Whitney Houston died from drowning, but drugs were a contributing factor in her death, said the L.A. coroners office last week. Houston’s official cause of death was accidental drowning, but cocaine, marijuana, and other drugs were found in her body, as well as evidence of heart disease. “The level of cocaine was not a lethal level,” chief coroner Craig Harvey told People.com. “But her death was complicated by chronic cocaine use and heart disease.” Assistant coroner Ed Winter said that the singer, 48, “could’ve passed out first” because of intoxication, or may have “had a heart attack and then drowned.” A complete autopsy report is due in a few weeks.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Gandhi arrests: Narendra Modi's 'vendetta' against India's oppositionThe Explainer Another episode threatens to spark uproar in the Indian PM's long-running battle against the country's first family
-
How the woke right gained power in the USUnder the radar The term has grown in prominence since Donald Trump returned to the White House
-
Codeword: April 24, 2025The Week's daily codeword puzzle
