Family members revealed what they were told about her cause of death a few weeks ago but the release of the official autopsy findings puts to rest weeks of speculation about what killed the Grammy-award winning singer.
As you know, the iconic songstress died February 11, 2012, on the eve of the Grammy’s, and was found in her Beverly Hills Hotel suite.
The results confirm what we already knew… that Houston died from drowning in her hotel bathtub, but coroner’s officials also revealed today (Thursday, March 22, 2012) that heart disease and chronic cocaine use were also contributing factors which led to the singer’s death.
Details…
Several bottles of prescription medications were found in her hotel room, but coroner’s officials said they weren’t in excessive quantities.
Beverly Hills police said in a statement there was no evidence of wrongdoing in connection with Houston’s death.
“We are saddened to learn of the toxicology results, although we are glad to now have closure,” said Patricia Houston, the singer’s sister-in-law and manager.
Coroner’s Chief of Operations Craig Harvey said cocaine and its byproducts were found in Houston’s system, and it was listed as a contributing factor in her death.
He also said the results indicated Houston was a chronic cocaine user and toxicology results also showed Houston had marijuana, Xanax, the muscle relaxant Flexeril, and the allergy medication Benadryl in her system.
In addition to the toxicology results, it was found that Houston also had a heart disease that caused blockages in her arteries.