LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Pop star Whitney Houston died of accidental drowning(意外溺水) due to the effects of cocaine use and heart disease, a Los Angeles County coroner's spokesman said on Thursday.
The 48-year-old singer, who spent years battling addiction to drugs including cocaine, was found submerged(在水中的, 淹没的) in the bathtub of her Beverly Hills hotel room on February 12, the eve of the Grammy Awards.
An autopsy into Houston's death found that the cause of death was accidental drowning with atherosclerotic(动脉粥样硬化的) heart disease and cocaine use listed as contributing factors, Los Angeles County Coroner's spokesman Craig Harvey said.
Harvey said toxicology(毒物学) tests also turned up marijuana, an anti-anxiety medication, a muscle relaxant and an anti-histamine(抗组胺剂) in Houston's system.
Those drugs were not found to have contributed to her death, and no trauma or foul play(犯罪暴力行为) were suspected, the coroner's office said. A final report was expected to be made public within two weeks.
"We are saddened to learn of the toxicology results, although we are glad to now have closure," Patricia Houston, the pop superstar's manager and sister-in-law said in a statement on Thursday.
Houston soared to the top of the pop charts in the 1980s, best known for a string of hit songs including "I Will Always Love You." But her career declined as she battled personal issues that included drug addiction.
Patricia Houston told Oprah Winfrey in an interview this month that she had believed the pop star's worst days of drug abuse were behind her.
Members of the family told Winfrey that Houston was found face down and naked in the bathtub, and that attempts by her staff to revive(使苏醒, 使复活) her proved fruitless.
Houston was last in rehab in May 2011. But celebrity media reported that she was seen drinking heavily and behaving erratically(不正常) in the three or four days before her death.
Sales and downloads of Houston's best-known songs, including "Saving All My Love for You" and "My Love is Your Love" soared around the world after her death.