Whitney Houston Death: No Foul Play
The L.A. County Coroner's Office on late Sunday ruled out foul play in the death of singer Whitney Houston.
Ed Winter, the chief coroner for Los Angeles County, refused to comment on the cause of death or the presence of prescription pills. He said the autopsy was complete but results would be kept under wraps awaiting toxicology reports.
There are reports she maybe was drowned, or overdosed, but we won’t make a final determination until all the tests are in, he said.
Winter said he had placed a security hold on the autopsy results, as is common in high-profile cases such as this.
Winter confirmed that the singer, 48, was found unconscious in the bathtub of her room at the Beverly Hilton on Saturday afternoon. Paramedics were summoned and a bodyguard attempted to resuscitate her via CPR, but Houston was declared dead at 3:55 p.m.
The singer's death, coming on the eve of Sunday night's Grammy Awards (CBS, 8 p.m.), threw organizers and those in town for the event into a state of shocked disarray.
Producer Clive Davis' Saturday night party, a must-attend for every star in the music industry, was set to honor Richard Branson. Instead on the red carpet music stars were asked about the shocking death of Whitney, 48, just hours earlier on the fourth floor of that same hotel.
Davis, who discovered Houston and became a mentor to her, was said to be “devastated. But in opening remarks at the party, he issued a call to celebrate her life.
Whitney was a beautiful person and a talent beyond compare, Davis said. She graced this stage with her regal presence and gave so many memorable performances here over the years. Simply put, Whitney would have wanted the music to go on and her family asked that we carry on.
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