Michael Jackson to be buried without his brain

Michael Jackson is to be buried without his brain, according to the Los Angeles Coroner's Office.

Following an autopsy at the Los Angeles Coroner's Office, the singer's brain has been detained for neurological tests, including ones to see what drugs he had taken.

Rather than postpone the funeral, the Jackson family has instead decided to bury him without it.

The tests, which cannot be done until the brain has sufficiently hardened, are expected to show up any past drug or alcohol abuse, or overdoses the star may have suffered.

A source at the coroner's office says that removing the brain was "the only way to carry out the tests."

"The tissue has to be examined. I can't tell you how long that is going to take," he said.

The results could also play a crucial role in criminal investigations into the star's death.

Six of his doctors now face being quizzed by the DEA, and California Attorney General Jerry Brown has ordered an investigation into which pills were prescribed and dispensed to Jackson and by whom.

"If there has been abuses, charges will follow," a spokesman for Mr. Brown said.

The star's funeral is taking place this morning in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, Los Angeles County, after permission for burial at Neverland was refused.

The Jackson family had initially planned a funeral procession from the morgue to Jackson's 2800-acre Neverland ranch, where a viewing of the body would be open to the public.

Now, however, they are holding a closed-casket family ceremony followed by a public send-off at LA's Staples Center, during which Stevie Wonder will perform.

Fans have been allocated 11,000 tickets for the event, with an additional 6500 to watch it on giant screens at the nearby Nokia Theater.

The tickets were up for grabs over the weekend via an online lottery system. Demand was so great, the website crashed when half a million people tried to access it in the first 24 hours.

The televised concert that is planned is expected to attract a global audience of three million people.

Meanwhile, a custody battle for Jackson's children looks set to break out.

Jackson named singer Diana Ross as his children's guardian if his mother Katherine could not fulfill the role, but his ex-wife Debbie Rowe has said: "They are my flesh and blood. I'm going after my children."

Following her 1999 divorce from Jackson, Rowe signed away her parental rights in exchange for a $5.2 million payout.

But in the wake of child abuse claims against Jackson in 2003, she then made a bid to regain temporary custody.

In legal documents, Rowe claimed her attempts to contact the children were continually thwarted by Jackson.

Legal documents prove Rowe was impregnated by artificial insemination using donated sperm.

A 13-year-old video has emerged, during which Jackson is questioned about child-abuse allegations and insists he isn't gay.

The 1996 video, shows Jackson being grilled by a team of attorneys, as part of a lawsuit brought by Neverland staff for unfair dismissal.

During the footage, Jackson giggles nervously when asked about having sex with McCauley Culkin, and says the allegations are lies.

Jackson also denied bleaching his skin white, and maintained he was heterosexual: "I'm a black American and I'm proud of it. And I'm honored of it. The bleached skin rumor...is a rumor. I don't bleach my skin," he said. "And I'm not gay." Daily Mail
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