1 Security from Beverly Hilton. Security from Beverly Hilton. Hi. What's going on? Security from Beverly Hilton. Hi. What's going on? I need paramedics. A 46-year-old female's been found in the bathroom. Apparently, she wasn't breathing. Apparently, she wasn't breathing. Is that room 434? Yes. Yes. She was not breathing? Yes. She was not breathing? Yes. OK, but she is breathing now? OK, but she is breathing now? I don't know. Singer Whitney Houston, one of the greatest voices of our generation ` CNN has gotten confirmation from her representative ` has died. In her lifetime she sold more than 200 million records, propelling her from a gospel choir to global stardom. But at 3.36pm on February 11th 2012, Whitney Houston was found unconscious in a bath in a Hollywood hotel. CAMERA SNAPS We attempted, uh, lifesaving resuscitation measures. Unfortunately, they were not successful, and at approximately 3.55pm, uh, Whitney Houston was pronounced dead at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. We have detectives upstairs and crime scene investigators in there conducting an investigation right now to try and determine the cause of death. DRAMATIC MUSIC This is the coroner's autopsy report on the body of Whitney Houston. The thing about autopsy reports is that if you know how to read them, they can give you a whole story of someone's life. But crucially, they can tell you about the days and hours leading up to their death. Copyright Able 2014 World-renowned forensic pathologist Dr Richard Shepherd has been performing high-profile autopsies for more than 25 years. His expertise has been called on for the Bloody Sunday inquiry, the aftermath of the September 11th attacks, and the inquest into the death of Princess Diana. The coroner ruled Whitney's death as an accident, but there was nothing about that first examination that gave a cause of death. There were a number of minor injuries ` bruises, grazes and abrasions on the face and other areas of the body. And it wouldn't have been very obvious if they were caused before death, after death or during resuscitation. To begin to understand those injuries, two things must follow. Firstly, a further examination of the body, and secondly, a better understanding of the circumstances that surrounded her death. Five days before she died, Whitney Houston was in LA for the 2012 Grammy Awards. She checked into room 434 of the Beverly Hilton Hotel under the pseudonym Elisabeth Collins. TENSE MUSIC After a long, highly publicised battle with drug addiction and numerous abortive comeback attempts, Houston is finally making progress on a proper return to the limelight. Nine months out of rehab, she has just finished filming the lead role in an upcoming movie. In a few days' time, all eyes will be on her at the annual pre-Grammy party, hosted by legendary music mogul Clive Davis, the man who discovered her and shaped her career. CAMERAS SNAP Despite years of negative headlines, Houston still has an army of fans. If she can resist falling back into her old habits, Clive Davis' party and the Grammys the following night will send a firm message that Whitney Houston is back. But for a former addict, a week in the city of temptation can be a very long time. The further examinations show that she was in pretty good shape. She was wearing a wig, but she did also have a full head of hair underneath it. She'd had minor breast-augmentation surgery, she'd had some dental work, but for a Hollywood star, she was remarkably natural. In the 1980s, under Clive Davis' guidance, Houston's unique talent made her the biggest female recording-star on the planet. Pop music was going through a little bit of a dearth ` you had a lot of electronic music, you had a lot of artists who were essentially working on image. Suddenly, along came Whitney Houston. She had the voice, she had these astonishing looks, and she had the songs which made everyone get up and dance. She was the ultimate package. Aretha Franklin had been the voice of soul, but by 1985, Whitney had taken her crown, and the world was fascinated by her. TENSE MUSIC The next step in any autopsy is to perform an internal examination to look at the body's organs, try and understand what is occurring in them. A particular area of interest with Houston would be the throat, because Whitney was known to have an extraordinary voice, yet there was nothing about her vocal cords that would indicate the voice that she had. Houston's autopsy is proof that her legendary voice was due to something other than physical prowess. A reason why Whitney Houston was so great is that she was raised in the gospel tradition. The way that you sing has an effect on your voice. Because of her gospel singing, she was sort of doing early vocal exercise. So her gospel training was crucial. I looked at her as one of the models that people should look to if you wanted to become a great singer, cos she had all the qualities that great singing involves ` powerful sound, big high notes, resonant singing, but she could also sing very very delicately, and seduce you with the beauty of her voice. It's that combination, combined with her passion and her soul that made her special. OMINOUS MUSIC Three days later, Houston is heading out to a