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September 3, 2009

Final Goodbyes Set for Pop Icon at Legendary Cemetery
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Michael Jackson will be placed in mausoleum at Forest Lawn Memorial Park
during private late-afternoon service 
Michael Jackson (2005 File)Pop star Michael Jackson will be laid to rest
Thursday at a Los Angeles-area cemetery well known as the final resting
place for scores of celebrities. Jackson's gold-plated coffin will be
placed in a mausoleum at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park during a private
evening service (7:00 pm local time, 0200 universal). He will be
interred next to such legendary Hollywood movie stars as Jean Harlow,
Clark Gable and Carole Lombard. A judge on Wednesday approved a request
by Jackson's mother, Katherine, for the singer's estate to cover the
cost of the funeral. An attorney for the estate described the expenses
as "extraordinary," but said Jackson was not an ordinary person. The pop
icon died on June 25 in Los Angeles at the age of 50. A star-studded
public memorial was held at the city's Staples Center arena nearly two
weeks later. His death has been ruled a homicide. The Los Angeles
medical examiner says the singer died from a lethal combination of drugs
that included the powerful anesthetic propofol. The singer's personal
doctor, Dr. Conrad Murray, has said he gave the pop star propofol and
other medications in the hours before he died to help him sleep. Murray
could face involuntary manslaughter charges as a result of the coroner's
report. 

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.


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