Michael Jackson will be buried in a private ceremony on Aug. 29, the day the late King of Pop would have turned 51, his family said announced Tuesday.
The ceremony – more than two months after the singer s sudden death on June 25 – will take place in Los Angeles and will be limited to family and close friends, the family said in a statement.
Jackson will be laid to rest at Holly Terrace in the Grand Mausoleum at Glendale Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale (California) on Saturday, Aug. 29, 2009, at 10 am (1700 GMT).
Jackson s father, Joe Jackson, 80, told AFP on Monday of plans for the birthday burial, but said that he could not say which family members would be present.
However, Michael Jackson s brother Randy told TMZ.com that he and his brothers will be the pallbearers at the burial service.
I will be there … and, yes, the brothers will carry him from the hearse to the front of the mausoleum, Randy Jackson told the celebrity website on Tuesday.
Randy Jackson along with his brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine and Marlon were also the pallbearers at Michael Jackson s memorial service at the Staples Center in Los Angeles in July.
The announcement came as investigators said they were still weeks away from reaching a conclusion explaining how Jackson died, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Authorities are investigating whether prescription drugs played a role in Jackson s death, and have focused on the role played by his personal physician Conrad Murray.
Murray, 51, was present at the time Jackson died and reportedly admitted prescribing powerful anesthetics to his world-famous client. He is identified in court records as a suspect in a police manslaughter investigation, the Times reported.
In his first public statement since Jackson s death, Murray said in a video clip posted on the internet Tuesday that he told investigators the truth in the case.
I have done all I could do, I told the truth, and I have faith the truth will prevail, Murray says in the brief message posted on the celebrity website TMZ.com.
In the clip, Murray thanks his patients and friends who have sent such kind e-mails, letters and messages to let me know of your support and praise for me and my family.
Because of all that is going on, I m afraid to return phone calls or use my e-mail, Murray said.
Speaking earlier in Las Vegas, Joe Jackson said he plans to return to the city immediately after the burial service to attend a charity fundraiser in the famed Palms Casino Resort.
The event, Las Vegas Celebrates the Music of Michael Jackson, is to showcase Las Vegas Strip entertainers singing hits made famous by the pop icon.
Later that day, the Jackson family patriarch is to receive a celebrity star in his late son s honor from the Brenden Theatres, a cinema at the Palms frequented by Jackson and his children.
The theater also has planned a charity screening of the 1988 film Moonwalker, a feature film of Jackson concert footage and music video clips, with proceeds going to public school music education programs in Las Vegas.
