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Nancy Grace
Whitney Houston Dies at 48
Aired February 13, 2012 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
NANCY GRACE, HOST: Breaking news tonight, live, LA. American songbird superstar Whitney Houston dead. We are live just feet from the death scene, LA`s Beverly Hilton. As accusations and finger pointing mounts, bombshell tonight. Whitney Houston allegedly found submerged under water, her lungs swimming.
But tonight, as we wait for toxicology results, who was responsible for pumping the beautiful songbird`s body full of powerful drugs? Amidst claims of over-the-top behavior, wild spending and illicit drug use, will there be an arrest in the death of America`s beloved Whitney Houston?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The death of a music legend.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Houston was found dead in a bathtub in her Beverly Hills hotel room.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Her entourage finds her submerged, face below the water line, not breathing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Paramedics raced to the fourth floor and found a lifeless Whitney Houston.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whitney Houston was pronounced dead.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Her autopsy is complete now. The result...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They are on lockdown.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No visible signs of trauma, no foul play.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But there were allegedly many bottles of prescription drugs, from Valium to sleeping pills.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She, you know, had quite a troubled life.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Troubled with addiction her whole -- really her whole adult life.
DIANE SAWYER, ABC NEWS: Is it alcohol? Is it marijuana? Is it cocaine? Is it pills?
WHITNEY HOUSTON, SINGER: (INAUDIBLE)
SAWYER: If you had to name the devil for you?
HOUSTON: That would be me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And her stormy relationship with singer Bobby Brown.
BOBBY BROWN, SINGER: This is my wife.
HOUSTON: Hi!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On and off camera, we watched them spiral out of control with drugs and violence.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) that way.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There are talks about her drug addiction, her drug abuse.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She was in and out of rehab.
HOUSTON: First of all, let`s get one thing straight. Crack is cheap. I make too much money to ever smoke crack. Let`s get that straight, OK? I don`t do crack. I don`t do that. Crack is whack.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So we remember Whitney Houston today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: That`s Houston singing "I Will Always Love You" from Arista Records, and her interview with Sawyer, ABC News.
Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. Breaking tonight, live, LA, American songbird superstar Whitney Houston dead. We are live just feet here from the death scene, LA`s Beverly Hilton. As accusations and finger pointing mount, bombshell tonight. Houston allegedly found submerged under water, her lungs swimming.
Straight out to special guest joining us here live, Jen Garcia, assistant editor of "People." She attended the Grammys and has been on the scene from the get-go. Jen, what do you know?
JEN GARCIA, "PEOPLE" MAGAZINE: You know, we don`t know all that much right now. What`s clear is that she was found in a tragic state. You know, what is clear is that there was a lot of prescription drug use. And you know, it really just is a tragic situation right now.
GRACE: Well, I`m hearing in my ear, joining me right now is Don Lemon, CNN anchor, joining me, at the LA coroner`s office. Don, thank you for being with us. What do we know about the autopsy report on Whitney Houston?
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Good question because I just spoke with the assistant coroner, Nancy, Ed Winter, and he said, Listen, by the time the coroner got there, she had been removed from the tub, so not exactly sure if she was submerged under water, if there was enough water in her lungs to say that she drowned. But by the time the coroner got there, she had been removed from that tub.
And they`re saying that the autopsy results are done, Nancy, but they`re waiting on the toxicology reports to come in, which as you know -- we both covered Michael Jackson, other stars who have dealt with the same thing -- that could take a couple of weeks. They want to know what drugs, if any, were in her body before they make a final determination. Autopsy`s done, Nancy, but toxicology reports, results, not in yet.
GRACE: With me there at the coroner`s office here in LA is Don Lemon.
Let`s go to the expert, Dr. Bill Manion, medical examiner, joining us tonight out of Philadelphia. Dr. Manion, of course they know if she was totally submerged in the water. Of course she was taken out of the bathtub. (INAUDIBLE) face and her hair weren`t soaked, that would be a good indicator if she were totally under the water. Dr. Manion, help us.
DR. BILL MANION, MEDICAL EXAMINER: Well, yes, if she had drifted under the water in a coma, if she had passed out from a drug overdose, just by gravity, some of the water would go down into her airway and down into her lungs.
