Press Trust of India / Los Angeles Jul 11, 2009, 11:50 IST
'King of Pop' Michael Jackson's body was taken from his memorial service via a special tunnel to ensure fans couldn't mob the casket, according to a news report.
Security guards reportedly took the 50-year-old pop icon's casket through the hidden walkway to ensure it wasn't mobbed by his fans following the memorial service on Tuesday (July 7), E online reported.
A source told the publication that after the service, security moved the golden casket through an underground tunnel that connects the Staples Center to the Nokia Theatre.
The tunnel — typically used by maintenance and food service workers and occasionally talent — runs beneath Chick Hearn Court.
Jackson's sisters La Toya, Rebbie and Janet also used the tunnel to get from the Staples Center to the Nokia Theatre.
The casket carrying the body of the 'Thriller' hitmaker — who died after suffering a suspected cardiac arrest on June 25 — was then loaded into a waiting van and taken to an undisclosed location.
It has been also revealed that the evening before the memorial service, Jackson's family viewed his body at Forest Lawn cemetery in the Hollywood Hills, although his parents Joe and Katherine Jackson were not in attendance.
"He looked like himself. He looked like he just was laying there sleeping...peaceful," Jackson's cousin David Fossett said.
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