Whitney Houston drowned in bath after taking cocaine

March 23, 2012

whitney


Los Angeles, March 23: Grammy-winning pop legend Whitney Houston died from accidental drowning in her hotel bathtub after taking cocaine which could have triggered a heart attack, coroners said Thursday.


Houston, who died at age 48 in the bathtub of a Beverly Hills hotel room last month, likely had some kind of heart attack which caused her to slip under the water, said the Los Angeles County Coroner’s office.


“You have a heart condition exacerbated by cocaine use which, combined, resulted in her drowning,” spokesman Craig Harvey told AFP, adding: “We feel that there was a heart event, complicated by cocaine use,” before she drowned.


Ed Winter, deputy chief of coroner investigations, was more explicit when asked by the LA Times to explain the drowning. “She may have had a heart attack,” he told the newspaper.


She had cocaine in her body when she died, said a coroner’s office statement, which described her death as an “accident,” and the cause as “drowning” and “effects of atherosclerotic heart disease and cocaine use.”


“How injury occurred: found submerged in bathtub filled with water; cocaine intake,” it said, adding: “No trauma or foul play is suspected,” and that a final coroner’s report will be available for release within two weeks.


Houston was found dead on February 11, a day before the music industry’s biggest awards show, and hours ahead of a glittering pre-Grammy party in the Beverly Hilton hotel where she died.


Speculation had raged since her death that the singer may have succumbed to a lethal cocktail of prescription drugs and alcohol.


Indeed, other drugs were found in her system, but which did not contribute to her death, the coroner’s office said. They included marijuana, alprazolam (Xanax), cyclobenzaprine (Flexiril) and Diphenhydramine (Benadryl).


The TMZ celebrity news website quoted a coroner’s office official as saying Houston used cocaine “immediately prior to her collapse” — but investigators who arrived on the scene found no traces of cocaine or any other illegal drug.


That was because “an individual” removed all traces of cocaine from the room before authorities arrived, it said, adding that the person was the same one who supplied the drug to Houston.


The coroner’s office spokesman said chronic use of cocaine was likely a key factor in Houston’s death.


“Chances are, had she not had the pre-existing heart disease and cocaine use she may not have drowned,” he said. “The cocaine causes the heart to beat faster, the arteries to constrict, which could... set you up for a cardiac event.”


Houston’s shock death cast a pall over the annual gathering at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, with several tributes to the singer — and a public prayer — added to the show at the last minute.


The singer of hits including “I Will Always Love You” sold over 170 million records during a nearly three-decade career, but fought a long battle against substance abuse while trying to keep her performing talent alive.


Houston was buried a week after her death in New Jersey after an emotional farewell ceremony in the Newark baptist church where she sang as a child, which was watched worldwide.


Earlier this month it emerged that Houston had left all of her assets to her daughter Bobbi Kristina, born from her troubled marriage to singer Bobby Brown, who gets nothing.


Bobbi Kristina, who is currently 19, will inherit the proceeds from all of the late singer’s money, furniture, clothing, personal effects, jewelry, and cars, according to the will published on March 7.


A few days later Bobbi Kristina said she plans to follow her mother into show business, while the drug-troubled star’s sister-in-law admitted her untimely death could have been predicted.


The late star’s sister-in-law, Patricia Houston, said it had been possible to forecast that drugs would claim the singer’s life. “The handwriting was kind of on the wall. I would be kidding myself to say otherwise.”


Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
April 11,2020

Hyderabad, Apr 11: With the Telangana government banning spitting in public places in the backdrop of COVID-19 pandemic, a police case has been registered here against a man for violating the rule.

During vehicle-checking on Friday, police found the man spitting on the road here and registered a case against him for disobedience to order duly promulgated by a public servant, police said.

Spitting in public places and institutions has been banned in the state in view of the pandemic with the government saying such acts pose a serious threat of leading to spread of infections.

"In the interest of public health and safety, the spitting of paan/any chewable tobacco or non-tobacco product, sputum in public places & institutions is hereby BANNED with immediate effect," a gvernment notification said.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to the fore the importance of hygiene and cleanliness in both personal as well as public spheres, the April 6 notification issued by the Health, Medical and Family Welfare department said.

"It is of utmost need to impose restrictions on unhealthy practices that may potentially lead to spread of such viruses and other infections," it said.

The habit of public spitting poses a serious threat of leading to spread of such infections, the notification added.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
March 26,2020

Puducherry,Mar 26: Congress legislator from Kamaraj Nagar constituency John Kumar has been booked on charges of violating lock-down rules, Lt Governor Kiran Bedi said on Thursday.

In a Whats app posting she further said that an FIR has been registered under the Disaster management Act.

She stated John Kumar in an irresponsible manner allowed more than 200 people to gather outside his house and distributed doles personally when lock down was enforced in the country.

A criminal case has been registered against him for blatant violation of law despite mass information and media messages.Instead of following the law, he chose to violate it,she further stated.

The LG added that as per the ground report by IGP Surendra Yadav, there was perceptible improvement in enforcement of lock down and public were aware and cooperative.Vehicles carrying essential supplies and personnel were moving and every day is an improvement.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
January 19,2020

Belagavi, Jan 19: Miscreants have murdered a couple and their son at Dodwad Village, about 50 km from here, in the wee hours on Sunday.

The victims were identified as Shvananda Basavanthappa Andanashetty, his wife Shanthavva and their son Vinod.

Senior Police officials visited the spot and a case was registered at Dodwad Police Station.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.