Whitney Houston's Body Headed Home to New Jersey

The body of pop star Whitney Houston is heading to New Jersey on a private jet tonight, ABC News has learned.

Houston's body was released by the Los Angeles coroner earlier today after the completion of an autopsy to determine the cause of her death.

Houston was found "underwater and unconscious" in the bathtub of a Beverly Hills, Calif., hotel room Saturday afternoon, according to Beverly Hills police. Prescription drugs were found nearby, and bottles of champagne and beer were in the adjacent room at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, as seen in photos of the scene obtained by TMZ.

Amid the circumstances of her death, and Houston's history of drug addiction, many have speculated that the singer died after taking a toxic mix of prescription drugs and alcohol.

"You can look at a body and not know (what) the cause of death is,'' said Ed Winter, Los Angeles County coroner's spokesman. "You might have a suspicion, but the person could have suffered a heart attack or embolism."

Results of toxicology tests are not expected to be complete for six to eight weeks.

Earlier today, Houston's entourage moved out of the Beverly Hilton. Sources tell ABC News that many close to Houston have been questioned about her final hours.

There were no obvious signs of trauma or foul play on Houston's body, according to sources with knowledge of the case. And while detectives from the Beverly Hills Police Crimes Against Persons detail are working the case, the department insists this is not a homicide investigation. However, they have not ruled out the possibility that the case could turn into one.

"We're conducting a death investigation and we need to be very clear about that,'' said Beverly Hills Police Department Public Information Officer Lt. Mark Rosen. "We do not know the cause of death, we don't know the circumstances leading up to her death."

Houston's brother-in-law Billy Watson told ABC News that the singer's death was accidental, and certainly not suicide.

"Oh, no, this is accidental," Watson said. "She wouldn't have left her daughter like that. She wouldn't have done that to her daughter."

Watson, whose sister is married to Houston's brother, Gary, also said the family is flying back to New Jersey from California today and Tuesday.

ABC News' New York affiliate WABC reported that the same Newark, N.J., funeral home that handled arrangements for Houston's father in 2003 is expected to handle the singer's arrangements.

Houston's was first discovered by a member of her personal staff at about 3:30 p.m. Saturday, she was underwater and unconscious, authorities said. Shewas pulled from the tub by members of her staff and hotel security was promptly notified. Fire department officials who arrived found her unresponsive; she was pronounced dead at the hotel at 3:55 p.m.

Winter, the coroner's spokesman, confirmed to ABC News' L.A. affiliate KABC that officials found prescription bottles in Houston's hotel room, but he said they weren't "alarming" or "out of the ordinary."

They were all "pretty normal" prescriptions, Winter said, adding, "I have more prescriptions than what was found in her [Houston's] room."

A source told KABC that one of the prescriptions was amoxicillin, an antibiotic commonly used to treat bacterial infections.

TMZ reported earlier that family sources briefed by coroner officials were told Houston likely died from a combination of the drug Xanax and other prescription medication mixed with alcohol.

PHOTOS: Whitney Houston Through the Years

Meanwhile, Houston's 18-year-old daughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown, has been struggling with her mother's death and was hospitalized for "stress and anxiety," a family source told ABCNews.com. She was released Sunday afternoon as her father, Houston's ex-husband Bobby Brown, boarded a plane to L.A.

TMZ reported that on Friday night, Bobbi Kristina fell asleep in another bathtub at the Beverly Hilton. Friends had to contact hotel security so she could be removed from the tub.

Houston, who struggled with drugs and alcohol and entered rehab for the third time last year, reportedly spent Friday night at the bar of the Beverly Hilton hotel with a group of friends. She was at the bar for a long time, drinking and being very loud, according to TMZ.

Houston gave her last performance on Thursday at Grammy nominee Kelly Price's party at Tru, a Hollywood nightclub.

"We laughed and we joked and we cracked up, and we danced and sang," Price said. "She was never more than two feet from me the entire night. I gave her a hug, and while I was talking to her she said 'Give me the mike.'"

"In retrospect it's a much bigger moment than I could have imagined," she added. "It was a big moment just because it was Whitney. The world got a gift in that they got an opportunity to see her perform one last time."

Photos taken later that night show Houston leaving the club looking disheveled and disoriented. She reportedly had blood dripping down her leg and scratches on her body.

"It was a great event and she left sweaty, and I have heard the word 'disheveled,'" Price said. "That's about right. When you stand for three hours and in that time period you are dancing. You would leave a club looking that way.

Price added that Houston "didn't look like she was under the influence of anything. She drank some champagne and toasted Kelly Price's three Grammy nominations Thursday night. That's what Whitney Houston did."

