Whitney Houston Cause Of Death: Autopsy Completed, Toxicology Pending
February 13, 2012 by Hollywoodite
Whitney Houston died age 48-years-old in the Beverly Hilton Hotel at which she was scheduled to perform hours later. The Clive Davis pre-Grammys party at which Houston was supposed to sing went ahead, in the same hotel, attended by the likes of Britney Spears and Kim Kardashian but Davis stayed at home to mourn with his family. The event looked mostly somber, since attendees only learned of the death hours beforehand (similarly, most opted for respectful black outfits although some insisted on treating it like any other “LOOK AT MEEE!” red carpet).
There’s some sourced speculation about how Houston died that seems plausible looking at the facts confirmed by police and the information leaked so far: Houston reportedly often took Xanax before big shows, to “relax” her “anxiety” and “panic attacks.” Her staff reportedly never saw her take pills; she simply informed them after the fact. However, Houston didn’t inform them of such on Saturday, and family and other source say she had been in a “good mood all day and was excited to be performing that evening,” so she may not have taken any.
TMZ.com still posit that Houston may have taken something quietly right before taking a bath to get ready for the Davis party. And the website already claimed Houston drank heavily on Thursday and Friday and “Xanax mixed with alcohol can cause severe sedation, which could cause someone to fall asleep in a bathtub.”
Authorities believe “a combination of Xanax and alcohol could have fatally sedated her [leading to drowning],” since Houston was found with her face underwater and “her legs up… like she had slid down the back of the tub.”
Whitney Houston’s… stylist, hairdresser and two bodyguards were among the people in the room at the time.
They became worried about Whitney because she had been in the bathroom for over an hour and it was time to start getting ready for the Clive Davis party… they began to knock on the door and there was no answer.
The hairdresser, who is female, went in to check on Whitney. She immediately screamed and… one of the bodyguards came running in and pulled [Whitney] out of the tub.
Whitney’s face was below the water and her legs were up… like she had slid down the back of the tub.
Her body was very cold and the bodyguard attempted CPR. That’s when hotel security was called.
Paramedics arrived shortly thereafter, but Whitney was pronounced dead at 3:55 PM. – via TMZ.
RadarOnline.com has a longer listicle of prescription pills supposedly taken by Houston. A law enforcement source says Houston had a ”a plethora of sedatives including Lorazepam, Valium, Xanax, and a sleeping medication that [were] found in her hotel room [at the time of her death].”
Houston’s autopsy has been completed, with the official results deferred pending a toxicology report that will take about four to six weeks.
The autopsy showed that Houston had water in her lungs when she died but, notes TMZ, “The medical examiner needs to determine exactly how much [water] before they can rule whether [Whitney] died as a result of drowning… Authorities believe Houston may have fallen asleep or lapsed into unconsciousness in the bathtub and drowned… [However] authorities cannot yet determine whether Houston died before she was submerged in the water or after… There is still a possibility Houston was dead before she went under the water.”
RadarOnline add “Authorities have unofficially ruled out suicide and are currently looking at Houston’s death as an accidental.”
** UPDATE: TMZ has an update the morning of Monday February 13, saying the coroner told the family there wasn’t enough water in the lungs to conclude that Houston drowned and it’s more likely she died of a combination of prescription drugs mixed with alcohol; i.e. she died before her head became submerged in the water.