Michael Jackson's father files lawsuit against star's doctor

Published on Saturday 26 June 2010 20:07

ON THE day Michael Jackson's fans paid their respects with tears, tributes, songs and dance, Jackson's father filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the doctor charged with giving his son a lethal dose of drugs.

Joe Jackson attended a court in LA, while thousands of people were filing through the gates of a nearby cemetery to mourn the man they call the King of Pop.

"The King of Pop, Michael Jackson, Gone Too Soon," proclaimed a 100ft banner spread out near the entrance to Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale to mark the first anniversary of Jackson's death on Friday.

"He's been my idol all my life since I can remember. I feel like I haven't had closure," said one fan, Erick Domingue.

Several of Jackson's relatives also visited the cemetery, going to its mausoleum, where Jackson's body is entombed and which is off-limits to the public. His brother Tito shook hands with fans as he arrived, and another brother, Jermaine, rolled down a window and waved as the family left in a fleet of luxury vehicles. As they departed, fans released a flock of white doves.

"It was a beautiful sight," said one of the mourners, Courtland Llauger.

In Jackson's hometown of Gary, Indiana, hundreds cheered as the entertainer's mother, Katherine Jackson, unveiled a memorial to her son in the front yard of the modest home where he grew up.

Jackson died on 25 June, 2009, aged 50, just before he was to begin a comeback tour.

Dr Conrad Murray has pleaded not guilty to felony involuntary manslaughter. Authorities say Murray provided the singer with a mix of sedatives – including the powerful anaesthetic propofol – that killed him.