LOS ANGELES — Michael Jackson’s friends and family will gather for the pop icon’s private funeral on Tuesday.
According to Access Hollywood, the service will be held in the morning, prior to the public memorial taking place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles that was announced Thursday.
While few details about the private service have been disclosed, Access reports that a special suit is being designed for Jackson by his longtime collaborators, Dennis Tompkins and Michael Bush. Prior to Jackson’s death, the costume designers were working on outfitting his comeback concert run in London.
One person not planning to attend the service is Jackson’s personal physician, Dr. Conray Murray. The doctor was with Jackson at the time of his death and his treatment of the fallen pop star has been questioned throughout the media. With final test results of Jackson’s autopsy still pending, a spokesperson for Murray tells People that the high-profile doctor will remain “completely off the radar until the toxicology results are revealed.”
“He will be mourning in private because he feels his presence would remind people of Michael Jackson’s death, and the doctor would prefer that people remember his friend as he was in life,” said the rep.
There has been much debate over where Jackson will be laid to rest. The singer’s family has expressed a desire to bury the legendary King of Pop at his Neverland Ranch, however that would require a residential exemption necessary for a burial on private property.
Should the Neverland Ranch option fall through, most believe that Jackson will be buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the Hollywood Hills.
Jackson died on June 25 at the age of 50 from an apparent cardiac arrest.