But I think the main thing the coroner has done so far has said there`s no evidence of any assault. She didn`t have any injuries in the back of her head. She didn`t slip in the tub and fall and hit her head. She wasn`t strangled or anything like that. So this is going to be strictly a drug overdose type of case. They`ve recovered the pill bottles, and I`m sure...
GRACE: But you know, I just don`t think it`s that simple, Dr. Manion! I don`t think it`s that simple because if you look back over history -- look at Michael Jackson. Look at Anna Nicole Smith. Look at Archie Bunker, for Pete`s sake, Carroll O`Connor, and the man that supplied his son a deadly dose of narcotics. It`s not that simple.
And also, back to Don Lemon joining us there at the coroner`s office, CNN correspondent. Don, they may know right now whether she died of a deadly dose of drugs pumped into her body or whether she drowned to death in her own bathtub. But the issue is much more complex than that. Who gave her the drugs? What were the drugs? And who was with her at the time she went under water?
LEMON: Right. And then, look, Nancy, they`re not denying that drugs were found. They`re saying that drugs were found in the hotel room and that there were prescription drugs.
And after the coroner held a briefing, I spoke to him privately and he said, yes, Don, there were prescription drugs found in the room. But according to him, Nancy, not out of the ordinary. He said to me, I have more prescription drugs, meaning the assistant coroner, in my home than was found in the room.
And of course they know. I posed that question to them. I said, Listen, the toxicology reports, that`s just the final word for you to be 100 percent sure. You`ve been doing this for a while. You have some idea of what killed someone if you know what you`re doing. And he hedged a little bit and said, We have some suspicion, but we don`t want to really say what happened right now, Nancy. You know they know.
GRACE: OK. Let`s see those shots again, Liz. Take a shot -- there you see Whitney Houston leaving this party we`re telling you about just before her death. She went into the party glammed to the max. She was absolutely gorgeous, her wits about her. She even sang a little bit, I believe it was "Jesus Loves Me, This I Know" with another person. She was totally together.
When she left the party, there was blood coming down her legs. Her hair was soaking wet. She was disheveled. She was unkempt. Everything went south at this party!
I want to go to Ellie Jostad, our chief editorial producer. Ellie, give me a timeline about the hours, the days and the hours leading up to Whitney Houston`s death.
ELLIE JOSTAD, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER (via telephone): Well, Nancy, she was in town for the Grammy party. That was Saturday night. Wednesday, "People" magazine is reporting that she was being -- was seen sort of out of it, appearing to be under the influence of something Wednesday morning. Thursday, she goes to a rehearsal, where again she`s described as disheveled. She`s waving her arms frantically while she`s talking to people. She`s wandering around in the hotel lobby.
GRACE: Oh, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait! Ellie, Ellie, hold on. When you say she`s wandering around in the lobby -- is that when she had been tutoring or coaching some women that were going to sing as a Grammy performance? And isn`t it true that there are reports she was wandering around with her clothes mismatched, kind of out of it, in the lobby?
JOSTAD: Right.
GRACE: She didn`t know where she was going. She was muttering to herself. She broke out in song in the lobby. Her hair was a mess. What do you know, Ellie? These hours are critical.
JOSTAD: Right. Right. This is Thursday during the day. She allegedly smelled of cigarettes and alcohol. People say that she was complaining -- "ranting" is the word that was used -- about the clothes she had to wear to the party Saturday night. And then this is, you know, just leading up to the point where she goes to this party Thursday night. And again, she`s seen looking disheveled when she leaves.
GRACE: Everyone, you are seeing shots of Whitney Houston at the party just before her death. She was totally together when she walked into that party. When she left, blood coming down her legs, her hair soaking wet, disheveled, muttering.
You are seeing a shot now that is allegedly the body of American songbird Whitney Houston snapped by TMZ, the beautiful star pictured there in a body bag. And now the only question is why.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pronounced dead at the age of 48.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Talks about her drug addiction, her drug abuse.
HOUSTON: And I didn`t only think about -- think about me, but I thought about other people`s struggles.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Drugs don`t care about your level of sophistication. They don`t care about your talent. They want your life.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On and of camera, we watched them spiral out of control with drugs and violence.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the reality show "Being Bobby Brown," Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown gave us a glimpse into their bizarre life together.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello! (INAUDIBLE) lunch yet? (INAUDIBLE)
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whitney went from superstar to super-something.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Your drug of choice was weed combined with cocaine.
