Jackson's mom gets control of the kids

While the tributes to Michael Jackson keep flowing in, his family moved quickly to take control of his complicated personal and financial affairs yesterday.

And there were new revelations about his death, with a lawyer saying it took up to half an hour for paramedics to be called to Jackson's home after he was found stricken in his bedroom.

Jackson's mother, Katherine, won temporary custody yesterday of Michael's three children, aged 7 to 12.

The children – Michael Joseph Jackson Jr. (known as Prince Michael), Paris Michael Katherine Jackson and Prince Michael II – are living at the Jackson family compound in L.A.'s San Fernando Valley.

The Jacksons say they have not heard from Debbie Rowe, mother of the two older children, since their son's death.



A judge also allowed Katherine Jackson, 79, to take control of personal property of Michael's now in the hands of an unnamed third party but not any of the money in Jackson's estate.

Hearings have been scheduled for July 6 and Aug. 3 to consider Katherine Jackson's requests to be appointed the children's permanent guardian and to take charge of Jackson's estate.

Meanwhile, information about the delay in calling paramedics to Jackson's home came from Matt Alford, a partner in the law firm representing Dr. Conrad Murray, the physician who found Jackson with a faint pulse and performed CPR.

Alford said Murray was unfamiliar with his surroundings and that delayed the call. "He didn't know where he was, didn't know the physical address. There was no land line, no phone in Jackson's room that would have allowed him to call. It was all happening so fast."

Alford said he doesn't know how long Murray performed CPR on the singer before rushing downstairs and asking Jackson's chef to call 911. A security guard made the call and it took three minutes after that for paramedics to arrive, fire department officials have said.

They spent 42 minutes working with Murray on Jackson before transporting the 50-year-old pop icon to UCLA Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

In other developments yesterday, officials with the Los Angeles County coroner's office returned to the mansion Jackson was renting when he died and left with two large plastic bags of evidence.

Assistant chief coroner Ed Winter said the bags contained medication but declined to elaborate.

The coroner's office performed an autopsy on Jackson's body on Friday but deferred a decision on the cause of death, citing the need for further tests. A second, private autopsy was being performed Monday, according to Jackson's father, Joe.

Winter said the investigation will possibly continue for another four or five weeks, "with extensive testing."



There have been no details announced regarding Jackson's funeral, but many believe it could one of the largest celebrity memorial services ever. According to Britain's Daily Mail, the family is contemplating a private burial with a public remembrance, but some speculate more than a million people might flock to L.A. for the ceremony.

One senior Los Angeles police officer told the paper: "We are preparing for an event of historic proportions. We will be cooperating closely with the family once they have decided where to hold the funeral."

Complicating matters is that Jackson desired to be buried on his Neverland estate, which Joe Jackson has said won't happen.

It's expected there will be a battle over Jackson's property more convoluted than recent high-profile squabbles over the estates of singer James Brown and ex-Playboy playmate Anna Nicole Smith.

Complicating matters is that few, if any, people know all the details of the reclusive entertainer's financial affairs. His mother's filing, for example, declares that Jackson died "intestate," or without a will.

But celebrity website TMZ.com says that Jackson's lawyer has a copy of the pop singer's will and a source told the Associated Press last Friday that there is a will, which would take precedence in court.