Whereabouts of Jackson's Body Remain Unclear
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
More than a month after Michael Jackson’s sudden death, the whereabouts of his body remain unclear.
The King of Pop's gold-plated, rose-covered casket was last seen at his public memorial service on July 7 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. After the service, it was driven away to parts unknown.
Reports have placed Jackson’s body in an above-ground white marble crypt that is owned by Motown Records founder Berry Gordy at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Hollywood Hills. Gordy reportedly offered Jackson’s family the use of the crypt until they finalize plans on where to bury the entertainer’s body.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
But a spokeswoman for Gordy denied those reports.
LiveShots: Click here for the latest on the Jackson investigation.
“I can assure you it is absolutely incorrect,” she told the New York Daily News. “[Michael Jackson’s body] is not there.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
The spokeswoman declined to confirm whether Gordy’s family even has a private crypt at the sprawling, celebrity-filled cemetery.
William Martin, a spokesman for Forest Lawn, declined to comment on Tuesday.
“Out of respect for the family’s privacy, we don’t comment on any services for our families,” Martin told FOXNews.com.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
According to Jackson’s death certificate, the body’s temporary resting place is Forest Lawn, where the Jackson family held a private memorial service earlier this month.
Tito Jackson, Michael’s brother, told ET on Monday that the superstar’s body was there.
“He’s at Forest Lawn,” Tito Jackson said backstage at Jamaica’s 17th annual Reggae Sumfest, where he performed and accepted a lifetime achievement award on behalf of his brother.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
Jackson's autopsy results were expected to be released this week, but Assistant Chief Coronor Ed Winter said Wednesday the announcement will probably not come until next week.
Winter did not discuss reasons for the delay, saying only that his office needed to "finish up a bunch of stuff."
Days after Jackson’s death on June 25, the arrival of construction crews and tour buses at Neverland Ranch fueled rumors that Jackson’s family planned to bury his casket there and make it a memorial similar to Graceland, the Memphis, Tenn., estate of Elvis Presley.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
Owen Blicksilver, a spokesman for Colony Capital, which purchased an estimated $24 million outstanding loan on Neverland in May 2008, told FOXNews.com on July 2 that "no decisions have been made" about the future of the property.
In 1987, Jackson purchased the property, named Sycamore Valley Ranch at the time, for a reported $19.5 million. He renamed it Neverland Ranch, after the fictional land of Peter Pan. The sprawling estate once featured amusement-park rides, a zoo and two independent railway lines. It reportedly cost up to $10 million a year to maintain.
It's unclear whether Jackson can be buried at the ranch. According to The Associated Press, California's health and safety code makes interring uncremated remains outside of a cemetery a misdemeanor. Cremated remains, meanwhile, can be kept only in a home or private mausoleum outside a cemetery.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
Colony Capital CEO Thomas Barrack called Neverland a "mythical sanctuary to Michael" shortly after the entertainer's death, and many industry insiders feel Jackson's legacy would draw huge crowds to the property, perhaps eclipsing the 600,000 tourists who flock to Graceland every year.