nightclub, and she has good reason to celebrate ` she and Clive Davis have agreed that she will record a new album in August. But the voice that catapulted her to stardom has been in trouble for years. The influence of hard-living R&B star Bobby Brown during their stormy 15-year marriage was catastrophic. Their lifestyle took a heavy toll on Houston's voice. At times it left her struggling even to speak. To deal with the problem, she sought the help of specialist voice-coach Gary Catona. You can imagine how shocked I was to hear her voice in that condition. It was an embarrassing situation, because here she is ` you know, this world famous singer with this unbelievable voice ` with no voice at all. It was obvious that she'd made some, you might consider, very bad life choices. If the damage to Houston's voice was caused by her lifestyle, it would be reasonable to expect that there would be some physical evidence on the vocal cords that would show up in the autopsy. But the results there are surprising. There was nothing in her throat and neck that would indicate there was any particular damage to explain why her voice was lost. But when we looked lower down the air passages, there was damage to her lungs, damage called emphysema, that's commonly associated with smoking. And, of course, smoking damages the whole of the air passages and is well known to affect the vocal cords and cause changes in the singing and talking voice. In preparation for her new album, Houston has promised Clive Davis that she will finally quit smoking. Numerous full ashtrays found in room 434 tell a different story. The autopsy evidence tells us even more. We know from the toxicology results that it's not just cigarettes that she's been smoking; she's also been smoking marijuana. DRAMATIC PIANO NOTE A former driver of Houston's remembers she was no stranger to weed. I first realised she was doing drugs at The Bodyguard. I don't know if that was Bobby and his security people or whatever, but it was that strong-smellin' pot. But by '98 on that airport run that I did, it was bad. And, uh` And Whitney could hardly talk. She was very hoarse. She was. like,... (HUSKILY) 'Oh, hey baby. How you doin'? Good to see ya again, baby. 'Yeah, you gonna get me to the airport safe and sound in one piece? I'm not feelin' so good right now.' Aside from the damage it could cause to her voice, for an ex-addict, to be smoking marijuana may be more serious than it seems. Recreational marijuana use isn't uncommon. However, if you smoke it, the likelihood is you become a little bit less concerned about other drugs. So you go to one dealer, that dealer gives you marijuana. They also deal in cocaine, for example, which means that you might move back on to stronger drugs. By returning to drug use, Houston was risking more than her comeback. Marijuana lingers in the bloodstream for a long time, so all the toxicology can tell us for certain is that she's been smoking marijuana in the days leading up to her death. But, in fact, that's just the tip of the iceberg. OMINOUS MUSIC Two days before her death, Houston is celebrating a deal to record a new album. She is seen arriving at Tru Hollywood nightclub for a party hosted by Grammy nominee Kelly Price. Whitney Houston was tabloid gold. She sold millions of magazines and of newspapers. So it was my job to follow her around for the week she was here, to monitor anything she did and was going on in her life. Later that evening, Price makes a speech honouring Houston. She pushed me to sing to my limit... Houston responds by unexpectedly joining her on stage to sing an impromptu rendition of Jesus Loves Me. # Jesus loves me. # Oh, yes, he loves me. All I can tell you is that over time, she was getting better. # Wherever I go, # he will take me. # So... It wasn't 100% back, but she was able to sing and to do a decent record. AUDIENCE CHEERS Miss Whitney Houston! > Spontaneous gig over, Houston rejoins her entourage in the VIP area with the new man in her life, 31-year-old musician Ray J. Houston had divorced Brown in 2006, seeking a quieter life as she battled her addictions. Her romance with Ray J was a cause for concern ` the party lifestyle of his circle of friends was no secret. On doing the internal examination, the first thing that would've caused the coroner some concern is what we'd term a fatty liver. A fatty liver occurs when the metabolic processes in the liver are disturbed. Fat globules form within the liver cells; this makes the liver bigger and pale. A fatty liver indicates that someone has been abusing alcohol. It tells you nothing about their drinking habits many years previously; it tells you about the time of the weeks and days prior to their death. The changes that we see in Whitney's liver may be heavy drinking over several weeks prior to her death or a single large episode of binge drinking very close to her death. And for Houston, drinking was ever only a small part of the problem. Binge drinking clearly lowers inhibitions. So if you've been an addict, when you are drunk, you may think it's a good idea to do something that sober you wouldn't. And that's how you can end up having a relapse. The next major finding by the coroner about Whitney's lifestyle was the fact she