Last month, much of the world was left in shock when Whitney Houston was found dead in her hotel room in Beverly Hills. After much speculation on whether the pop icon had overdosed, the Los Angeles County coroner’s office has officially confirmed that the death was due to accidental drowning.
Upon further investigation, Houston also had cocaine in her system at the time of her death, along with marijuana, Xanax, Benadryl, and other medication.
“There was water found in her lungs that indicated to us that she was alive when she was submerged underwater,” coroner chief Craig Harvey confirmed to People magazine. “According to our tests, the level of cocaine was not necessarily a lethal level of cocaine. But her death was complicated by chronic cocaine use and heart disease.”
Coroner assistant chief Ed Winter also speculates two possible scenarios of what may have happened to lead to the singer’s untimely passing.
“She could’ve passed out first due to the intoxication from the cocaine, or she could’ve had a heart attack and then drowned,” Winter said. “It’s probably one of those two scenarios.”
Houston was laid to rest on February 19th at the Fairview Cemetery in Westfield, New Jersey, alongside her father.
