Drug dealer Jesse James Hollywood, whose crimes inspired the 2007 film Alpha Dog, starring Justin Timberlake, has been found guilty of murder.

The 29-year-old was convicted of kidnapping and killing teenager Nicholas Markowitz, 15, in August 2000 over debts owed by his half-brother.

Hollywood fled after the slaying and was captured in Brazil in 2005.

Four others have already been convicted in connection with the crime. Hollywood could now face the death penalty.

Markowitz was the brother of a small-time drug dealer Ben Markowitz. During trial, it emerged that he had been killed following a dispute between his brother and Hollywood over more than $2,000 worth of marijuana.

The 15-year-old was held hostage for several days, before being bound with duct tape, struck over the head with a shovel and shot several times.

Remorse

After four days deliberation, a Santa Barbara Superior Court jury also found Hollywood guilty of the special circumstance allegation of being a principal in a murder committed in the course of a kidnapping and being involved in a crime in which an assault weapon or machine gun was used.

The guilty conviction makes Hollywood eligible for the death penalty.

Taking the stand in his own defence, Hollywood said: “I just feel terrible about everything that happened. I feel terrible for the Markowitz family.

“I feel terrible that anyone would think I could do something like that.”

The crime was the inspiration for Alpha Dog, which starred Bruce Willis, Justin Timberlake, and Sharon Stone.

Timberlake’s character, Frankie Ballenbacher, was based on Jesse Rugge, one of Hollywood’s co-defendants, currently serving a life sentence.

Emile Hirsch played Johnny Truelove, a character based on Hollywood.

The sentencing phase of the trial begins on Monday.

Mystery surrounds the whereabouts of Michael Jackson’s body, a day after the public were given a final opportunity to say goodbye to the King of Pop.

His gold-plated coffin was removed from the Staples Centre in Los Angeles on Tuesday after a memorial event which saw stars and Jackson’s 11-year-old daughter pay emotional tributes to the late singer.

But his final resting place has not been announced by the family, with speculation ranging from a private cemetery in LA to the sprawling Neverland ranch in Santa Barbara.

A private memorial was held at Forest Lawn in Hollywood Hills prior to the public memorial, but it is not thought that Jackson will be buried among the other Hollywood stars interred at the graveyard.

Likewise there is doubt over whether the family will be allowed to bury the Thriller singer at Neverland, his former home.

On Tuesday, followers of the singer were given the opportunity to celebrate his life and music during a star-studded public memorial.

The event, billed as the biggest celebrity send-off in history, ran at least 30 minutes longer than scheduled.

The emotional eulogies were capped by Jackson’s daughter Paris, who outshone the stars with a tearful tribute to the “best father you could ever imagine”. The 11-year-old, comforted by the Jackson family, sobbed as she made her public debut in front of 17,000 fans in Los Angeles - with an estimated billion more tuning in worldwide.

A man scaled Antony Gormley’s Plinth art project in London’s Trafalgar Square, minutes before the event was due to begin.

Anti-smoking protester Stuart Holmes took a running jump on to the plinth, but agreed to come down when the first participant was raised into place.

London Mayor Boris Johnson said during his opening speech: “This is brilliant, this is what it’s all about.”

A new volunteer will take to the plinth every hour for the next 100 days.

More than 14,500 people have so far applied to stand on top of the platform, 22ft (6.7m) above Trafalgar Square.

We are reviewing security in light of what happened
Helen Marriage, event organiser

“I think it’s fantastic - it’s about capturing art for the people. It’s about democratising art,” Johnson said.

He told the BBC: “It’s a profound meditation on the nature of fame and talent.

“Do these toga’d buffoons cast in bronze around Trafalgar Square deserve any more celebration than this person up there? This is the question - that’s what this operation is trying to answer, but I leave it to you.”

Watch time-lapse footage of the first participants

The protest overshadowed the entrance of housewife Rachel Wardell, 35, who was the first “living statue” to take part in the One and Other project.

As Ms Wardell was being winched into place, Gormley addressed the protester: “I hope you understand the whole idea of this is one person, one hour, one at a time.

“I hope you are going to do the gentlemanly thing and when Rachel arrives give up your beautifully-taken moment to her.”
Rachel Wardell
Rachel Wardell was raising awareness for the NSPCC

Mr Holmes shouted that he wanted to be handed a microphone, but Gormley replied: “No, you should have brought your own - that was part of the rule.”

Mr Holmes was given a round of applause by the crowd when he came down peacefully.

Gormley later told the BBC: “I owe him a big debt of gratitude for getting the whole thing off to a bang.”

Helen Marriage, director of Artichoke, the organisation running the event, told the BBC measures were being taken to ensure a similar incident did not happen again.