had a perforated nasal septum. The septum is the piece of tissue that runs up the centre of the nose, and perforation of the septum is typical of insufflation ` snorting of cocaine. Cocaine that's snorted is the cocaine hydrochloride, the salt of cocaine. It is an irritant, but that's actually not what causes the perforation. What causes the perforation is the direct effect of the cocaine drug on the blood vessels in the nose. Cocaine causes the blood vessels to close up tight, and when that happens, the tissues of the nose are deprived of blood and oxygen. And over time, they die and a perforation occurs. And that's what Whitney Houston had. A perforated septum is conclusive proof Whitney Houston had a chronic problem with cocaine. That night at Tru Hollywood, however, as far as anyone close to her is concerned, Houston has been drug-free for months. But evidence found in room 434 suggests this wasn't the case. The list of items recovered from her room includes a portable mirror with what is described as remnants of a white, powdery substance on it, which was later found to be cocaine. On top of the circumstantial evidence, the toxicology leaves us in no doubt that Houston had returned to cocaine use in the days before her death. In a never-before-seen interview given just days after her death, the drug dealer who sold cocaine to Houston in her final days came forward. She looked a lot older than I would think, you know. She looked like she'd been rode hard, put away wet, type of thing, you know. She'd been through a lot. But, uh, I mean, no more than any other semi-washed-up fuckin' Hollywood chick, whatever. The dealer reveals that in the last week of her life, he sold Houston drugs both at her hotel and that night in the club. It was around, like, 12.30, 1-ish, somethin' like that ` later in the night ` in their little VIP area. They got fuckin' free bottles and shit. They were drinkin' all night. He goes on to describe a well-practised routine that he says he and Houston used for doing drug deals, in full view of onlookers, unnoticed even by members of her own entourage. Basically, what happens ` she's already there, I show up, ask for her autograph, and I got a pen ready, full of coke. She's already got the money ready. She knows what's goin' on. Hand it to her, sign it, she keeps the pen, gives me the autograph, and the money's in there. Works out pretty good. (INHALES) In the club after scoring cocaine, things for Houston start to go downhill. An argument breaks out with an X Factor contestant named Stacey Francis, who Houston feels is getting too close to her new man. Another finding from the toxicology that is interesting is the presence of cocaethylene in the blood. Cocaethylene is a drug formed in the body when both cocaine and alcohol are present at the same time. An interesting thing about finding cocaethylene in the blood is that it has been linked with causing aggressive behaviour. Houston explodes at Francis and has to be pulled away by members of her entourage. She is still fuming as she leaves the club. When Whitney leaves Tru nightclub, she walks out into the glare of the paparazzi scrum, and that was always gonna make a huge splash in the papers the next day. PAPARAZZI YELL Another embarrassing episode making headline news is the last thing that Houston's comeback needs. Cocaine is a hard drug, and by saying that, I mean that if you take it and you like it, the likelihood is you're gonna want more of it and this can lead to lots of bad life decisions. It has the potential to cause you much damage; emotionally, when you're coming down from it and also physically, the impact it has on your body. 1 The coroner's report shows that the right coronary artery of Whitney Houston's heart was narrowed by 60% due to atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is the furring up of the artery, and it's caused when the lining of the artery is damaged. That damage is stuck to by platelets ` tiny cells within the bloodstream 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. It's very common in the elderly. It has a very strong association with the smoking of tobacco. But to find it this severe in a 48-year-old strongly suggests that other factors have played a part. It was in the early '90s. We were en route to the Shrine Auditorium, then she says, 'OK, get off at Gage Ave.' And Gage Ave off the 110 is, you know, the crappiest part of LA. Not the kind of place you see a big white stretch-limousine very often, ya know? And the usual guy's on the street corners. And so she's, like, 'OK, now pull up over here.' And she goes, 'Come here, baby. What you got for me?' You know? And he's, like, 'Whoa, shit, man! I can't believe it. Look who it is! Damn, girl. What you need? I'll do what you want.' You know? And so she says, uh, 'What you got for me?' He says, 'I got this.' And he has a bag, and it's got a bunch of little rocks in it. And, uh, she says, 'OK, I'll take that.' And he goes, 'You got some money for me, girl?' She says 'Yeah.' And she just hands him big, you know. It was a roll. She handed him... It was hundreds. Drugs bought in rock form from a street dealer are unlikely to be anything other than crack. But Houston adamantly denied using the