Whitney Houston
White crystal-like, powdery substances found in hotel room
A spoon with a “white crystal-like substance” and remnants of a “white powdery substance” were found in the Beverly Hills hotel room where singer Whitney Houston died, according to a coroner’s report issued Wednesday.
Houston, 48, drowned in a bathtub at the Beverly Hilton on Feb. 11. Coroner’s officials said previously that cocaine use and heart disease contributed to her death, with evidence that the singer used cocaine shortly before she slipped under the water in the tub.
According to the coroner’s office report released Wednesday, an ashtray with multiple cigarette butts was found in the bathroom of Houston’s hotel room, and the small spoon with a white crystal substance was found on the bathroom counter.
“Located in the top drawer, in the north side of the counter, were remnants of a white powdery substance, and a portable mirror on a base,” according to the report. “On the bottom of that base were more remnants of a white powdery substance.”
The bathtub had 12 to 13 inches of water in it, and the bathroom floor was covered with water, according to the report, which also notes that a “plethora” of prescription medication bottles were also collected in the hotel room.
Houston was staying at the hotel, where she was planning to attend Clive Davis’ pre-Grammy Awards party.
According to the coroner’s office, cocaine and metabolites were found in Houston’s system and contributed to her death. Atherosclerotic heart disease was also found to be a contributing factor.
Marijuana, Xanax, Benadryl and other drugs were also found in her system but did not contribute to her death, according to the coroner’s office.
According to the report, Houston told her personal assistant that she had been suffering from a lingering sore throat. At about 2:45 or 3 p.m., the assistant told Houston to take a bath while she went to Neiman Marcus. The assistant returned shortly after 3:30 p.m. and found the singer face-down in the tub, according to the report.
The assistant and a bodyguard pulled Houston out of the tub and called for help, the report states. Houston was later pronounced dead at the scene.
According to the report, the water in the tub was determined be 93.5 degrees at 9:30 p.m.—six hours after Houston’s body was removed.
In the living room of the hotel room, “multiple bottles of prescription medications, prescribed to the decedent” were found on a table, along with blister packs, a loose tablet and other items. More prescription medication bottles were found in the bedroom and bathroom, according to the report.
Whitney Houston’s family is free to collect her body from the Los Angeles County coroner’s office and make funeral arrangements, a coroner’s lieutenant said Monday morning.
Houston’s mother has arranged to have the body flown back to Atlanta as early as Tuesday, TMZ reported. While police have placed a security hold on autopsy results, no such hold has been placed on the body, Winter said.
Lil Wayne is down on drugs — for others.
For himself, well, it’s a different story.
The man who infamously told Katie Couric during a 2009 interview “I’m a gangsta, Miss Katie. I don’t take nothing from no one. I do what I want to do,” has been equally outspoken about his use of “sizzurp” or “purple drank,” a prescription cough syrup made with a combination of promethazine and codeine.
I believe the children are our future, teach them well and let them lead the way
—Whitney Houston (Greatest Love of All)
As the world mourns the untimely death of international pop icon Whitney Houston, broadcast media continues to rehash the 48-year-old’s rise to fame, public battle with drug addiction and tumultuous marriage to entertainer Bobby Brown.
But these portrayals are just one side of the Newark, N.J., native.
Whitney Houston died this afternoon ... a rep for the singer told the Associated Press.
Houston won two Emmy Awards, six Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards during her record-breaking career. Her album "Whitney" was the first female album to ever debut at #1 on the Billboard Charts. She has sold 200 albums world wide.
Houston holds an Honorary Doctorate in Humanities from Grambling State University in Louisiana.
Houston had one child, Bobbi Kristina, with husband Bobby Brown. Houston and Brown were married from 1992-2007.
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Actor Jeff Conaway, best known for his roles in the television series "Taxi'' and the 1978 movie "Grease,'' died today at age 60.
Conaway, who appeared on "Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew'' in 2008, was hospitalized earlier this month after being found unconscious in his home May 11 due to what was widely reported as a drug overdose. "Celebrity Rehab'' host Drew Pinsky wrote on his Twitter page that Conaway had not overdosed, but was suffering from a combination of pneumonia and sepsis.
