AP Photo/Lois Bernstein; Pool Photographer/Getty ImagesWe may not know exactly where Michael Jackson's body is, but we do know at least one place it isn't—Neverland Ranch.
Santa Barbara County Communications Director William Boyer tells E! News that the Jackson family has not applied for a permit to do anything at Neverland Ranch and has not been in contact with the county for any reason.
"We haven't had any formal contact with the Jackson family or their representatives about any aspect of a burial, funeral, memorial service, nothing regarding Mr. Jackson at Neverland Ranch," Boyer says. "The important thing to note here is there has been no contact with the county about any aspect of this. There's been no formal application, no request, nothing."
Should the family decide the famed grounds be the star's final resting place, the process to bury his remains there would be considerably lengthy and involved.
Kim Brown, spokesperson for the California Department of Consumer Affairs, tells E! News the Jackson family would first have to obtain a "certificate of authority" from the California Funeral and Cemetery Bureau in order to bury M.J. on private property. This certificate allows a private property to "operate as a cemetery."
So far, "one has not been issued," Brown says. If it were (or when it is), it would be public record.
To obtain a certificate of authority, one must submit a variety of documents, including a zoning permit in Santa Barbara, a deed to the property, a map of the proposed cemetery site and several other applications.
Brown tells E! News it's up to a family how long it takes to gather the necessary requirements.
"It really depends on going to the county to get those zoning permits," he says. "And then they have to get a cemetery manager, somebody appointed as that."
Once all the documents are set, Brown claims it takes the state about "seven to 30 days" to process.
"Once you get all of that and submit it to the state, then the state works as rapidly as possible to issue a certificate of authority," he explains. "It's not an overnight process."
Planner Kimberley McCarthy of the Santa Barbara Planning and Development Department also confirms to E! News, "At this time, I do not know of any application that has come in concerning Neverland Ranch."
An employee at the Los Angeles County Public Health office also tells E! News that an amendment to Jackson's death certificate has not been issued.
Reports say La Toya Jackson will be issuing a statement Friday about their plans for the burial. Her rep has not returned a request for comment.
As for turning the space into a type of Graceland-like attraction, Boyer claims the Santa Barbara Board of Supervisors would be the ones to approve it.
"Many of the people that live here in Santa Barbara County look upon Santa Barbara County as paradise," he says. "The quality of life here, protecting the environment, protecting public safety, are very important issues for the county. Something like that would definitely change the land use from the agricultural land use that it's currently zoned for, to a different type of zoning. That type of the use would be a policy decision that our Board of Supervisors would need to take care of."
While the King of Pop may not be buried (at least not right away) at his fabled abode, at least one of his most famous symbols will follow him to the grave: his sparkly glove.
Jeffrey Relf, a rep for Gaspar Gloves, confirms to E! News that they designed a Swarovski crystal white "kidskin" leather glove for the star's final outfit.
According to Relf, M.J.'s stylist of 24 years, Michael Bush, and sister La Toya were both very involved in dressing Michael and making him "look amazing and appropriate" when he was laid to rest.
"La Toya wanted to make sure Michael Bush styled Michael in the way that people know him as looking," he tells E! News. "Within that, they were going over what gloves, because you know Michael had tons of gloves and some of the gloves were custom, which is what my client Dorothy [who owns Gaspar Gloves] did for him. La Toya wanted the glove to look luxury enough, so Michael Bush looked through the archive and found the one that Dorothy designed for him 10 or 12 years ago, and that’s what they chose."
The Thriller had worn Gaspar Gloves for more than 20 years.
As for who would actually see Michael in his last outfit, that remains unknown. Relf says he doesn't know if there was an open casket, but says some people probably saw him since there was such an emphasis on making him look "appropriate" for the occasion.