HOUSTON: Cocaine. Rock cocaine.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Rock cocaine.
HOUSTON: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whitney Houston has died.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The death of singer Whitney Houston.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Houston was pronounced dead.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They found Whitney Houston there unresponsive.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just hours before she was to attend a pre-Grammy party.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A sad chapter, a final chapter in her life.
HOUSTON: That is (EXPLETIVE DELETED) (INAUDIBLE) Oh, my gosh!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Excuse my French, but...
HOUSTON: Look what he bring! Here is somebody with flowers (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here`s some lotion (ph).
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello! Do you have lotion here in this place?
HOUSTON: Do you understand a word that`s coming out his mouth?
(LAUGHTER)
(CROSSTALK)
HOUSTON: Hush. Hush your mouth (INAUDIBLE) OK, what are we supposed to be doing here? Are we going to get a massage?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That`s what I thought. Hello! Hello!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Did everybody, and their brother and sister and cousin, too, use Whitney Houston? You heard Whitney Houston singing, "I Want to Dance With Somebody" from Arista Records, and you saw her on the Bravo reality show "Being Bobby Brown." So I guess Bobby Brown brought home that paycheck. What happened to all of her money? Where did it go?
A lot of people lashing out at Houston the day after, claiming she died at the hands of her own lifestyle. But I don`t know that that is necessarily true. How many people did she support? How many people were leeching off her? Who was feeding her drugs? And who allowed her to slip under the water the night she died, her lungs full of water? We are waiting on toxicology reports right now.
Standing outside the coroner`s office is CNN anchor Don Lemon. Don, I know that -- I`m hearing you say the autopsy`s complete, but we don`t have an answer until we get that toxicology report. We do not have a cause of death until we know that. Is that correct, Don?
LEMON: We don`t have a cause of death until we know that, until we get those toxicology results back. But Nancy, as you know, just from doing an autopsy, you can find out a lot. They have some idea. They said, you know, it could be anything. She could have had a heart attack. Who knows? But they have some idea just from doing an autopsy.
And Nancy, you know, I don`t want to get ahead of myself here, but you talked about those pictures of her coming out of that nightclub. I asked the coroner about those scratches that you mentioned, about the blood, about all that. And he said there were no serious signs of trauma. But yes, you do see those scratches and you do see her coming out of that club disheveled.
GRACE: Well, I can tell you right now, Don Lemon, it sounds to me like there`s going to be a second opinion as to cause of death. It`s our understanding that Houston`s body is going from LA all the way back home to New Jersey.
Joining me right now, David Caplan, entertainer reporter. David, what can you tell us? How many people were living off Whitney Houston? Who was responsible that evening? Who was with her, or should have been with her?
DAVID CAPLAN, ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER: Well, first let`s start with who she was supporting. She of course had her daughter, Bobbi Kristina, who`s 19. And of course, there were sort of auxiliary people in her life. For example, her stepmother, who was actually married to her father, who died in 2003, sued Whitney Houston for about over $1 million, claiming that the money received from her late father was actually -- should have gone to the stepmother. The stepmother was also saying that...
GRACE: Now, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Wait, wait, wait! Now, it`s my understanding, David Caplan, that the way that whole thing erupted was her father took money, thousands and thousands, hundreds of thousands of dollars, from her, borrowed it. Didn`t steal it, borrowed it. Whitney gave it to him. And he said, Don`t worry, I`m going to make you beneficiary of my life insurance policy. So when he died, Whitney Houston in line for the payback, but it didn`t happen because then his wife sues Whitney Houston. Is that the way that went down, Caplan?
CAPLAN: Yes. Exactly the way it went down. And in fact, the stepmother was saying that the money that was part of that life insurance policy was supposed to go paying the stepmother`s mortgage for her house in New Jersey. So of course, we have those sort of other people around her.
