Michael Jackson’s children ‘hugged and wept’ as they viewed his body in open casket at private family ceremony

Michael Jackson’s family – including his three children – viewed the singer’s body in an open casket at his memorial ceremony.

David Fossett, 50, who attended the ceremony at Forest Lawn Cemetery, in Hollywood, said the singer had looked ‘peaceful’ at the Jehova’s Witness service.

‘He looked like he just was laying there sleeping.’

Mr Fossett, who grew up with Jackson and still lives in his hometown of Gary, Indiana, told the New York Post: ‘He looked like himself.

Now, as it awaits burial, the casket containing the pop star is temporarily being kept in a Forest Lawn crypt belonging to Motown founder Berry Gordy, according to reports.

Comforting one another: Paris, Prince Michael and Blanket viewed their father’s body in an open casket at a private ceremony at Forest Lawn Cemetery on Tuesday

About 70 relatives gathered at Forest Lawn, where Jackson’s cousin Wendell Hawkins conducted the service.

‘It was a sombre mood,’ Fossett said. ‘Even though he’s this big entertainer, he’s still our family.’

He revealed that Jackson’s three children, Paris, 11, Prince Michael I, 12, and Prince Michael II, 7, had cried during the service and had comforted each other.

‘They lost their father,’ he said. ‘They were sad.’

Fossett said he had recalled for the group when Jackson, family and friends descended on Disneyland for the grand opening of the Captain EO movie, which starred Jackson.

Yet to rest in peace: Jackson’s body is said to have been temporarily placed in a crypt at Forest Lawn belonging to Motown record founder Berry Gordy while the family decides on a final burial place

Michael Jackson, pictured rehearsing at the Staples Center in Los Angeles two days before his death, looked

He also talked about when Michael and the rest of Jackson 5 returned to Gary in 1972 to perform at a high school.

Fossett said Hawkins told mourners that ‘he was glad that [Michael's] life was connected with Jehovah’ and during the service John 3:16 from Bible was read, a passage that speaks of God being so loving he gave his only son to the world.

The whereabouts of Jackson’s body after it was taken in a gold-plated casket to a public memorial service at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles on Tuesday remained unclear until now.

But it is now believed to be in an above ground tomb Gordy bought for his family.

It’s understood his family are divided over Jackson’s final resting place.

Some, including his father Joseph and brother Jermaine, reportedly want Michael to be buried at the Neverland Ranch, which will likely be transformed into a Graceland-like tourist attraction.

However his mother Katherine and the other siblings are said to be pushing for a more private burial ground because Jackson had pledged to never to return to Neverland after sherriffs raided the property during an investigation into the child-molestation case against him.

source: dailymail