Jackson be named administrator of Michael Jackson's estate and that the children be named his sole beneficiaries.

The filing did not estimate Jackson's estate.

"Given the nature and extent of the descendant's assets, it would be difficult if not impossible to quantify their value at this time, so the calculation of bond would be speculative at best," the petition said.

The guardianship petition said the grandmother should be named guardian because "the minors have no relationship with their biological mother" and they are "currently residing with paternal grandmother."

"They have a long established relationship with paternal grandmother and are comfortable in their care," the petition said.

The two oldest children -- Michael Joseph Jackson Jr., 12, and Paris-Michael Katherine Jackson, 11 -- were born to Debbie Rowe, who was briefly married to the singer.

Rowe gave up parental rights to Jackson in 2001, but she changed her mind more than two years later and sought temporary custody of the children. A California appeals court later ruled her rights were improperly terminated, opening the door to a possible custody battle.

There has been no public indication that Rowe is planning to challenge the grandparents for custody of the two children.

The mother of the third child, 7-year-old Prince Michael Jackson II, was never publicly identified. The guardianship petition listed the mother as "none."

Jackson died Thursday afternoon. An autopsy was performed on the entertainer Friday.

Toxicology reports from his body will disprove rumors that the singer's personal physician injected him with powerful painkillers, the attorney for Dr. Conrad Murray said Monday.

"Dr. Murray never prescribed Demerol, never administered Demerol, never saw him -- Michael Jackson -- take Demerol," attorney Edward Chernoff told CNN's "American Morning."

"And that goes as well for OxyContin. I think those are just rumors. When toxicology comes back ... that's going to be all cleared up," Chernoff said.

Murray met voluntarily for several hours with detectives over the weekend, the Los Angeles Police Department said late Saturday.

"We've let them know we're available to them any time they need us, any questions they have," Chernoff said. "We have told them that the medical examiner is free to call us. We'll be available to them. If they have any questions once toxicology comes out. I expect they will have some questions, and we'll be ready to answer them."

Murray found Jackson not breathing in bed when he entered the 50-year-old singer's estate on Thursday, Chernoff said. Jackson did have a slight pulse when Murray found him and tried to resuscitate the singer as he awaited paramedics, a representative with Chernoff's Houston, Texas, law firm said Sunday.

Jackson was rushed to a Los Angeles medical center, where he was pronounced dead.

An autopsy performed by a county medical examiner was inconclusive, although officials said there were no indications of external trauma or foul play. The Los Angeles County coroner's office has said toxicology results are needed before a cause of death can be determined. That could take four to six weeks.

Detectives impounded Murray's car, which was parked at the singer's rented home. Authorities said the vehicle may contain evidence related to Jackson's death, possibly prescription medications. Police have released no information on what they may have found.

Chernoff said there was nothing in Jackson's medical history that Murray was aware of "that would lead him to believe he would go into sudden cardiac arrest or respiratory failure."

"There was no red flag available to Dr. Murray, which led him to believe he would have died the way he did," Chernoff said. "It's still a mystery how he died to Dr. Murray.

"It was Dr. Murray ... as you know, that requested that the family ask for an autopsy, because he needed to know as well as his physician what caused Michael Jackson to stop breathing."

From CNN.com; see the source article here.

Posted: 29 June 2009 1713 hrs

Fans of Michael Jackson leave notes and candles outside the Jackson family's home.

LOS ANGELES: The family of Michael Jackson went on the offensive, vowing to fight for control of the superstar's children and estate, and once again voicing concerns over the circumstances of his death.

After days of uncoordinated statements to media by family advisors and lawyers, the Jacksons announced they had appointed attorney Londell McMillan to be the sole individual authorised to speak on their behalf.

McMillan swiftly told CNN the Jacksons are seeking to secure custody of the late King of Pop's three children and revealed that the family had not yet been granted access to the pop icon's will.

McMillan also said the family was "closely watching" the progress of the official investigation into Jackson's death. The family has already hired a private pathologist to carry out a second autopsy.

Asked about the fate of Jackson's three children – born to two different mothers – McMillan said their grandmother Katherine would seek custody, raising the possibility of a bitter legal battle.

"She will seek custody of the children. She loves them dearly," McMillan told CNN. Katherine Jackson has been looking after the children since the sudden death of their superstar father on Thursday at the age of 50.

"They're in a loving environment. She's a great grandma. I couldn't think of anyone better for these children than a grandma like Miss Katherine Jackson and the loving support of family of the Jacksons."

McMillan also revealed the family had not yet seen Jackson's will, and was uncertain if one existed. If Jackson had not left a will, his assets would go to his next of kin under California law, McMillan said.

"If there's no will then under the state of California it goes to the next of kin, that's an adult administering and overseeing for the best interests of the children ...," McMillan said.

The family patriarch Joe Jackson, meanwhile, said he remained concerned about details of his son's death, as the doctor believed to be the last person to see him alive protested his innocence.

The family has spoken of the "unanswered questions" concerning the role of doctor Conrad Murray in the final hours of Michael Jackson's life. Lawyers for Murray insist he has been cleared of wrongdoing.