I will say, though, according to some reports, though, Whitney`s 2011 net worth, though, was between $80 million and $150 million. And then that night, she was with her aunt and some other security personnel at the hotel.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hers was a voice instantly recognized by millions worldwide.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sudden news that Whitney Houston is dead.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It hurts. It really hurts.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The pop star was found dead by her bodyguard in her Beverly Hills hotel room.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was no visible signs of trauma.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Houston`s much publicized struggle with drugs.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She struggled with drugs and alcohol.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Foul play is not suspected.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How did she die?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: That is the beloved American songbird Whitney Houston, first singing "I Have Nothing" from Warner Brothers, "I Will Always Love You" from Arista.
Whitney Houston was first discovered singing at the Hope Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey. She went on to be the first African-American female on the cover of "17" magazine. Clive Davis heard her singing, knew in that moment he wanted to sign her. She is one of the top performers in vocal history ever -- not just for a woman, but ever.
We are live outside the death scene, the Beverly Hilton here in LA. In the last hours, songbird Whitney Houston found dead in a hotel bathtub.
I want to go back to David Caplan, entertainer reporter. David, they`re not saying the cause of death yet. They`re waiting on toxicology reports. But I`d like to know how Houston ended up under water. We know that everybody was using Whitney Houston for money. What do you know, Caplan?
CAPLAN: Yes, she definitely was under a lot of stress during that period of time. She was still very nervous and concerned. She was slated to perform at the Clive Davis party. So she was really worried. She had a lot on her plate.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AJ HAMMER, HLN: On and off camera we watched them spiral out of control with drugs and violence. In the reality show "Being Bobby Brown," Whitney Houston and husband Bobby Brown gave us a glimpse into their bizarre life together.
BOBBY BROWN, SINGER: Hello. Do you have lotion? Here in this place?
WHITNEY HOUSTON, SINGER: Do you understand a word that`s coming out of his mouth?
HAMMER: Whitney went from superstar to super -- something.
OPRAH WINFREY, HOST, "THE OPRAH WINFREY SHOW": Your drug of choice was weed combined with cocaine.
HOUSTON: Cocaine and rock cocaine.
WINFREY: Rock cocaine.
HOUSTON: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: That is Houston and Brown singing "Something in Common" from Geffen Records, and on the "Oprah Winfrey Show" from Harpo Productions.
We are live outside the death scene behind me, the Beverly Hilton. Houston pronounced dead there in the hotel. But now we still don`t have a cause of death.
We are taking your calls, straight to Jen Garcia, editor of "People" magazine.
Jen, in the days leading up to her death, what can we learn?
JEN GARCIA, ASSISTANT EDITOR, PEOPLE, ATTENDED GRAMMYS: You know what? There was erratic behavior in the days leading up to her death. It was an unfortunate situation. This is a woman who was looking to be happy. She wanted to be happy so badly and she wanted to be a great mother. But there were just too many stresses in her life. She was dealing with an unfortunate ex-husband, Bobby Brown. And you know, a daughter who was almost 20 years old. She had problems of her own. And Whitney was just really clinging on to whatever she could, you know, to try and be happy. But it just wasn`t happening.
And she had leeches around her. She had a ton of people who were just mooching off her and trying to, you know, get that great lifestyle that she had. And as far as her wanting to be in a good place, you know, she had talked about a comeback. We spoke to folks on the set of "Sparkle," her film that was set to be released this summer. And you know, they were actually surprised.
They thought that she might be difficult to work with. But she wasn`t. She showed up on set on time. And they actually, you know, didn`t see that erratic behavior. And honestly, it was something that surprised people.
GRACE: Joining me right now, Darlene Love, considered Houston her goddaughter. She --
(CROSSTALK)
DARLENE LOVE, CONSIDERED WHITNEY HOUSTON AS HER GODDAUGHTER, ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME SINGER: Yes, hi, how are you?
GRACE: Well, I know that you must be devastated. And a lot of people attacking Whitney Houston and the morning after claiming her own lifestyle is the cause of death.
I disagree with that, Miss Love. I wonder about all the people surrounding her and using her, and why she ended up under water, Darlene Love.
LOVE: You know what? I can`t really talk about that. I have no idea. And the more I hear about it, the deeper the wounds go into me, you know. It`s hard for me to fathom it. I don`t know that part of it and I can`t speak on it. Because it`s all about love. And me and Cissy, her mother, had a relationship that was about love, friendship and prayer. And after your children get a certain age, they`re responsible for themselves. You can only do so much.
