Pop icon Michael Jackson will not be buried at his former home of Neverland, his family have claimed.
Michael Jackson bought the Neverland ranch in 1987. A vast ranch, it allowed the increasingly reclusive star to shut himself off from the outside world as never before. Surrounding himself with childhood ephemera the singer seemed eager to be forever young.
Of course, that plan would result in feverish speculation over what went on beyond the Neverland gates. A series of child abuse cases dogged the singer, although only one went to trial.
Acquitted before a jury, Michael Jackson did not set foot in Neverland again. The gates of the mansion remained locked, with the singer moving to a house in Los Angeles in an attempt to kick start his career.
Besieged by money problems, the singer announced an auction of some of his most personal belongings. Amongst the limos and other bizarre items stood the Neverland gates – the entrance to his beloved home.
After announcing the O2 Arena residency the singer halted the auction immediately. However following his death speculation mounted amongst fans that Michael Jackson would be buried in Neverland.
Amid comparisons to Elvis Presley’s ‘Graceland’ home it was widely felt by fans that burying Jackson at his beloved ranch would create a suitable memorial to the singer. However the icon sold a stake in the ranch last year, and it is not known how it will be divided in his will.
Speaking to press, the singer’s father Joseph Jackson denied that he is to be buried at Neverland. Asked by press, the family patriarch said “that’s not true”.
He also says that Michael Jackson’s children are happy and are in the company of other kids about their own age.
Joseph Jackson was addressing the media outside of his family’s compound in the San Fernando Valley in California, and claimed his family would wait for the results of a second autopsy before going ahead with a memorial service.
