Cocaine found in Houston's bathroom
Whitney Houston performs during the World Music Awards at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada as a tribute to music mogul Clive Davis, who received the Outstanding Contribution to the Music Industry Award, in this September 15, 2004 file photo. Houston died of accidental drowning due to the effects of cocaine use and heart disease, a Los Angeles County coroner's spokesman said on March 22, 2012.[Photo/Agencies] |
White powder, later determined to be cocaine, was found in the Beverly Hills hotel bathroom where singer Whitney Houston drowned accidentally in a bathtub in February, according to the full coroner's report released on Wednesday.
Detectives also found a rolled up piece of paper, a small spoon and a mirror - all items used by cocaine users - in the bathroom shortly after Houston's naked body was found in the bathtub, the Los Angeles County Coroner's report said.
Houston, 48, who had a history of drug addiction, was found dead on February 11. An autopsy in March determined she died of accidental drowning due to the effects of cocaine and heart disease.
The 40-page coroner's report said that Houston had a history of substance abuse, as indicated by a perforated nose.
The singer also had traces of marijuana in her system and an open bottle of champagne was found in her room at the Beverly Hilton, the report said.
On a counter in the bathroom, detectives found "a small spoon with a crystal-like substance in it and a rolled up piece of white paper".
In a drawer, they found "a white powdery substance and a portable mirror on a base" together with more remnants of powder on the bottom of the base.
Houston appears to have been left alone in the hotel room for less than an hour after an assistant went to a nearby store to pick up items for her appearance later that night at a pre-Grammy party. When the assistant returned, she found Houston face down in the bathtub and unresponsive, according to the report.
Houston was one of the world's best known singers in the 1980s and 1990s with hits like "I Will Always Love You" and "Saving All My Love For You." But her career declined during a tumultuous, drug-fueled 15-year marriage and she was last known to have entered rehabilitation in May 2011.