Houston’s body arrives home

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A golden hearse carrying pop diva Whitney Houston’s body has arrived in her home state of New Jersey ahead of a funeral this week.
Houston, whose battle with drug and alcohol eclipsed her talent and stardom in later years, started her musical journey as a choir singer in the local church in Newark, New Jersey. According to family sources a private service will be held on Thursday followed by a big public memorial of the 48-year-old Houston at the Prudential Centre on Friday. It is an indoor arena in Newark that can accommodate 18,500 people. Houston’s funeral arra-ngements are expected to be handled by the Whigham Funeral Home in Newark, which also handled the arrangements for her father in 2003, ABC news reported. Mystery continues to surround Houston’s death amid speculation that a cocktail of drug and alcohol caused the end. Houston was trying to make a comeback after declaring herself drug free in 2011.
Beverly Hills police department confirmed that Houston was found underwater in the bathtub of a hotel where she was pronounced dead on Saturday, on the eve of Grammy awards. “Houston was apparently discovered in the bathtub by a member of her personal staff,” Beverly Hills police lieutenant Mark Rosen said, adding she was pulled from the bathtub but when paramedics arrived “she was unconscious and unresponsive.” He refused to give details of the investigation, saying authorities “cannot speculate on what may have caused or contributed to her death.”
“We are not conducting a homicide investigation at this time. We do not know the cause of death, we do not know the circumstances leading up to her death. We have concluded our portion of the investigation at the hotel,” Rosen said.
The Los Angeles Times reported that several prescription drugs were found in Houston’s hotel room but the police refused to say anything on the cause of death before toxicology reports, which may take six to eight weeks. “We won’t make that final determination until all the tests are in,” coroner’s spokesman Ed Winter said. The Beverly Hills police has put a security hold on the case, keeping further details from being released.
A spokeswoman for Houston’s family said plans for a memorial had not yet been completed, but media reports have said a public viewing and funeral would be held later this week. Once one of the best-selling artists, Houston, is best known for I will always love you. She also starred in Hollywood hits The Bodyguard with Kevin Costner. She last worked in Sparkle which will release in 2012.