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  • janette  •  Bismarck, North Dakota  •  1 month 23 days ago
    Yes, I agree with James, don't put addicts down. I am not an addict of any drug or alcohol, addiction is a illness, everyone on drugs is not a bad person and 9 x out of 10 a family member or friend is the one that introduced it to them in the first place. And it does not have to be drugs it could be porn, women , men, cigarettes shall i keep going. None is better than the other
  • Amo  •  Dallas, Texas  •  2 months ago
    Whitney`s GHOST TO APPEAR ON OAF-Raaaahhhhh !!! Little Blobby Crapstaina Will Ask It " WHERE DID YOU HIDE THA CRACK YOU BITCH ???? "
  • Peppino  •  3 months ago
    was she,,,,,,,,,,,,naked?
    • Margaret 3 months ago
      If she had clothes on we would have heard.
  • J  •  Costa Mesa, California  •  3 months ago
    How many times do people have to hear/read about the dangers of mixing prescription meds and alcohol before they get a clue NOT TO DO IT??
    • Lorraine M 3 months ago
      people that do that ..dont read the news ..nore are they in the right state of mind to under stand that it will kill them ..did you think they may not have cared and wanted to die ..
    • Lorraine M 3 months ago
      unless you run in their shoes ..you wont under stand it ..
    • BeemerGuy 3 months ago
      I know the answer! ELEVEN!!!
  • ponygirl  •  Cleveland, Ohio  •  3 months ago
    Well, we kind of figured that one out! Another great lost. When will people learn drugs and alcohol will kill you!!
    • Miss C 3 months ago
      I don't think its a matter of not knowing, I believe its a matter of losing the will to live.
    • Bruce 3 months ago
      "Great lost"? Just another over inflated ego, thinking they can do what they want.
    • E E 3 months ago
      Maybe, deep down, she wanted to die..
  • Sid  •  3 months ago
    So she spent the night in the bar with her friends ? Real friends would have taken the drink out of her hands and taken her back to her room.
    • Missy 3 months ago
      You got that right.
    • Moonson64 3 months ago
      Exactly what I was thinking, you are right Sid.
    • Valdez 3 months ago
      You probably in actuality don't have meany 'real friends' in Hollyweird.
  • D  •  3 months ago
    Why is it that when a celebrity dies it is national news that goes on for weeks, but when a soldier dies in war defending this country nothing is mentioned?
    • A Yahoo! User 3 months ago
      you have a point.
    • Anthony 3 months ago
      D.... Because most people today do not have a clue what matters !
    • John 3 months ago
      Because they are famous, and soldiers who die in war are mostly unknowns. Isn't this kind of obvious?
  • Fred  •  3 months ago
    I have a sister-in-law going the same route right now. If the person doesn't want help,then it will be over for them very fast.
  • tallyjr  •  New York, New York  •  3 months ago
    Micheal Jackson,Whitney Houston are not the first one and they are not the last one because they chose their own destiny .
  • Posterdamus  •  3 months ago
    Proof that money can't buy happiness. :(
  • Hotschott  •  3 months ago
    She demonstrated an inability to be honest with herself. This will kill the addict every time.
  • safeinthewoods  •  Monroe, Louisiana  •  3 months ago
    ... who didn't see that coming ..?
  • Becky  •  Indianapolis, Indiana  •  3 months ago
    I see this every day in the ER where I work; the only difference is that she had plenty of resources and chances to get clean, whereas most of the people I treat are struggling with addictions on their own since they have no health insurance and no money. Sorry, but I find it difficult to have much sympathy for her. She had wealth, fame, friends, family, and every opportunity in the world to do anything she wanted, and she chose to throw it all away for drugs and alcohol.
  • T  •  Newark, New Jersey  •  3 months ago
    All i can say is what a waste!! She was beautiful with a beautiful voice, may she finally rest in peace!!!!!!!!!!
  • WilCox  •  3 months ago
    Xanax with an alcohol chaser.... yep, that'll do it most every time.
  • Dan  •  3 months ago
    15 years of people not giving her a second thought, now everyone loves her...sick...
  • iowan4u1234  •  Des Moines, Iowa  •  3 months ago
    Now the family will blame the doctor that precribed meds for her, instead of saying she killed herself by making a choice to use drugs and booze.
  • TracerX  •  Highlands Ranch, Colorado  •  3 months ago
    What a waste, great talent, beautiful woman, and she trashed it all away on drugs and booze.
  • hotnana  •  Bergenfield, New Jersey  •  3 months ago
    not surprised, but still sad!
  • Rick  •  3 months ago
    The root of the real problem is still addiction...Very serious problem..Once some folks become addicted that's it for them..why doesn't the media focus on that?