Whitney Houston cause of death is unknown
The Whitney Houston cause of death still remains unknown a day after the superstar’s death in a Beverly Hills hotel room. The Whitney Houston autopsy results have been completed, but the report has been put under a security hold due to the ongoing investigation into her death. Toxicology tests from the singer’s death could take from six to eight weeks.
Little is known so far about the last moments before Whitney Houston died on Saturday. According to various reports – Houston was allegedly found unresponsive in the bathtub of her hotel room around 3:30 p.m. on Saturday by one of her bodyguards, who immediately began attempting CPR. A frantic call was put into Beverly Hills 911, but emergency respondents were unable to revive Houston. The singer was not taken to the hospital and her body was not removed from the scene until Sunday morning, implying that she was already beyond all hopes of resuscitation when emergency personnel arrived at her hotel room.
The Whitney Houston autopsy was completed on Sunday, but no official results have been released by the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office. According to Deputy Coroner Ed Winter – no foul play is suspected and the autopsy results were inconclusive. The autopsy report has been placed on a “security hold” at the request of the Beverly Hills Police Department. This means no further information regarding the Whitney Houston cause of death or condition of her body when she died will be released until the investigation into her death is completed.
Because of Houston’s past history of substance abuse and recent reports of erratic behavior in the days before her death, there has been a storm of speculation that she may have suffered a drug overdose. Because she was allegedly found in the bathtub of her hotel room, there have also been questions about the possibility she may have accidentally drowned. The L. A. County Coroner’s office had refused to comment on any possible cause of death. Various sources have reported, however, that police found a handful of medication bottles of various types in the singer’s hotel rooms. Family members have allegedly said Houston was taking Xanax, which can cause sleepiness in combination with alcohol.
Whitney Houston.
From the New Jersey church where Whitney Houston’s singing career first took flight to the Beverly Hills hotel where her life abruptly ended, family and fans of the pop diva expressed their grief on Sunday with prayer, tears and raw anguish.
Houston’s only child, daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown (18) was taken by paramedics from the hotel to nearby Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on Sunday suffering from anxiety, Beverly Hills police and fire officials said.
A fire department spokeswoman declined to disclose any information about the daughter’s medical condition but said she was “awake and talking” at the time she was transported.
Brown, who was reported by celebrity news website TMZ.com to have been enraged at authorities at not being allowed into the hotel room where her mother’s body was found, was treated at the hospital for stress and released – a source close to the family told Reuters. A hospital spokeswoman declined comment.
At the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey, Houston’s hometown, fans and admirers gathered to celebrate her life during three Sunday services, portions of which were devoted to the singer and her family.
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 Reverend 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 backstreet near downtown Newark where Houston’s career began as a soloist in a gospel choir in the 1970′s.
“We must lean on our faith. Our hearts are heavy today” – Jackson said.
An autopsy was conducted on Whitney Houston’s remains in Los Angeles Sunday, but officials said afterward her cause of death remained unknown.
Law-enforcement sources told TMZ the 48-year-old, Grammy-winning pop singer had water in her lungs when she died Saturday at the Beverly Hilton hotel, but the cause of her death would not be determined until the results were obtained from toxicology tests.
The celebrity news Web site said authorities suspect Houston may have fallen asleep or lapsed into unconsciousness in her hotel bathtub and drowned after drinking alcohol and taking Xanax.
Authorities had said bottles of prescription drugs were found in the hotel room where she died. Houston had long battled addictions to drugs and alcohol.
Houston’s daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown suffered a “complete breakdown” after learning of her mother’s death in Los Angeles – sources told People.com.
The magazine said on its Web site the recording star’s 18-year-old daughter was in the lobby of the Hilton about the time Houston was pronounced dead in her room Saturday afternoon when she heard the devastating news.
“[Bobbi Kristina] was screaming: ‘What’s wrong with her? What’s wrong with her?” – People.com quoted an unidentified source close to the family as saying.
Bobbi Kristina, whose father is singer Bobby Brown, was taken to Cedars Sinai Medical Center Saturday night “because she was having a complete breakdown” – the insider said.
She returned to the hospital a second time Sunday morning.
“She went back to the hospital for the same thing – stress and anxiety” – the family source said. She has since been released, People.com reported.
Pastor Joe A. Carter led congregants in a prayer service Sunday at the Newark, N.J., church where Houston had been a member.
The pastor petitioned “the Lord on behalf of Whitney’s daughter, her mother, and the entire Houston family” – said a statement posted on the Web site of New Hope Baptist Church.
Houston’s mother, Cissy Houston, a renowned performer of gospel and pop music and director of the church’s sacred music for more than half a century, had been in touch with Carter who said “she needs our prayers and support” – CNN reported.
“Whitney was a mother, a daughter, a sister, and that’s the focus that we want to keep in front of everyone today, to continue to lift the family up and respect this time of grief” – Carter said.
The history of New Hope Baptist Church is “deeply associated with the power of Whitney’s voice and the influence that she’s had, not only in this church but across the world” – Carter said. “We’re saddened at this loss.”