Funeral home denies role in Houston casket photo

The hearse carrying the body of singer Whitney Houston arrives at Fairview Cemetery in Westfield, New Jersey on February 19, 2012. Houston will be buried next to her father, John Russell Houston, who died in 2003. AFP PHOTO

NEWARK, New Jersey  — The owner of the New Jersey funeral home that handled services for Whitney Houston says the home had nothing to do with a photograph that surfaced showing the singer’s body in an open casket.

But Carolyn Whigham of Whigham Funeral Home and two pastors say they do know who took the photo that ran in the National Enquirer. They just aren’t identifying the person and say that’s up to the Houston family.

Defending Whigham, the Rev. Ronald Slaughter of nearby St. James AME Church said Thursday the funeral home “had no role in this shameful betrayal.”

The 48-year-old Houston died Feb. 11 in California. Whigham says she determined the photo was taken Feb. 17, a day before the funeral.