Houston, who possessed one of the greatest-ever singing voices and sold more than 170 million records, fought a long and public battle with substance abuse after her career and personal life went off the rails.
She was found dead on Saturday afternoon, at the age of just 48, in her bathtub in a luxury suite of the Beverly Hilton hotel as preparations were under way for the Grammy Awards, the highlight of the music industry calendar.
An autopsy on her body was completed on Sunday but the toxicology probe is said to be ongoing and a “security hold” has been placed on its results, which officials say may not be published for six to eight weeks.
Houston’s body was released Monday by the Los Angeles County coroner’s office, CNN said. Family sources told the network that the body was to be flown to her native New Jersey for a funeral expected on either Friday or Saturday.
Ed Winter, the assistant chief coroner for LA County, earlier refused to speculate on any initial indications found in the star’s blood or urine.
Asked several times if coroners knew the cause of death but were just withholding it from the public, Winter said there might be “a suspicion” of the cause but that everyone must wait for official results to be released.
“You can look at a body and not know what the cause of death is. You might have a suspicion. But the person could have suffered a heart attack or an embolism or something,” he explained.
Celebrity website TMZ said it had learnt from unnamed “family sources” that the singer died from a lethal combination of prescription drugs and alcohol.
The website, citing law enforcement sources, and NBC said several pill bottles were found in the hotel room where Houston died, among them the prescription anti-depressant Xanax and other pain medication.
CBS News cited law enforcement sources as speculating the most likely cause of death was a heart attack or prescription drug overdose.
TMZ said their source had revealed there was not enough water in the singer’s lungs to show drowning as the cause of death -- as had first been rumored -- and that she had died before being submerged in the water.
The LA police department said in a statement Monday that Houston was “underwater and apparently unconscious” when found in the tub by members of her staff. Emergency personnel were unable to revive her.
A friend who saw Houston on Thursday, two days before her death, told CNN that the superstar seemed “upbeat and joyful” and not apparently under the influence of drugs.
But the Los Angeles Times reported that Houston had behaved erratically during an appearance that day at a rehearsal for a Grammy Awards party.
Though she greeted people with a warm smile, she appeared disheveled, with mismatched clothes and dripping-wet hair, the newspaper said.
According to the report, the singer flailed her hands frenetically as she spoke, skipped around the ballroom in a childlike fashion and wandered aimlessly about the lobby.
In a 2009 interview with TV talk show hostess Oprah Winfrey, Houston blamed ex-husband Bobby Brown for many of her problems, admitted that she laced her marijuana with rock cocaine, and revealed that she had spent time in rehab.
Houston most recently checked into rehab in 2011 for drug and alcohol treatment, with her representative telling CNN the singer had “voluntarily entered the program to support her long-standing recovery process.”
Houston’s death, on the eve of the annual star-studded Grammy Awards, led to a grief-stricken outpouring from fans and fellow icons alike.
Sales of Houston’s records have soared after her sudden death, with “I Will Always Love You” the top seller on iTunes and her songs appearing 42 times in the iTunes Top 200.
On Amazon.com on Monday, Houston occupied 10 spots in the top 20 album chart.
Houston’s family issued a statement before the Grammy show, saying: “We are devastated by the loss of our beloved Whitney. This is an unimaginable tragedy and we will miss her terribly.” (AFP)
<관련 한글 기사>
美 언론 “휴스턴 사인은 약물 과다복용 유력”
호텔 방에서 숨진 팝가수 휘트니 휴스 턴의 사망 원인은 신경안정제 과다 복용이 유력하다고 미국 언론이 13일 (현지시간) 보도했다.
ABC 방송은 휴스턴의 폐에 물이 들어 있었으나 직접적인 사망 원인이 될만큼 많은 양은 아니라는 부검 결과를 전했다.
휴스턴은 발견 당시 욕조에 엎드린 자세로 얼굴이 물 속에 잠겨 있어 익사 가능 성이 제기됐었다.
전문가들은 휴스턴이 의식을 잃은 상태에서 욕조에 빠졌을 것으로 보고 있으며 의식 불명으로 몰고간 주범은 휴스턴이 평소 복용해온 신경안정제일 가능성이 크다 고 분석했다.
펜실베이니아주 앨리게이 카운티 부검의를 지낸 독극물 전문가 사이닐 웩트는 “사람은 의식이 조금이라도 있으면 숨이 막히면 몸을 뒤척이게 마련”이라면서 “의식이 완전히 없어진 상태라면 약물에 취한 것이 틀림없다”고 말했다.
약물 과다 복용으로 인한 변사자 시신 300여구를 부검한 경험이 있는 웩트는 “대 부분 다섯가지에서 여섯가지 약물을 섞어 복용한 경우”라고 설명했다.
숨진 휴스턴의 방에서는 신경안정제로 널리 쓰는 재낵스와 바륨이 상당량 발견됐다.
재낵스와 바륨은 의사의 처방을 받으면 얼마든지 복용이 가능한 합법적인 의약 품이지만 과다 복용하면 부작용이 크다.
재낵스와 바륨은 마약이나 알코올 중독 치료에 주로 처방한다.
합법적인 처방약도 마약 못지 않게 위험하다는 사실을 알리는 시민 단체 ‘재기 의 시점’ 설립자 알렉산드리아 레인은 “먀약이나 알코올 중독을 치료하기 위해 쓰이 는 약품도 의존성이 아주 높다”면서 “합법적이라고 해서 안전하다는 뜻은 아니다”라 고 말했다.
특히 휴스턴은 이런 강력한 신경 안정제를 섞어서 술과 함께 먹었을 가능성이 높다고 경찰은 보고 있다.
휴스턴이 치료와 중독을 되풀이한 것도 이런 신경안정제 과다 복용의 원인으로 꼽힌다.
한때 코카인과 마리화나 등 마약에 빠졌다가 재활에 나선 휴스턴은 몇차례 다시 마약에 손을 댔던 것으로 알려졌다.
이와 함께 코카인 중독이 심장 근육을 크게 약화시킨다는 연구 결과도 있어 직 접적인 사망 원인이 아니라도 갑작스러운 죽음을 이끈 요인 가운데 하나로 지목된다 .
한편 로스앤젤레스 카운티 검시서는 부검을 마친 휴스턴의 시신을 이날 오전 가 족에게 인도했다.
휴스턴의 어머니 시시 휴스턴은 조지아주 애틀랜타 집으로 시신을 운구해 장례를 치를 계획이다.
장례 일정은 아직 정해지지 않았다. (연합뉴스)
