James Brown's body 'has not been moved'

The funeral director that arranged James Brown's burial has insisted that the singer's body has not disappeared.

Yesterday, Brown's daughter LaRhonda Pettit claimed that her father's body had been moved so that she could not arrange an autopsy.

However, the Augusta Chronicle reveals that Charlie Reid, the director of CA Reid Funeral Home, has now denied the reports.

"There's no truth to that," he said. "It would have had to have gone through us. We would have been contacted if that happened."

Reid explained that moving a body without a permit is a criminal offence, adding: "If this was the case, [Pettit] would need to talk to the police."

Brown, who died in 2006, was buried in a two-tier mausoleum in the grounds of his daughter Deanna Thomas's house in South Carolina.

Thomas's spokesperson Elif Crawford refused to comment and added that the family will release a statement at a later date.