Michael Jackson death bed to go under hammer

LOS ANGELES - Michael Jackson's death bed will go under the hammer along with other personal items from the LA mansion where he died, the auctioneer behind the sale said Thursday. The sell-off, which comes after doctor Conrad Murray was convicted this week over Jackson's 2009 death, also includes a kitchen chalkboard note by one of his children, reading "I (heart) Daddy!" Auction house chief Darren Julien said he preferred not to highlight the morbid aspect of the sale, which involves the contents of the mansion in the plush Holmby Hills area of LA where Jackson died on June 25, 2009. "It includes all the items that surrounded him and his family in the last part of his life," he told AFP, adding: "It's the first time that items like this, fine decorative art, have been sold that's associated with him." As well as the bed -- crime scene photos of which were shown during Murray's six-week trial, complete with medical paraphernalia -- the sale will also include a mirror from Jackson's private bathroom. On the mirror, the star had written "March, April" and then "May -- Full on" -- an apparent reference to the grueling rehearsals he was attending in early 2009 for a series of comeback concerts in London. From the kitchen there is the chalkboard note saying "I (heart) daddy," and one saying "Hugs are for free," while auctioneers recently found a candle that Jackson's son Prince carved his name into. A bench from the shower in Jackson's private bathroom has stick figures etched into it. "We know this from where we cleared out Neverland, that Michael would draw and etch into furniture often," said Julien, referring to when Jackson left his infamous ranch in 2004 amid child molestations charges. Murray was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter on Monday for giving Jackson an overdose of anesthetic propofol at the LA mansion, where the star was living while preparing for the ill-fated London shows. Julien said he did not want the sale to dwell on Jackson's death. "We ourselves are trying to stay away from the morbid side of it," he said, adding: "We would never do anything against the (Jackson) Estate or the family." A catalogue being prepared will be like a momento of the entire contents of the house. "People haven't seen the inside of the house, other than some of the crime scene photographs," he said. The auction of the contents of the mansion at 100 North Carolwood Drive is scheduled to take place on December 17. Items will go on display when the house is "recreated" at the celebrity auctioneer's gallery on December 12. — AFP