She said: “There were four security guards up there. But we are reviewing security in light of what happened and making any necessary changes to ensure it won’t happen again.”

Speaking before the launch, Gormley explained the inspiration behind the art project.

“I thought it was a interesting idea to pluck people from their daily lives, or from the street, and see what they look like as a representation,” he told the BBC.

‘Nice tension’

The artist said the participants would experience “a nice tension between celebration and an elemental exposure test”.

“It’s the sort of thing you might do more frequently on a mountainside than in the middle of London,” he added.

“The reaction is incredible - Rachel is the first one up and she’s really going for it.

Gormley added plans for the project had been “tenterhook-y”, with Westminster Council only approving the project three weeks ago.

After her hour was up, Ms Wardell said of her experience: “It was very peaceful being up there, although you can hear a lot of the conversations going on.

What makes this project interesting is that it is anti-monumental; giving the plinth over to the ordinary man or woman places value and merit in elevating the ordinary
Razia Iqbal, BBC arts correspondent

Read Razia’s blog

“You feel very removed from what’s going on. It’s a lovely view and a view you’re never going to see again - it doesn’t feel as high as it looks.”

Ms Wardell was followed at 1000 BST by Jason Clark, a 41-year-old nurse from Brighton, who took pictures on his camera of the people below.

Other people to take to the plinth on the first day include Jill Gatcum, 51, a consultant from London, Suren Seneviratne, a 22-year-old Sri Lankan student and artist, and Ishvinder Singh Matharu, a 31-year-old optometrist from Chigwell in Essex.

The oldest among July’s 615 participants is pensioner Gwynneth Pedler, 83, from Oxford, who plans to signal with semaphore flags.

Heather Pringle, a student from Hexham, will celebrate her 20th birthday on the plinth.

Living statues for following months will be announced later, with 2,400 people taking part up to 14 October.

Participants are chosen at random by a computer and can do anything they want on the plinth - as long as it is legal.

Applications will be accepted until 1 September when the last group of people is chosen.

Pop star Michael Jackson’s family is to hold a “private function” at a Los Angeles cemetery on Tuesday, the BBC has learned.

Police confirmed the event would be taking place at the Forest Lawn Cemetery, but it has not been confirmed if the singer would be buried there.

A memorial service for the singer is due to take place a few hours later.

A total of 8,750 fans were chosen at random to receive tickets to attend the ceremony at the Staples Center.

More than 1.6 million people applied for one of the 11,000 passes issued for the event, with an additional 6,500 issued for a screening at the nearby Nokia Theatre.

On Monday the family announced a preliminary list of those taking part in the service, who include Mariah Carey, Lionel Richie, Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder and the Britain’s Got Talent finalist Shaheen Jafargholi.
Tickets and wristbands
Fans will need to a ticket and wristband to enter the Staples Center

Fans have begun collecting the tickets and wristbands they need to enter the memorial from the Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

Deka Motanya of San Francisco, one of the fans to win a ticket, said: “I’m in shock that it’s happened. It’s surreal.”

Stanford University student Dave Gobaud did not believe the e-mail telling him he was a winner was genuine at first.

“It’s Michael Jackson, one of the greatest musical stars of all time,” he said.

‘Stay at home’

City officials are preparing for massive crowds and have urged people to stay at home and watch the memorial on TV amid estimates up to 700,000 people may flood the area trying to reach the arena.

Streets around the Staples Centre are being closed off, and Los Angeles Assistant Police Chief Jim McDonnell warned ticketless fans they would be “standing in the hot sun on a city street with a lot of other people… but not within eyeshot of Staples”.
Michael Jackson
Jackson died on 25 June

Meanwhile, a Los Angeles judge has ruled that Jackson’s mother, Katherine Jackson, should be replaced as temporary administrator of his estate.

Superior court judge Mitchell Beckloff said the estate should be administered by Jackson’s lawyer, John Branca, and music executive John McClain in accordance with the singer’s will.

The judge last week gave temporary control to Mrs Jackson before the 2002 will surfaced. Her lawyer had expressed concerns about Mr McClain and Mr Branca’s financial leadership.

The will says the $500m (£303m) estate will be left to a trust benefiting the singer’s three children, his mother and charities.

The full preliminary list of those taking part in the memorial service comprises: Ron Boyd, family friend; Kobe Bryant; Mariah Carey; the Andrae Crouch Choir; Berry Gordy; Jennifer Hudson; Shaheen Jafargholi, finalist on Britain’s Got Talent; Magic Johnson; Martin Luther King III; Bernice A King; John Mayer; Lionel Richie; Smokey Robinson; Rev Al Sharpton; Brooke Shields; Pastor Lucious Smith, family friend; Usher; and Stevie Wonder.