More tests after Jackson autopsy.

Nothing was as expected in Michael Jackson's life, so I suppose there should be no great surprise that his death has proven to be equally complex.

From the coroner's office:

He said a three-hour autopsy had been held but the cause of death had been deferred.

"It means that the medical examiner ordered additional testing such as toxicology and other studies," Mr Harvey said.

The tests would take between four to six weeks, at which point he anticipated being able to close the case, he said.

Six weeks to establish the cause of death seems like an awful long time. Although already there are rumours that it was his use of painkillers which contributed to his early demise:

Speculation was mounting that the star's death may be linked to his longstanding use of painkillers. Family friends have confirmed he was taking drugs to help him deal with the stress of preparing for his series of London concerts.

I have never been what you could call a Michael Jackson fan, although - like everyone else on the planet - his work has become part of the background music of my life. It's simply always been there. And I have always been aware of what he was doing and what was going on in that often tragic life of his.

But the outpouring of grief that his death has produced has been startling:

There was a small plastic sailing boat lying on the pavement of Hollywood Boulevard today. In it, a little plastic boy was sitting dressed in turquoise with a pointed hat. A note attached to the boat read: "Michael, here's Peter Pan to take you to Neverland."

The toy was at the centre of an impromptu memorial that had formed overnight at the spot of Michael Jackson's celebrity star on the Hollywood walk of fame. It was encircled by an extraordinary scrum that managed to combine quiet public devotion with the media frenzy busily feeding off it. A fitting tribute to Jackson's life, perhaps, which also managed to combine both elements in gargantuan proportions.

I couldn't help but feel last night, as I watched this incredible outpouring of emotion, that there was something actually rather fitting about the fact that this Peter Pan like figure was taken before his time.

Now he remains frozen in our memories. He will not age. And there's a part of me that thinks he would rather like that.

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Tags: Michael Jackson