Details of Whitney Houston's final autopsy have been released almost two months after the tragic star was found dead. The news will now allow the singer's family to close the last chapter on the icon’s tumultuous life.
In the dossier released by officials, any suggestions of foul play were completely ruled out. The cause of death was attributed to drowning – but heart disease and the star's struggles with substance abuse were also cited as contributing factors. Despite fans' hopes that Whitney had overcome what her godmother Aretha Franklin referred to as her "challenges", her drug problems were clearly still part of her life.
Autopsy investigators describe finding a "spoon with a white crystal-like substance in it" and a white powdery substance in her hotel room. Although the report doesn't directly reference cocaine, toxicology tests discovered the drug in the singer's system. On February 11, 48-year-old Whitney was found submerged in the bath of her Beverly Hilton Hotel hours before she was due to attend a pre-Grammy party. Her funeral united some of music and film's biggest names in the morning for the woman described as having the "greatest voice". Her Bodyguard co-star Kevin Costner poignantly eulogised her life, saying the diva was "as beautiful as a woman could be".
