The Los Angeles
County Coroner ruled Thursday that the final cause of Whitney Houston's death
was drowning, as well as from effects of atherosclerotic heart disease and
cocaine use.
According to Chief
Medical Examiner Anthony T. Hernandez's report, there was no foul play involved
in the Feb. 11 death of Houston. She was found submerged in a bathtub filled
with water at the Beverly Hills Hilton just hours before she was due to perform
at Clive Davis Grammy Party.
Toxicology reports
found metabolites also contributed to her death. Traces of marijuana and the
prescription drugs Xanax,
Flexiril and over-the-counter Benadryl were
also found in her system, but did not play a role.
The announcement
Thursday ends weeks of speculation about what killed the Grammy-winning singer.
Several bottles of prescription
medications were found in her hotel room, but coroner's officials said they
weren't in excessive quantities.
Coroner's spokesman
Craig Harvey says the results indicated Houston was a chronic cocaine user.
The singer was buried
in a New Jersey cemetery next to her father after an emotional four-hour
funeral service that was attended by friends, family and superstars such as Oprah
Winfrey, Tyler Perry, Alicia Keys, Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, Jennifer Hudson
and Roberta Flack
Houston, a sensation
from her first, eponymous album in 1985, was one of the world's best-selling
artists from the mid-1980s to the late 1990s, turning out such hits as "I
Wanna Dance With Somebody," `'How Will I Know," `'The Greatest Love
of All" and "I Will Always Love You." But as she struggled with
drugs, her majestic voice became raspy, and she couldn't hit the high notes.
Interest in her music
has skyrocketed since her death, pushing her songs back on to charts and into
heavy rotation on the radio.
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