drug, infamously coining the phrase 'crack is whack' when confronted about it. In 2006, however, Houston's sister-in-law publicly outed her as a crack user. Despite this, in 2009, Houston was still denying crack use. But in an interview with Oprah, she did admit to lacing her joints with freebase cocaine. This continued a pattern of Houston apparently admitting something, but only as a cover for something worse. Houston was also relying on the audience's ignorance of illegal drugs, because the distinction between freebase cocaine and crack is largely one of stigma, rather than substance. Freebase cocaine is cocaine with the hydrochloride salt removed, so that users can smoke it the same way as crack, usually by heating it in a spoon or a glass pipe and inhaling the fumes. And as Al Bowman's recollection proves, Houston wasn't just lacing her joints. The year was 1997. I noticed that smell. There was a certain smell of... a mixture of butane, burning glass... and... those chemicals that are in crack. And I'm going, 'Oh my God. I can't believe what I'm witnessing. These guys are... They're hittin' the crack pipe. And... that's when I rolled down the divider and go, 'Hey.' And I see, you know, the glass pipe with Whitney, uh, with her lips on the stem. And I was mortified, you know? Cos I just thought I... you know, I've seen this before. I've seen, you know, Motley Crue snortin' cocaine. I've seen, you know, all kinds of rock stars smokin' pot and doin' all kinds of things. But this was a little shocking, even for me. Given Houston's huge wealth, it seems likely that freebase cocaine was indeed her primary addiction. But like any addict, when her drug of choice was in scarce supply, Houston would take whatever she could get to stave off withdrawal. It's hard to describe how dangerous smoking freebase cocaine is. It causes damage to almost every organ in the body. And what's more, it's a highly addictive compound. And so once taken, it tends to be used over and over again. And the damage is caused again and again. It's one of those drugs that is so highly addictive and that you form your world around, that starting to break out from that is incredibly difficult. SOLEMN MUSIC In the early hours of Friday morning, an exhausted Houston returns to her room. In less than 36 hours, she will be dead. SOLEMN MUSIC CONTINUES Later that night, in the early hours of Friday the 10th, a calmer, more sober Houston uses a pair of broken glasses to read passages from the Bible with a member of her entourage. Houston had often turned to God as a way of overcoming her addictions, so Houston reading the Bible is a good sign. If she can find the strength to stop what she's doing, her looming public appearances may yet not end in disaster. This is her last chance. CAR HORNS BEEP The following day Houston spends time with her daughter, Bobbi Kristina. But her relapse and public meltdown have not gone unnoticed by the press. The week before Whitney died, I worked on a story with The Enquirer, uh, where we, uh, predicted that she was on the downward spiral and ultimately, she was headed towards death. And that was something that she caught upon and she saw in the gift shop. It obviously freaked her out, and she went absolutely ballistic at the sales clerk. Furious, Houston has to be pulled away and calmed down by her daughter. But back in her room, she has more direct methods of calming down. The toxicology report shows there were also benzodiazepines in her bloodstream ` a drug called Flexeril and another called Xanax. (BREATHES DEEPLY) Benzodiazepines are anti-anxiety, anti-depressant drugs that cause sedation. Benzodiazepines, when they are correctly administered for the right reasons, are useful. The problem is they are highly addictive drugs. Realistically, as well, you have to question whether somebody should be prescribed drugs at all if they've had a history of addiction. Because the reality is that people will look at forming other addictions if they have had an addictive past. In room 434, scene investigators discovered eight different prescription drugs from five different doctors, all prescribed to Whitney Houston. In America, using multiple sources to obtain the same types of drug is referred to as 'doctor shopping' and is often used by addicts to get the quantity of drugs they need without arousing suspicion. One of the problems with medication is very often, it bypasses the essential need within the patient. That's an emotional one. You can medicate, you can sedate somebody with issues, but the reality is they need to work through them. And giving them something that numbs the pain isn't helpful to their process. So sometimes you have to ask yourself, 'Should we medicate, or should we actually work with that person therapeutically?' 