14 DAY TRIAL // Whitney Houston drowned after cocaine use, the preliminary report from the Coroner's Office reveals. She also had a heart condition, and traces of other drugs were found in her body but they did not cause her death.
The iconic singer was found dead in her hotel room on February 11, as she was getting ready to attend her mentor Clive Davis' annual pre-Grammy party.
Because her body was submerged in water when help arrived, it was widely assumed in the press that she'd probably fallen asleep in the tub and drowned.
This is confirmed by the preliminary report from the Coroner's Office, as cited by CNN.
Whitney did drown, but she'd also consumed cocaine before she stepped into the bathtub and it is believed that it was this what made her lose consciousness.
She also had a bad heart, with the report citing the “effects of atherosclerotic heart disease and cocaine use” as the cause of death.
The singer was “found submerged in bathtub filled with water” and “no trauma or foul play is suspected,” the report also mentions.
At the time of her death, Whitney had taken other drugs too, but none caused it.
CNN says toxicology tests found traces of marijuana, Xanax, Flexeril (a muscle relaxant) and Benadryl (an allergy medicine).
The final toxicology report will be made public in two weeks' time.
TMZ reports that the singer's mother, Cissy Houston, is shocked to hear that her daughter had relapsed again into drug use, especially when she seemed so determined to get her life and her career back on track.
In fact, this could have been the reason for the relapse.
“Whitney Houston's mother Cissy was shocked that her daughter was using cocaine at the time of her death but believes the relapse was triggered by anxiety over Whitney's comeback plans,” the celebrity e-zine writes.
Whitney had just finished work on a new film, and had been talking to Davis about getting back into the studio to record new music.