And Cissy and I, we just pray for our children, for my children and her children. It was an off and on thing. She would call me and say I`m praying for your kids and I would say I`m praying for yours, too. That`s the only strength we had to keep us when all this was going on. Because your children make choices. And there`s nothing you can do to help them. And these people, (INAUDIBLE) people -- keep people around them that is enabling them. There is nothing we can do around it. They have to make their own choices.
GRACE: You know, Miss Love, Bobby Brown has made the statement that Whitney Houston is the one that got him involved in drugs. And I just find that very hard to believe, Miss Love. Very hard to believe.
LOVE: Well, I find it hard to believe, too, Nancy. And I have no idea about, you know, what went on in their house. What went on in their - - you know, their marriage. I have no idea who was the boss, who did what.
GRACE: Well, I know this. She was on the top of the world with a beautiful voice and her life together when she married Bobby Brown. I mean I`m on the outside looking in but I know that much. Could you just tell us what so many people don`t know about the Whitney that we don`t see on this crazy reality show, "Being Bobby Brown," and on all the videos and all the talk about drugs and alcohol. Who was the real Whitney that you love so dearly?
LOVE: The real Whitney Houston that I love and I always will love, I met her when she was 8 years old. And she was the sweetest little angel you ever wanted to see. I was working for Dionne Warwick. It was me, Cissy Houston, and Dee Dee, her sister. And I was pregnant at the time. And so whenever we`d work in the New York area, I would stay at Cissy`s house.
And Whitney would ask me, well, where are you staying? And I said I`m staying here. She said, OK, auntie, you can sleep in my bed. So she gave me her bed. And that`s how I became her not so much -- I became her godmother. She actually became my goddaughter. Because she took such good care of me.
She would run to the store and get fruit for me or whatever I wanted. And she couldn`t do enough to take care of me. She was such a positive person. Her smile was just, you know, would fill up the room. She was so full of joy, so full of life, so full of love. So all this is going on now and even all the trouble that she was having. We always had to try to find some peace in it ourselves. If we couldn`t help her, we had to find peace in everything that was going on ourselves. She was such a loving, giving - -
GRACE: Whitney --
LOVE: A light that has been put out. It`s just really so bad that it had to be put out this way.
GRACE: Whitney Houston talking of a comeback. If anybody could do it, it is Whitney Houston. It was Whitney Houston.
Unleash the lawyers. Joining me, Midwin Charles, New York, Darryl Cohen, defense attorney, Atlantic.
Darryl, let`s just break it down. Think about it. Anna Nicole Smith, boyfriend, Howard Stern, in trouble. Accused for what happened to Anna Nicole Smith. Archie Bunker, Carroll O`Conner, going after the drug deal as they gave his son Hugh the final drugs that killed him. It goes on and on. Michael Jackson. Take a look at Conrad Murray. That story still not over.
It`s not over yet when it comes to Whitney Houston, Darryl Cohen.
DARRYL COHEN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: No, Nancy, it`s not. And it`s not going to be over for a long time. Too soon to speculate. All we actually can do is speculate. Too mature -- too premature to know exactly how she died. What we do know is she had this common thread with all the other people that you mentioned. And she died as a result of her lifestyle, as a result of what she did, as a result of people that were just hanging on. And --
GRACE: Hold on, hold on. Hold on a minute. I`m not, I`m not convinced this is a result of what she did, Midwin Charles, because if it comes out somebody pumped her body full of these drugs, gave her that last dose, let her go under water, put her under water, there will be a prosecution, Midwin Charles.
MIDWIN CHARLES, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Yes, of course there will, especially if those facts present themselves and come out after a thorough investigation. But so far we don`t know that yet, Nancy. But I agree with you, if that is the case, then someone ought to be prosecuted. Absolutely.
COHEN: Yes. That`s correct.
GRACE: To Brad Lamm, certified intervention, "How to Help the One You Love." Brad Lamm, let`s hear your thoughts.