1 It's not OK to say she was asking for it. It's not OK to punch a hole in a wall to show your family who's boss. Or think you can demand their love and respect. And it's not OK to look the other way and say it's not our problem. Because it is our problem. And it's not OK. Ever. But it is OK to ask for help. 1 BAR GUESTS TALK By the evening of Friday the 10th, celebrities from across the world of music have gathered in LA for the Grammys. Houston is spotted in the hotel bar. I genuinely think that she put so much pressure on herself with this comeback, and she was so adamant that she needed to impress her fans and anyone that was watching and all the waiting world, that she was desperate to tell everybody. Houston is not drinking with fellow Grammy-goers. The people she is with are ordinary hotel guests amazed to be drinking with a superstar. It was quite clear that they were hangers-on. They were somebody who didn't know Whitney that well and didn't really have the best interests of Whitney at heart. But not everyone in the bar that night is a stranger. She didn't appear wasted. She wasn't wasted. She'd been drinking, but she wasn't wasted. Met her in the lounge real quick, asked for her autograph, we do the pen trick again. A lot of these kinda has-been type celebrities, if you will, they, like, fade, in a way. They're not really in the spotlight any more, so they just need somethin' to pep 'em up, you know, just get that feel-good feeling. Again. So they just hit me up. I mean, they just wanna feel good, they wanna have a good time, and I help 'em do that. The problem with addiction is that you have to recognise that you are an addict. The reason many people realise they're an addict is cos they lose their home, they lose their families, they don't have accessible funds to go and get their drugs. When you are rich, when you are somebody like Whitney Houston ` literally, you have the means to get whatever you want. And this means the likelihood is you won't recognise it, even though it's destroying your health, your home, your family, your career. You will feel in control. And an addict who feels in control is an addict who is in the most dangerous situation of all. DRAMATIC NOTE BAR GUESTS TALK SOLEMN MUSIC Saturday morning, Whitney Houston is asleep in room 434 of the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Tonight her mentor Clive Davis will throw his annual pre-Grammy party. Houston will be the focus of attention for 800 guests, but her recent behaviour has shown she's far from ready for a public comeback. At the time, the word around the Whitney camp was that there were problems. While publicly her image consultants said, 'No, everything's fine. She's gonna have a great comeback,' in reality, we knew there were deep-seated issues. It was more about dreaming about the comeback than actually making it really happen. After days of partying, Houston awakes feeling unwell. Again she turns to medication. The toxicology report shows there was a cough medicine, Benadryl, in her bloodstream. There were also high levels of Ibuprofen. So on top of the benzodiazepines, the cocktail of drugs she's taking is starting to mount up. And all of these drugs have the potential to cause the same side-effect ` drowsiness. The problem with mixing drugs like benzodiazepines and Benadryl is it increases the effect, and that means that the user is unaware of how much is too much. In the early afternoon, Houston speaks with her cousin, the singer Dionne Warwick. At this point, apparently there were no signs of trouble. Warwick later said that Houston seemed upbeat and happy. Houston's personal assistant, Mary Jones, lays out a dress for her to wear at the evening's event and suggests that Houston takes a bath. At 2.45pm, Jones heads off to do some errands, leaving Houston alone in room 434. FOREBODING MUSIC MUSIC CONTINUES The last phone call that Houston makes is to a pastor friend who she had turned to throughout her problems with addiction. Her friend doesn't answer. PHONE LINE RINGS There were no witnesses to what happened next except Houston herself. FOREBODING MUSIC Key-card records from the hotel show that Mary Jones re-entered room 434 at 3.36pm. As she goes back in, Jones notices that the floor of the bathroom is soaking wet. She calls out to Houston. Getting no response, she makes her way towards the bathroom and finds Houston face down in the bath. DRAMATIC MUSIC Jones desperately tries to lift Houston out of the water, but can't do it on her own. Frantically, she enlists bodyguard Ray Watson to help her. Together, they succeed in pulling Houston out. I need a paramedic for a 46-year-old female found in the bathroom. She wasn't breathing. She was not breathing? She was not breathing? Yes. OK. But she is breathing now? OK. But she is breathing now? I don't know. Paramedics from Beverly Hills Fire Department arrive to room 434 within minutes of the emergency call. DRAMATIC MUSIC (CRIES) Whitney Elizabeth Houston is pronounced dead at the scene at 3.55pm. Singer Whitney Houston is dead. Again, this is according to the associated press. I was dressing, and I was watching TV. And then it flashed across the screen ` Whitney Houston. Dead. And it's one of those moments that... that you read the words and you can't believe it's really true. So, we're just getting confirmation now, and it is sad news. We're gonna continue with this breaking news as long as we can here, but singer Whitney Houston, 48 years old and really, one of the greatest voices of all time, has died. With Houston's death shrouded in mystery, in the hours that follow, the unexplained circumstances are investigated by the LAPD, so Houston's body remains in the room. Despite this, Clive Davis' party goes ahead in the hotel ballroom downstairs. The world now knows Whitney Houston is dead, and a few notable guests stay away, but the majority of the 800 invitees attend. I talked to many people at the party and her friends and associates, and they all said the same thing ` 'Why are we here? What shall we do?' We had people trying to have a party with Whitney Houston's deceased body in the hotel. No one really knew what to say. Some where embarrassed by being there, others were simple, 'The show must go on.' It was a very strange mixture of emotions. 