Whitney Houston died in bathtub; cause of death not yet known
HAPPY DAYS In a March 28, 1998 file photo Whitney Houston and her husband Bobby Brown arrive for the Versace Fall 1998 fashion show in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, file)
LOS ANGELES—Whitney Houston’s life of glorious song and unnerving self-destruction apparently ended in a bathtub at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Grammy weekend, but it could be weeks before investigators know exactly why she died.
Coroner’s officials say they will not release any information on an autopsy performed Sunday at the request of detectives investigating the singer’s death. Houston was found in the bathtub of her room, but Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter declined to say anything more about the room’s condition or any evidence investigators recovered.
There were no indications of foul play and no obvious signs of trauma on Houston’s body. Winter said toxicology tests, which would take six to eight weeks to conduct, would be necessary to determine what factor, if any, might have played in Houston’s death.
Winter declined to comment on media reports that Houston had drowned in her hotel bathtub, possibly after succumbing to drugs or alcohol.
“I’d just comment that she was found in the bathtub. … I believe somebody removed her from the bathtub and the paramedics did CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) on her.”
He also said a “security hold” had been placed on the case.
A death in the family
The coroner’s briefing came as the Grammy Awards opened a few kilometers away at the Staples Center, where rapper-actor LL Cool J paid tribute to the late pop star just after the start of the star-studded show.
“We’ve had a death in our family and so at least for me … The only thing that feels right is to begin with a prayer for a woman we loved, for our fallen sister,” he said.
Beverly Hills Police Lt. Mark Rosen said his agency may release more details on Monday about Houston’s death, but it will depend on whether detectives feel comfortable releasing any information.
TRIBUTE TO HOUSTON Flowers placed on a Grammy sidewalk plaque honoring Whitney Houston's wins for Record of the Year and Album of the Year in 36th Grammy Awards, have been scattered and replaced several times outside the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles, Feb. 12, 2012. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)
Security holds on autopsy results are used in some high-profile Los Angeles cases, with Michael Jackson’s results being withheld for weeks while detectives pieced together the circumstances of his death in June 2009.
Toxicology results are frequently necessary before the coroner will release an official cause of death.
Daughter hospitalized
A member of Houston’s entourage found the 48-year-old singer unresponsive in her hotel room at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Saturday, just hours before she was supposed to appear at a pre-Grammy gala.
The Grammys themselves were in part a memorial to Houston. LL Cool J introduced a clip near the start of the show of a glowing Houston singing her signature ballad, a cover of Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You.”
Houston’s most famous song was the most downloaded single for much of Sunday on iTunes.
Meanwhile, Houston’s daughter was transported by ambulance to a Los Angeles hospital on Sunday morning and later released. A source close to the family who did not want to speak given the sensitivity of the matter said she was treated for stress and anxiety.
Bobbi Kristina Brown, 18, who is Houston’s daughter from her marriage to singer Bobby Brown, had accompanied her mother to several pre-Grammy Awards events last week.
Voice awed millions
“At this time, we ask for privacy, especially for my daughter, Bobbi Kristina,” Bobby Brown wrote in a statement. “I appreciate all of the condolences that have been directed toward my family and me at this most difficult time.”
A sensation from her very first album, Houston was one of the world’s best-selling artists from the mid-1980s to the late 1990s. She awed millions with soaring, but disciplined vocals rooted in gospel and polished for the masses, a bridge between the earthy passion of her godmother, Aretha Franklin, and the bouncy pop of her cousin, Dionne Warwick.
Her success carried her beyond music to movies, where she became a rare black actress with box office appeal, starring in such hits as “The Bodyguard” and “Waiting to Exhale.”
Bishop T.D. Jakes, a Texas minister and producer of Houston’s final film project, a re-make of the 1970s release “Sparkle,” said he saw no signs she was having any substance issues. He said Houston was a complete professional and moved the cast and crew to tears two months ago when she sang the gospel hymn “Her Eyes on the Sparrow” for a scene shot in Detroit.
“There was no evidence in working with her on ‘Sparkle’ that there was any struggle in her life,” Jakes said. “She just left a deep impression on everybody.”
Tears and prayers
At New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey, Houston’s hometown, fans and admirers gathered to celebrate her life during three Sunday services.
Cards and flowers were tied to the railings of the church, where congregants hugged and cried at the entrance. Among those paying their respects was the Rev. Jesse Jackson, the civil rights activist.
“The suddenness of it all leaves us traumatized,” said Jackson, who watched Houston grow up and sing at New Hope. It was in that red brick church on a quiet back street near downtown Newark where Houston’s career began as a soloist in a gospel choir in the 1970s.
‘World will miss her’
On the West Coast, First AME Church of Los Angeles, the city’s oldest African-American congregation, held a special moment of silence in Houston’s memory.
“Many of us were pulling for her because she has been a blessing to this generation with talent, with a special anointed voice,” pastor John Hunter told parishioners. “This world will miss her.”
Houston’s songs were already dominating Internet music sales on Sunday. Her album “Whitney Houston – The Greatest Hits” was the top seller in the music category on Amazon.com.
Over the course of a 30-year career, Houston won six Grammys, 30 Billboard awards and 22 American Music Awards.
By the early 1990s, her success on stage was accompanied by an increasingly troubled personal life. In 1992 she married Brown and their tumultuous 14 years together were marred by drug abuse and domestic violence. The last 10 years of Houston’s life were dominated by drug use, rumors of relapses and trips to rehab. With a report from Reuters
