Whitney Houston’s funeral to take place on Saturday

She won six Grammys and more than 400 other awards in a 25-year career that
also saw her star in such blockbuster films as “The Bodyguard.”
She was best known for her 1992 hit single “I Will Always Love You.”

But Houston’s success was eclipsed later in life by problems with drinking and
drugs. She had a long history of addiction to alcohol, cocaine and
marijuana, admitting so on television talk shows. She was in rehab as
recently as May 2011.

Houston
died in a Beverly Hills hotel room Saturday
on the eve of the music
industry’s Grammy Awards, and because of her drug battles, speculation arose
that she might have died of a drug overdose.

On Monday, Beverly Hills police called a news conference to address the media “rumours,”
but did not add much additional information. They did say the singer’s body
had been found underwater in the hotel room’s bathtub.

“Ms Houston was apparently discovered in the bathtub by a member of her
personal staff,” who called hotel security, Beverly Hills Police
Lieutenant Mark Rosen said. She was pulled from the bathtub, but when
paramedics arrived “she was unconscious and unresponsive,” he
said.

Rosen declined comment on whether prescription drugs were in the room or the
condition of Houston’s body.

“We are not conducting a homicide investigation at this time. We do not
know the cause of death, we do not know the circumstances leading up to her
death,” Rosen said.

However, county coroners will request copies of the star’s medical records and
will compare them with prescription bottles found in her hotel room, a
source told The Sun.

An autopsy was completed on Sunday, and a final death report is pending
completion of an official investigation and toxicology reports that may take
weeks to finalise.

Los Angeles assistant chief coroner Ed Winter said prescription medication was
found in Houston’s room, but he declined to detail the names of the drugs or
the amount found.

Fans place flowers at a memorial outside the Beverly Hills Hilton Hotel
in Beverly Hills, Calif (AP)

Dr Andrew Baker, president of the National Association of Medical Examiners
who is not involved in the probe, told Reuters autopsies were good at
establishing or ruling out death from causes like trauma, heart disease or
aneurysm.

“The autopsy is going to rule out 95 percent of things,” he said. “But
when it comes to diagnosing any kind of poisoning or intoxication or
overdose, it really does come down to lab tests.”

Meanwhile, Houston’s brother-in-law, Billy Watson, told ABCNews.com on Monday
that he doesn’t believe the singer would have taken her own life.

“Oh, no, this is accidental,” he said. “She wouldn’t have left
her daughter like that. She wouldn’t have done that to her daughter.”

Houston’s daughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown, 18, was in Los Angeles when her
mother died.

Houston had been in Los Angeles for the Grammys and planned to attend an
annual pre-award party hosted by record producer Clive Davis on the night
she died.

Houston’s death prompted a parade of music industry stars to express adoration
for her and her rise to the top of the music world. Ex-Beatle Paul McCartney
and his wife, Nancy Shevell, on Monday visited a makeshift memorial outside
the Beverly Hilton hotel where Houston died, placing yellow roses alongside
the numerous other bouquets.

As with the 2009 death of pop superstar Michael Jackson, Internet sales of
Houston’s songs surged after her death.

On Monday, her album “Whitney Houston – The Greatest Hits” was the
top seller in the music category on Amazon.com, and “I Will Always Love
You,” was the No 1 download at iTunes, just ahead of Grammy winner
Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep.”

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