10 hours after Houston's death, the coroner finally removes her body from the hotel and takes it for examination. In determining the cause of death of someone found in the bathtub, the first thing you would look for is waterlogging of the lungs. And in Whitney's case, that was present. However, it can be caused by so many things that, on its own, it can't tell us why Whitney Houston died. So can the autopsy evidence actually determine drowning as the cause of Houston's death? There are other features of the lungs that do pinpoint drowning as the cause of death, and this is crepitation of the surface of the lung, which is caused by water entering the air passages mixing with the mucus, which then traps air in the periphery of the lung, giving it a crackling texture. This is significant because it shows that the individual was alive and breathing when their air passages were submerged under the water. So why was she unable to save herself? And what did happen in those few critical missing minutes? WATER HISSES 1 UPBEAT MUSIC Did you realise that the average NZ home produces around 8 litres of moisture a day? Over a year, it's the equivalent of two of these. Moisture is created by day-to-day living, like indoor clothes drying, cooking and showering. Rising damp from beneath your house can add to the problem. Damp homes are harder to heat, and they're bad for our health. So reduce moisture by opening windows and doors regularly to let fresh air circulate, use externally vented fans in kitchens, bathrooms and laundries, dry your clothes outside when you can, and make sure you sort out insulation and heating too. Here's a tip ` always address the sources of moisture in your home before considering installing a ventilation or dehumidifying system. Check out energywise.govt.nz for advice on how to solve dampness in your home. Reducing moisture improves your warmth, comfort and health. I'll see you next time. 1 Having established that Houston had relapsed into addiction in the days before her death and that she was under the influence of a number of drugs that can cause drowsiness when she died, Richard Shepherd turns his attention to the scene evidence to see whether anything found by investigators can shed light on what happened when Houston was alone in the bathroom and reveal what caused her to drown. TENSE MUSIC When I arrived, uh, and made entry into the hotel room, it was found to be somewhat disarray. There was, uh, furniture moved, there was, uh, empty food plates. There was, uh, a number of, uh, prescription bottles and packages of pills. There was some empty, uh, bottles and beer cans and ashtrays filled with cigarettes. Carpet was wet. Uh, it wasn't the neatest. The discovery of open alcohol in room 434 pointed to a possible explanation. The scene findings and the history of chronic alcohol abuse strongly suggested that Whitney Houston was likely to be under the influence of alcohol at the time of her death. This led investigators to speculate that Houston may have overdosed on alcohol and prescription drugs and fallen asleep in the bath. Despite the findings at the scene, the toxicology shows that there was no alcohol present in Whitney Houston's bloodstream at the time that she died. So she wasn't drunk, and alcohol hasn't played a part in her death. The first clue to what actually happened comes from a seemingly minor detail in the witness reports. Mary Jones stated that when she entered the room, there was already water on the bathroom floor, and yet the taps were turned off. If Houston had fallen asleep in the bath, that wouldn't explain how the water got there. But her external injuries might. The fact there's bruising to the knees and face suggests a fall into the bath. And as the bruising is all to the front of the body, it suggests a fall forwards. And this matches the position described by Mary Jones when she found her. The most plausible explanation for the water on the floor would be displacement caused by the impact of Houston falling and pushing the water up and over the edge of the bath. But a fall alone would not explain why she drowned. Whitney Houston was 5'6" in height, so it's unlikely that she could fall into a bathtub without making contact with several surfaces on the way down. In fact, there is a mark on the left side of her forehead which indicates that she hit her head as she fell. If the blow to the head rendered Houston unconscious, it would provide the answer. So the next stage in the examination was to look beneath the surface. And there was a small amount of bruising on the undersurface of the scalp, but not extending into the orbit or into the temple muscles, which