Reports released on Whitney Houston’s final days, cause of death not released In the wake of music icon Whitney Houston’s death, several details chronicling the singer’s final appearances in Los Angeles while taking in the pre-Grammy Awards festivities have come to light.
Earlier on Thursday, Houston dropped by rehearsals for Clive Davis’ pre-Grammy party. Several members of the press were there doing a junket. Though Houston greeted people with a warm smile, she “appeared disheveled in mismatched clothes and hair that was dripping wet with either sweat or water,” reports The Los AngelesTimes.
Describing her as “visibly bloated,” the Times says Houston “displayed erratic behavior throughout the afternoon — flailing her hands frenetically as she spoke to Brandy and Monica, skipping around the ballroom in a child-like fashion and wandering aimlessly about the lobby. It was mentioned by a Grammy staffer that security personnel received calls of the singer doing handstands by the pool.”
On Friday, TMZ reported “partied heavily” at the Beverly Hilton hotel, “drinking and chatting loudly” with friends in the bar.
On Saturday, a reporter for the Daily Beast was taping a segment for VH1’s Behind the Music about the rapper Akon. VH1 was supposed to interview Houston about her upcoming movie, Sparkle. Writes Allison Samuels:
Someone kept banging on the door as we taped, so we stopped. The woman at the door, who it turned out was Houston’s personal assistant, Lynn Volkman, said, “Whitney’s not coming, Whitney’s not coming.” And then finally said, “She’s dead.” Volkman was in a daze.
TMZ reports that Houston’s body was discovered by her aunt, Mary Jones, who had laid out the star’s dress for the evening on the bed and then left the hotel room for about a half hour. When she didn’t come out of the bathroom, Jones entered, pulled Houston out of the tub and began administering CPR.
The autopsy for Houston is complete, but results will not be released, pending toxicology reports, which could take up to six to eight weeks.
“I know there are reports that she maybe was drowned, or did she overdose, but we won’t make a final determination until all the tests are in,” said Ed Winter of the Los Angeles coroner’s office at a news conference on Sunday. He added that “there are no signs of foul play.”
Information from The LA Times, USA Today and the Daily Beast contributed to this report.
