Whitney Houston's Death: Autopsy to Be Performed Sunday or Monday; Cause Might Be Drowning; Xanax May Have Played Role (Report)

11:05 AM PST 2/12/2012 by Billboard staff

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The six-time Grammy winner died Saturday at the Beverly Hilton.

Reports have begun to roll in about Whitney Houston's final hours and what might have caused her death at age 48.

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TMZ reports that Houston was found submerged in her bathtub at the Beverly Hilton hotel by her stylist, hairdresser and two bodyguards. Houston's entourage became worried about the singer because she had been in the bathroom for over an hour, and it was time to prepare for the Clive Davis pre-Grammy party, where she had planned to perform.

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The hairdresser went in to check on Houston and found the singer in the tub with her face under water and her legs up, looking as though she slid down the back of the tub. Bodyguards attempted CPR on Houston, who remained unresponsive. Paramedics arrived shortly thereafter, and the singer was pronounced dead at 3:55 p.m..

TMZ also reports that the singer had a prescription for the drug Xanax, which she took to calm her nerves before big performances, though sources close to Houston say she did not mention taking the drug Saturday. Various prescription medication bottles are reported to have been found in her room when paramedics arrived.

An unnamed law enforcement official told RadarOnline that the singer had a "plethora of sedatives including Lorazepam, Valium, Xanax and a sleeping medication" in her hotel room.

The prescription drugs were confiscated by the Beverly Hills Police Department. An autopsy is expected to be performed Sunday or Monday.

Reports say that Houston had been in a good mood all day and was excited to perform that evening. Hours before her death, she had phone conversations with her mother, gospel singer Cissy Houston, and her cousin, Grammy-winning singer Dionne Warwick. Both women say they talked to Houston about attending that evening's party and that nothing seemed out of the ordinary.