What's Holding Up Funeral of Late Celeb Rehabber/Alice in Chains Rocker Mike Starr?

HIs remains to be kept in storage until coroner can determine a cause of his sudden death

By Josh Grossberg Mar 15, 2011 5:55 PMTags
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Mike Starr's family will have to wait a little while longer before they can lay the onetime Alice in Chains bassist to rest.

While an announcement on Starr's official site says a public memorial service will proceed as planned, his funeral may not happen for at least a couple of more weeks.

So what's with the delay?

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The Utah medical examiner is not yet releasing the remains of the 44-year-old grunge rocker, apparently to conduct more tests into its probe of Starr's sudden death last Tuesday at his Salt Lake City home. While there has been speculation that an overdose is responsible, the cause of death has not yet been determined.

A spokeswoman for the Utah State Office of the Medical Examiner confirmed to E! News that the department is handling the musician's case but, per privacy laws, she could not confirm when the tests will take place or when his body will be released.

Because of that, his rep tells E! News that "the funeral is on indefinite hold."

Starr's public sendoff is still slated to take place in Seattle on Sunday  at 4 p.m. at the International Fountain at the Seattle Center. No word whether any of his former bandmates will attend.

Starr was a founding member of Alice in Chains but was replaced in 1993 because of his drug problem. He went public with his addiction in 2009 during a stint on the third season of Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew, but never reunited with Jerry Cantrell and company, who continue to tour.

"Please remember Mike for the talented musician and the person that he was," reads a statement on his site. "Thank you for your comments and thoughts and prayers for his family."