The shocking news that music legend Whitney Houston died on Saturday at the age of 48 has everyone in the world asking: What happened? As of press time, this is what we know:
On Thursday afternoon, a Los Angeles Times reporter who was on hand to cover rehearsals with Brandy, Monica, and Clive Davis for the mogul’s annual pre-Grammys party described Houston as reeking of alcohol, “visibly bloated” and “disheveled in mismatched clothes and hair that was dripping wet with either sweat or water.” They report she spent half the day “wandering aimlessly” around the lobby of the Beverly Hills Hilton, where she was staying and where she was set to perform at the same event. Reportedly, guests even called security on the singer, who was performing handstands by the hotel pool.
An autopsy was performed yesterday, but it looks like the cause of death was from drowning in a bathtub; Houston was probably under some kind of sedation. According to TMZ.com, her stylist, hairdresser and two bodyguards were among the ones who found Houston underwater. She had apparently been in the bathroom for more than an hour when her hairdresser went in to check on her, and then screamed for help.
Per TMZ.com, they discovered her with her “face below the water and her legs up … like she had slid down the back of the tub.” The bodyguards pulled her out and called hotel security. After performing CPR on her “cold” body, paramedics pronounced her dead at 3:55 p.m.
Radaronline.com reports that no illicit drugs were found in Houston’s hotel room, but police did recover a half dozen pill bottles from her room, including Xanax, Lorazepam and Valium.
Houston’s 18-year-old daughter, Bobbi Kristina, has been hospitialized twice over the weekend. “She was distraught, on the verge of a complete breakdown,” a source tells Radaronline.com.
Bobby Brown releases statement
In his first official comments about the death of his ex-wife, the R&B star released a statement to People saying, “I am deeply saddened at the passing of my ex-wife, Whitney Houston.” He adds, “At this time, we ask for privacy, especially for my daughter, Bobbi Kristina. I appreciate all of the condolences that have been directed towards my family and I at this most difficult time.”
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