showed this was a minor injury and very unlikely to have caused unconsciousness. So this injury was not the reason why Whitney Houston was unable to save herself. Something else affected Houston when she was getting into the bath, and the toxicology holds the key. Cocaine is metabolised very quickly within the body, and the presence of cocaine and high levels of the metabolite within the bloodstream of Whitney Houston suggests that one of the last things she did was take some cocaine. This evidence is backed up by the discovery of a small spoon with a white crystal-like substance in it alongside a rolled up piece of paper on the bathroom counter. DRAMATIC MUSIC Houston had once again succumbed to her biggest vice. On top of the drowsiness caused by the prescription drugs, the anaesthetic properties of freebase cocaine would've had a disorienting effect. The piece of evidence that helps us best to understand what probably happened in that bathroom are some injuries that the autopsy report calls scald burns. When the temperature of the bathwater was measured six hours after Houston's death, it was found to still be 93.5 degrees Fahrenheit. At 3pm when Houston got in, it was far higher. SOLEMN MUSIC In trying to understand what happened when Whitney Houston got into the bath, we have to understand that it was a very hot bath and that all her senses were dulled by the combination of drugs that she had circulating within her bloodstream, and her response to pain would've been very significantly reduced. The response of her tissues in her legs would not have been reduced and the damage would've been the same. There is a disconnect between what her brain is perceiving is happening, due to the effects of all of the drugs dulling the senses, and what the tissues of her leg are responding to, which is the heat and the damage caused by that heat. The legs cause shock, the shock caused her blood pressure to plummet, and she faints and falls into the bathtub. This is a known effect called the Jacuzzi syncope or the Jacuzzi faint. It's caused by shock from immersion of the legs in water, causing lack of blood to the brain, and it causes the individual to black out. With Houston's blood flow further constricted by the effects of the cocaine and the blocked artery in her heart, her susceptibility to a Jacuzzi faint was dramatically increased. These things combine together to mean that she is unconscious before she hits the water, and that is the reason why she's unable to save herself. So what then of the bruising and other marks on Houston's body that Richard Shepherd first identified? It would be very difficult to get an adult woman out of a bath. They would be a dead weight. It's likely that the efforts made to lift Houston out of the bathtub were the cause of the bruises to the arms and shoulders. Of the other injuries that Whitney Houston had, there were some areas of skin slippage. Skin deteriorates when it spends time in water. The longer the time or the hotter the water, the greater the effect upon the skin. And if that skin is handled, it may be damaged, and this is skin slippage. These findings prove that the majority of Houston's external injuries took place after her death. Perhaps we can take comfort, then, from the fact that although Whitney Houston died drowning in a bath of very hot water, which sounds like an awful way to die, the evidence suggests that she wouldn't have suffered for more than a second or so. SOLEMN MUSIC Just days after Houston's death, her drug dealer showed no remorse. I never thought it was my fault. That's not` Nobody's gonna pass out in a fuckin' bathtub, bein' spun out on cocaine. They're gonna be fuckin' cleanin' the bathtub, if anything, you know. I'll remember Whitney as a` like, a legendary icon of music. But at the same time, I'll remember her as just another customer. For some, Houston's illustrious career will never be separated from the addictions she was mired by. But for her army of fans and the people she worked with, her legacy is undiminished. You know,... a lot of people who get what she got tend to be thinking it's all about them. But Whitney Houston was profoundly humble and so spiritual. I believe that Whitney has a strong place in heaven and she's probably conducting the choir up there. And, um, for someone of her superstar status, she would always talk to fans, she would always acknowledge people personally. If there were 100 hands reaching out to touch her, she would do her best, like a politician, to shake everybody's hand and always say thank you to everybody. Uh, she was wonderful. Tragically, despite the dizzying heights Houston ascended in her career, in her personal life, she was never able to free herself from the dark undertow of addiction, and in the end, it destroyed her. Whitney Houston did die as a result of an accident. But that accident was contributed to by her lifestyle, her chronic cocaine abuse causing the damage to her heart muscles, the cocktail of drugs that was present in her body at the time she got into that bath. And without those, perhaps she'd still be with us today. Captions by Jake Ebdale. Edited by Faith Hamblyn. www.able.co.nz Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air. Copyright Able 2014