"I have a lot of concerns. I can't get into that, but I don't like what happened," Jackson, 79, said on the sidelines of the Black Entertainment Television (BET) Awards in Los Angeles.

Police conducted a second interview with Murray on Saturday, but cleared him of any criminal wrongdoing, the physician's lawyers said.

The 51-year-old has faced intense speculation amid reports he injected Jackson with the potent prescription painkiller Demerol just before he died.

However, a lawyer for Murray said Sunday that reports of an injection were "absolutely false", the first time the allegation has been denied.

"There was no Demerol. No OxyContin," Edward Chernoff, an attorney for Murray was quoted as saying by the Los Angeles Times, adding that Murray had discovered Jackson unconscious in the bedroom of his home.

"(Murray) was the one who suggested the autopsy to the family while they were still in the hospital. He didn't understand why Michael Jackson had died," Chernoff was quoted as saying.

Meanwhile, Jackson's family have yet to finalise funeral plans and were due to meet activist Reverend Al Sharpton on Monday to discuss plans for a tribute.

Sharpton was cited in reports as saying Jackson's family was considering a series of simultaneous memorials around the world to reflect the huge appeal of the star who sold more than 750 million albums during a four-decade career.

"Reverend Sharpton will discuss with the family ideas that people from around the world have sent him about how they would like to memorialise Michael Jackson," a spokeswoman for Sharpton said.

However, an unofficial memorial took place at Los Angeles's famous Shrine Auditorium, where the cream of the African-American music, acting and sporting worlds gathered for the BET Awards.

A galaxy of stars paid fulsome tribute to Jackson as they walked the red carpet, hailing his role as a star who had helped break racial barriers.

"You know, my man is the greatest," hip-hop mogul Sean "Diddy Combs" told CNN. "He's one of the reasons why Barack Obama's president... He started the change in the world about how African-Americans are perceived."

"We miss him and we love him and we just feel devastated," said soul singer Alicia Keys, urging people to remember Jackson in a "respectful, positive way".

Thousands of Jackson devotees continued to gather outside the singer's star on the walk of fame as well as the Jackson family's home in Encino, where makeshift shrines of flowers and cards have grown rapidly since Thursday.

Jackson's death has sent fans scrambling to stock up on his music across the world. In Britain, a compilation album of the star's greatest hits rocketed to the top of the charts on Sunday.

- AFP/so

From ChannelNewsAsia.com; see the source article here.

Posted: 27 June 2009 0503 hrs

Michael Jackson with one of his children, with a cloth over draped his head, in Berlin in 2002

LOS ANGELES - The fate of Michael Jackson's three children remained unclear Friday as reports raised the possibility of a custody challenge from the biological mother of the late star's eldest offspring.

The three children -- Prince Michael, 12, Paris, 11, and Prince Michael II, 7, -- were reported to be in the care of Jackson's mother Katherine at the family estate in Los Angeles as the musical clan mourned the star's death.

Jackson's former wife of three years Debbie Rowe is the mother of the two eldest children, while the third was born in 2002 to a surrogate whose identity has never been made public.

There were conflicting reports over whether Rowe, who separated from Jackson in October 1999, had already signed away her parental rights.

TMZ.com website cited a lawyer familiar with the case as saying that Rowe had never had her parental rights legally terminated, which could clear the way for her to gain custody and win a multi-million-dollar settlement.

However Jackson family lawyer Brian Oxman was quoted as saying that the children would likely be looked after by Katherine Jackson.

"Probably Mrs Jackson will take care of them, she loves them dearly," Oxman told the celebrity website Radaronline.

Gloria Allred, a celebrity lawyer told CNN she was "very concerned" about Jackson's children. "What will happen to them?" she said. "If the mother relinquished parental rights then who's to have custody?"

Scott Altman, a professor at the University of Southern California and an expert in family law, said Rowe's custody claim could hinge on what had been agreed with Jackson at an earlier hearing.

"She signed an agreement purporting to give up her parental rights but then more recently she went to court to seek custody and succeeded having that agreement declared invalid," Altman said.

"Ultimately they settled that legal disagreement, and she did not pursue a final custody decree. She could come forward and seek custody as a legal parent to the children."

If Rowe's custody claims were challenged by Jackson's family and the case went to trial, much would depend on details of the children's relationship with Rowe that remained opaque, Altman said.

"There are a lot of factual details we just don't know about -- how much contact has she (Rowe) actually had with these children over the years? What is the nature of their relationship at a social level? Are the children close to her on a psychological level?

"The answers to those questions may make it more or less difficult for her to get custody."

In the end, the children's own preferences could decide the issue, he said.

"My assumption is that if this gets to trial a great deal is going to turn on expert psychological testimony about the children's relationship with the various caretakers involved and the judge's impression of that and potentially the children's own preferences," Altman said.

Meanwhile, even less was known about the surrogate mother of Jackson's youngest child, Prince Michael II, or "Blanket," who was famously dangled from a fourth floor window in Berlin by his late father in 2002.

"I don't think they know much about who she is and whether she'll come forward," Altman said.

"I gather she was a surrogate but we don't know anything about the legal arrangements or whether she's had any contact with the child."

- AFP /ls

From ChannelNewsAsia.com; see the source article here.