Los Angeles - A massive public memorial for Michael Jackson
is expected to take place in downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday, local
media reported Thursday.
The decision was made after Jackson family members met with
authorities and the Los Angeles Police Department was preparing a
huge deployment to deal with the influx of fans, Los Angeles
television station KTLA reported.
Plans to hold the memorial at Jackson's home in Neverland had to
be cancelled because of the difficulties expected in dealing with
thousands of fans in the remote region. But Jackson's brother
Jermaine told the Today Show Thursday that the family still hoped to
make the fantasy-like refuge his final resting place once permits
were obtained.
Meanwhile, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) joined the
investigation into Jackson's death following evidence that the singer
had desperately sought the powerful sedative Diprivan days before his
death from cardiac arrest on June 25. The drug is used in hospitals
as an anaesthetic.
Jermaine said the family has been deeply hurt by speculation that
an overdose of prescription drugs may have caused Jackson's death.
'For people to come forward to say things they don't have the facts
(to back up) is very damaging for the family, to me, to us. Because
we don't know,' he said in the interview, conducted at Neverland.
USA
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