BRAD LAMM, CERTIFIED INTERVENTIONIST, AUTHOR OF "HOW TO HELP THE ONE YOU LOVE": Nancy, I`m sure if (INAUDIBLE), why do you think that it`s more Bobby Brown`s fault than hers? I mean that`s the crazy part of addiction. You almost can`t do the math and you put two addicts together in one home, and it gets even worse. So I think in that part of the story --
GRACE: Because she was fine before she married Bobby Brown. That`s why -- I mean I can add two and two equals four.
LAMM: No, but I -- actually with two addicts it`s like one plus one equals five. It gets even crazier. And look, if you just look at the past few years, I think Bobby was actually doing better in his recovery.
What we`re talking about here is relapse. And alcohol has to be considered a drug. For most folks who were in recovery, they`re either in or they`re out of recovery. And if alcohol is part of their story, and I`ve heard it explained today again and again and again that she was a mess. She was drinking champagne. She was -- she was drinking and partying a couple of nights before her death. She was in relapse mode. And we have to talk about that as part of the addiction story here and the tragedy.
GRACE: To Danny Bonaduce, "Morning Show" host, 102.5 KZOK, Danny, you fought your own demons with drugs and alcohol. Weigh in.
DANNY BONADUCE, MORNING SHOW HOST, 102.5 KZOK, FORMER CELEBRITY DRUG USER: Well, I certainly wish I was here under happier circumstances but it`s a pleasure to be back. The fact of the matter is that, first of all, I don`t know if some people, and I don`t mean your guests necessarily are lying to you or just misled. But the toxicology report is in. It takes exactly eight minutes to know exactly what drug she was on. So the fact that people are saying we won`t know for six weeks, they know right this second.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: We remember Whitney Houston and we dig for more answers into her shocking death.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Her bodyguard attempted CPR and pills were found.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: We are live here in L.A. outside the death scene right behind me. The Beverly Hilton where songbird Whitney Houston found dead, submerged allegedly in a hotel bathtub. Who if anyone pumped her body full of drugs? Why were there drugs and alcohol found? What is the cause of death?
We are taking your calls, to Brianna, West Virginia. Hi, Brianna. What`s your question?
BRIANNA, CALLER FROM WEST VIRGINIA: I got a question, Nancy. I actually love your show, I watch you every night, actually. This is actually what I do for a living. I deal with addicts. And I know that drugs can also cause you to have physical problems like heart problems, organ failure. Did she have any physical conditions prior to this incident?
GRACE: You know what, Brianna? We`re waiting to find that out. But to Dr. Bill Manion, let`s follow up on Brianna`s question. How does drug use give you a heart problem?
DR. BILL MANION, M.D., MEDICAL EXAMINER, BURLINGTON COUNTY, NJ: Well, she`s had a long history of cocaine drug, you said. Cocaine is a very powerful vaso-constricter. And so it will hurt the coronary arteries. Some people even have heart attacks taking cocaine. Young people. And I think that long years of usage of cocaine would hurt her coronary arteries and hurt her heart and make her more prone to an arrhythmia, to a sudden death, with a -- with these benzodiazepines and probably alcohol when bored.
GRACE: With me out of L.A., Mike Dow, psychotherapist and addiction expert, author of "Diet Rehab."
Mike, weigh in to the topic. What do you make of her being found in this manner?
MIKE DOW, PSY.D., PSYCHOTHERAPIST AND ADDICTION EXPERT, AUTHOR OF "DIET REHAB: You know, Nancy, what I don`t get, and nobody is talking about, you know, you`re talking about the people who are weighing in and causing this financial burden.
GRACE: Out to the lines. Mary in Michigan. Hi, Mary, what`s your question?
MARY, CALLER FROM MICHIGAN: Hi, Nancy. Love the show. I just feel bad about Whitney`s death. I think it was unnecessary. And I just want to know, are they going to have a public or a private funeral? Do they know yet?
GRACE: To Dorothy Cascerceri, editor, "In Touch Weekly," is the body of Whitney Houston headed back to Newark and what`s the answer to Mary in Michigan`s question?
DOROTHY CASCERCERI, SENIOR EDITOR, IN TOUCH WEEKLY: Well, one can only assume that they`re going to have a private ceremony as we see oftentimes when celebrities die at a young age, which she was only 48. We can also imagine that there will be some kind of more of a public chance for people to mourn in the form of a tribute concert or something like that. But Whitney Houston and her family have always been pretty private and we can definitely assume that they will have a private ceremony.
