Music legend Whitney Houston’s autopsy was completed Sunday, but officials say they won’t be able to determine the cause of death until drug tests are completed in several weeks.
According to preliminary reports, Whitney Houston, 48, may have died from a combination of the drug Xanax and other prescription medication mixed with alcohol. Sources say, police found sedatives in the room, including Valium, Xanax and Lorazepam.
There are no reports that Houston, who was addicted to cocaine for years and went back to rehab last May, had used illegal drugs.
Coroners informed Houston’s family that there was not enough water in Whitney’s lungs for her to have drowned, and that she may have died before her head became submerged in the bathtub at the Beverly Hilton Hotel where her body was found Saturday, TMZ reported.
Whitney’s aunt, Mary Jones, found her lifeless body in the bathtub, having laid out her dress for a party Houston was set to attend Saturday night, sources told TMZ. One half hour later, at 3:45 p.m. on Saturday, someone from Houston’s entourage called hotel security when they found her lifeless body.
Houston’s mom, described by neighbors as frail and quiet, was in seclusion in her new apartment on the 20th floor of an Edgewater, N.J. tower.
A woman who answered the door asked for privacy, saying Cissy Houston was hurting. “How would a mother who has lost her child be doing?” she said.
Another woman, who was dropping off prescription medicine from CVS, said the mom was coping as best she could.
“As you can imagine, she’s managing,” the woman said. “She loves her daughter.”
Cissy Houston has arranged for her body to be flown back to Atlanta as early as Tuesday, TMZ reported. Her family was reportedly told that since there is no suspicion of foul play police have not put a hold on the body, and it may be transported.
Investigators looking into the death of Whitney Houston have said that they will be examining her behavior in the hours and days before she was found dead in the bathtub, while her family, friends and staff have already been questioned.
The Los Angeles Coroner said Sunday that toxicology reports on Houston were will not be available for 6 to 8 weeks, but a family member confirmed that Houston’s family, along with those working for her, have been questioned about any health issues she may have had and her behavior before her death.
Whitney Houston was staying at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, where she was to attend music industry executive Clive Davis’ annual pre-Grammy party. It is the same event where she was introduced to the record industry and the world nearly three decades ago.
Bobbi Kristina Brown, Houston’s daughter, was staying in the hotel with her mother and according to TMZ had also fallen asleep in the bathtub the night before her mother’s death in another room. Friends of the 18-year-old tried knocking on her door repeatedly and eventually had to contact security to open the door to her room so she could be removed from the tub.
Houston, who has struggled with drugs and alcohol for many years and entered rehab last year, reportedly spent Friday night at the bar of the Beverly Hilton hotel with a group of friends.
On Thursday, Whitney Houston was a guest at Grammy nominee Kelly Price’s party, “Kelly Price and Friends Unplugged: For the Love of R&B Grammy Party” at the nightclub, Tru Hollywood. Price recalls an enjoyable evening with Houston.
“We laughed and we joked and we cracked up, and we danced and sang. She was never more than two feet from me the entire night. I gave her a hug, and while I was talking to her she said give me the mic,” Price recalled.
Houston was there with her 18-year-old daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown and performed a duet with Kelly Price in the early hours of Friday morning, in what would become her last performance.
“In retrospect it’s a much bigger moment than I could have imagined. It was a big moment just because it was Whitney. The world got a gift in that they got an opportunity to see her perform one last time,” Price said.
At the party, Houston reportedly clashed with singer and former “X Factor” finalist Stacy Francis, who had credited Houston as her inspiration and had been pulled onstage to sing with her in 1999 during a concert, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Houston and Francis were re-introduced at the party and all seemed fine until R&B singer Ray J entered the conversation.
“Whitney just got belligerent,” a witness told The Hollywood Reporter. “Ray was trying to defend Stacy, telling Whitney, ‘Stacy’s family!’, but Whitney was feeling crowded out and hands were raised.”
Photos taken later that night showed Houston disheveled, agitated and bloated as she left. She reportedly had to be escorted from the club with blood dripping down her leg and scratches on her wrist.
“It was a great event and she left sweaty, and I have heard the word ‘disheveled,'” Price told ABC News. “That’s about right. When you stand for 3 hours and in that time period you are dancing. You would leave a club looking that way.
“She didn’t look like she was under the influence of anything. She drank some champagne and toasted Kelly Price’s three Grammy nominations Thursday night. That’s what Whitney Houston did,” Price added.
Over the days preceding her death Houston’s behavior was erratic. She was seen skipping around a ballroom and doing handstands near the hotel pool, the Los Angeles Times reported, adding that she was seen in mismatched clothes and with dripping wet hair.
At some point on Saturday morning or early afternoon Whitney Houston’s cousin, singer Dionne Warwick, spoke to her over the phone to make sure they were seated at the same table at Davis’ party. At this point there were no signs of trouble, according to TMZ.
Around 3:15 p.m., Houston spoke to her mother, Cissy Houston, and everything still seemed to be fine.
Police, who were already on the scene in preparation for the event later in the evening, arrived at Houston’s room two minutes after her body was discovered.
Officials tried to resuscitate Whitney with CPR but were unable to revive her. Houston was pronounced dead at 3:55 p.m.
Beverly Hills police Lt. Mark Rosen said she was pronounced dead at 3:55 p.m. He said there were “no obvious signs of foul play and no obvious signs of a cause of death.”
