Final Autopsy Report on Whitney Houston’s Death Released
The final autopsy report on the death of Grammy Award-winning singer Whitney Houston has been released, and her death has been ruled as accidental drowning.
The “effects of atherosclerotic heart disease and cocaine use” were contributing factors to her death, information that has already been shared when the results of toxicology tests were released.
Coroner’s investigator Kristy McCracken wrote that investigators found “a small spoon with a white crystal like substance in it and a rolled up piece of white paper” in the bathroom where the singer was found unresponsive. McCracken wrote further that “remnants of a white powdery substance” were found on a bathroom counter, a drawer, and the bottom of a mirror in the same drawer in the bathroom counter.
In addition, detectives found bottles of various medications, although these prescription drugs, the coroner said, did not contribute to Ms. Houston’s death.
Toxicology tests found 0.58 micrograms of cocaine per milliliter of blood which was drawn from a vein in Ms. Houston’s leg during the autopsy. Addiction medicine specialist Dr. Drew Pinsky described this amount of cocaine as “moderate.” Chief Coroner Craig Harvey, on the other hand, revealed that Whitney may have used cocaine “in the time period just immediately prior to her collapse in the bathtub at the hotel.”
Other substances found in her body were marijuana, Xanax, Flexeril, and Benadryl.
The final autopsy report indicated that Ms. Houston had drowned face down in a tub of “extremely hot water” about 12 inches deep. The coroner’s report indicated that she had suffered several small scald burns on her face at the time of her death.
Dr. Pinsky shared that the report suggested that the singer may have suffered a seizure due to cocaine use, combined with withdrawal from alcohol and a prescription sedative.
Tags: Whitney Houston accidental drowning, Whitney Houston cause of death, Whitney Houston cocaine abuse, Whitney Houston drowned