GRACE: Out to the lines. Susan in New Jersey. Hi, Susan, what`s your question?
SUSAN, CALLER FROM NEW JERSEY: Hi, Nancy. Nice to speak to you. Very hard to -- local girl of ours (INAUDIBLE). I happen to be a psychotherapist and wanted to know your question -- your opinion is that sometimes people who may drink a lot, may come home and take these benzodiazepines to try and soothe the symptoms of being hung-over or intoxicated.
And my question to you is, do you think it`s possible that she may have done this unintentionally to soothe her pain and unfortunately sometimes this does end up in a fatality?
GRACE: To Brad Lamm, certified interventionist, author of "How to Help the One You Love." What about it, Brad?
LAMM: That`s a side effect of benzodiazepine. Those valiums and Xanax that you`ve been talking about, and alcohol, both are depressants. And they can cause respiratory arrest. I can`t imagine that she would have taken her life. You know she was seen earlier in the day and was participating with other people. So my gut is that it was -- her addiction. But it`s just a terrible accident, Nancy.
GRACE: You know what? We`ll wait for the autopsy report before we jump to any conclusions. But I wonder if someone gave her the pills that she most likely took on the heels of alcohol and other prescription drugs.
With me here outside the death scene, the Beverly Hilton, is Jen Garcia, editor of "People" magazine.
Jen, what can you tell me about her daughter, Bobbi Kristina? I understand that the daughter was in the lobby of the hotel when her mother died and that she herself has now been hospitalized twice.
GARCIA: It is a really sad situation. Her daughter Bobbi Kristina has been going through some personal issues for quite some time. And we hear from sources that she`s just been unconsolable since the death of her mother. She was apparently in the lobby of the hotel when she got word and she just started screaming, you know, tell me what happened, what`s going on? So she was rushed to the hospital that evening.
I mean, there`s really sad photos of her on a gurney being taken to Cedars-Sinai Hospital. And the next morning she was brought back to the hospital again. And for the same reason, that she really was just absolutely unconsolable. And just had severe anxiety.
Now at this point, her father wasn`t back yet so she really -- she didn`t have too many people to deal with her.
GRACE: And we`ve been updated that her father leaves a concert and heads across the country to be with his daughter right now. Whitney Houston`s body en route to Newark.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The death of a music legend.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Houston was found dead in the bathtub in a Beverly Hills hotel room.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Her entourage finds her submerged. Face below the water line, not breathing.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Paramedics raced to the fourth floor and found a lifeless Whitney Houston.
LT. MARK ROSEN, BEVERLY HILLS POLICE: Whitney Houston was pronounced dead.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Her autopsy is complete now. The result, they are on lockdown.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: There were no visible signs of trauma, no foul play.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: But there were allegedly many bottles of prescription drugs from valium to sleeping pills.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She, you know, had quite a troubled life.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Struggled with addiction her whole -- really her whole adult life.
DIANE SAWYER, ABC NEWS: Is it alcohol? Is it marijuana? Is it cocaine? Is it pills?
HOUSTON: It has been.
SAWYER: If you had to name the devil for you.
HOUSTON: That would be me.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: And her stormy relationship with singer Bobby Brown.
BROWN: This is my wife.
HOUSTON: Hi.
HAMMER: On and off camera, we watched them spiral out of control with drugs and violence.
HOUSTON: Somebody I heard from that way, duck around that way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: All the hangers on, the leeches, the Monday morning quarterbacks, saying this and that about Whitney Houston, but this is how I will remember Whitney Houston. As I recall it was Super Bowl XXV, Florida, 1991, the national anthem.
(MUSIC)
GRACE: Let`s stop and remember Army 2nd Lieutenant Darryn Andrews, killed Afghanistan, 34, Dallas, Texas, on a second tour, two Bronze Stars, Purple Heart, Silver Star. Texas Tech grad. Loved to hunt, fish, scuba, sky dive. Leaves behind parents Andy and Sondra, twin brother Jarrett, widow Julie, son Daylan, daughter Jacen (ph).
Darren Andrews, American hero.
Thanks to our guests but especially to you for being with us. I`ll see you tomorrow night 8:00 sharp Eastern. And until then, good night.
END
