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Whitney and ex-husband Bobby Brown (Image: Getty)
Whitney Houston, the star of The Bodyguard, was found dead by her assistant at the Beverly Hilton hotel on February 11 2012, leaving her legion of fans across the globe devastated.
On February 11, 2012, the world was shocked when Whitney Houston, famed for her role in The Bodyguard, was discovered lifeless by her assistant at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, leaving her devoted fans heartbroken.
The subsequent post-mortem revealed that the iconic singer, celebrated for her stunning vocal prowess in hits like “I Will Always Love You,” passed away from an accidental drowning. Her death was compounded by heart disease and cocaine use, occurring at the age of just 48.
Her body was marked with scars
Further details from the autopsy painted a grim picture of the toll that alcohol and drug abuse had taken on Whitney’s body, following her untimely demise.
The coroner’s report, which detailed the condition of her body found face down in the bathtub, mentioned several abrasions on her skin.
Among the findings was an “old healed vertical scar” on her inner lower left forearm. Additional abrasions were noted on her forehead, nose, shoulder, forearm, and left hand, as documented in the official report.
Skin burns
Due to the scalding water in the bath, measured at 93.5 degrees (deemed “extremely hot” by the autopsy report), Whitney’s skin had been seared off her back, causing ‘skin slippage’ on her legs.
The report contained additional findings of “minor skin slippage” to the front of both of Whitney’s knees, and to the front central area of her legs, alongside “skin slippage to the lower central area of her back”.
Furred arteries
An ITV documentary, Autopsy: The Last Hours of Whitney Houston, featured analysis from internationally acclaimed forensic pathologist Prof. Richard Shepherd, who examined the coroner’s finding that the star had been afflicted with atherosclerosis, which he characterised as “the furring up of the artery”, resulting in the right coronary artery of her heart being “narrowed by 60 per cent”.
Whitney Houston on stage (Image: Getty)
The condition develops when the lining of the artery sustains damage. The specialist elaborated: “That damage is stuck to by platelets, tiny cells within the blood stream, which then attract globules of fat. As the wall gets thickened by this fat and platelet, it narrows down to just a tiny pinhole eventually.”
Prof. Shepherd noted that atherosclerosis is “common in the elderly” and is “very strongly associated with the smoking of tobacco”, which Whitney battled to give up throughout her life.
Nevertheless, he then highlighted: “To find it this severe in someone aged 48 strongly suggests that other factors have played a part.”
Bloody discharge emerging from nose
In a particularly disturbing section of Whitney’s autopsy report, the coroner noted that there was a “bloody purge coming from her nose” and that both of the star’s eyes were ‘congested’.
Traces of a “white powdery substance” were also discovered on several surfaces in the bathroom of Whitney’s room at the Beverly Hilton hotel, alongside “a small spoon with a white crystal like substance in it” and rolled up paper.
Beyond the bathroom where Whitney’s body was discovered, an open champagne bottle was spotted on the mini-bar, whilst an open beer can sat on a table. A bottle of beer was also visible on a bedside table alongside several loose tablets.
Whitney had been candid about her substance abuse, previously revealing to Oprah Winfrey in a 2009 interview that it became “heavy” after filming her 1992 movie The Bodyguard. She explained to Oprah that she would smoke marijuana combined with rock cocaine.
Sewn-on wig
A brown wig was discovered to have been ‘tightly attached’ onto Whitney’s natural hair during the autopsy, despite her own hair still being noticeably full, black and wavy with ‘no balding’. Her eyebrows were described as being ‘sparse’ with ‘irregular hair distribution’.
It was also revealed that Whitney’s upper teeth had been replaced by a “maxillary dental prosthesis”.
This followed claims by Tina Brown, the sister of Whitney’s ex-husband Bobby Brown, that the singer had previously “lost” her teeth during days-long drug binges.
“She loses them in the house and when she’s out on drug binges. They cost $6000 and the dentist has to keep FedEx’ing her a new set,” she said in 2006.