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Nancy Grace

Houston Casket Photo Provokes Outrage

Aired March 02, 2012 - 20:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

RITA COSBY, GUEST HOST: Breaking news tonight, new controversy in the death of Whitney Houston. The final photo of Whitney emerges showing the pop icon lying dead in her casket. That photo estimated to bring in half a million dollars. Now the funeral home says they`re receiving hundreds of threats over the photo, the owner even being spit on.

Tonight, the funeral home says they had nothing to do with the picture, but the owner adds she knows who snapped the death photo of Whitney Houston. Why won`t she reveal who did it? Is a massive lawsuit about to be filed? Who betrayed Whitney Houston one last time?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Singer Whitney Houston, one of the greatest voices of our generation, has died.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Still unexplained death.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The integrity of the investigation requires us to keep confidential about anything that we`re investigating.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Erratic behavior by Whitney Houston.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Whitney Houston may have spent her last days drinking heavily.

WHITNEY HOUSTON, SINGER: (INAUDIBLE) don`t like to watch trials (ph) and our tribulations.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She struggled with drugs and alcohol.

HOUSTON: I don`t want to be in the realm of where I`m caught in a mold (ph) and I can`t get out. Never. That`s over. I`m beyond it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Open-casket picture allegedly of Whitney Houston.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Secretly taken in her casket.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of people obviously very upset about this picture.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The photos were covertly snapped during a two- hour private viewing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who is being held accountable?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whigham Funeral Home is not responsible in this shameful betrayal.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Whitney was always on the lower level under lock and key.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, it`s truly, you know, a remarkable investigation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What may have contributed to her untimely passing.

DIANE SAWYER, ABC NEWS: Are you strong enough to do that now?

HOUSTON: I think so.

SAWYER: And not let it get you.

HOUSTON: Yes, I am.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSBY: Good evening, everybody. I`m Rita Cosby, filling in tonight for Nancy Grace. You just heard "I Will Always Love You" from Arista Records, and also Whitney Houston speaking to Diane Sawyer on ABC News.

Tonight, new controversy in the death of Whitney Houston. The final photo of Whitney emerges showing the pop icon lying dead in her casket. Is a massive lawsuit about to be filed? Who betrayed Whitney Houston one last time?

Let`s go live to Dorothy Cascerceri, senior editor of "In Touch Weekly." Dorothy, what happened with this controversial photo?

DOROTHY CASCERCERI, "IN TOUCH WEEKLY": Well, Carolyn Whigham has spoken out and said that only three people from her funeral home had access to the body leading up to the funeral and that 15 guards from Nippy, Inc., which is Whitney Houston`s security system, were guarding the body. So she claims that she had no responsibility with this leaked photo.

But she knows who did leak the photo, and she also knows that the photo was taken the day before the funeral, which makes us wonder, How does she know that? Because perhaps the appearance was different Friday versus Saturday? I don`t know. There`s a lot of questions here, but people are outraged that this photo exists.

COSBY: Yes, you bet. And let`s go to Natisha Lance, of course, a CNN producer. Natisha, before I go to you, I want to play a little clip. This is a from a press conference that the funeral director had just a few hours ago. She says again she doesn`t know who did it. She says there were only three people who actually from her home were there, and they weren`t involved. But take a listen to what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAROLYN WHIGHAM, FUNERAL HOME DIR.: This is my daughter, Kara (ph) Whigham, who is a licensed funeral director. This is my partner, who is also my manager, Terry Fields (ph), who is also a licensed funeral director.

You are looking at the only three people that saw Whitney Houston. My staff, my secretaries, my drivers, never, never was exposed to any area that she was in. Whitney was always on the lower level under lock and key security being provided by Nippy Inc. -- not my security, Nippy, Inc., security.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSBY: All right, Natisha Lance, tell us about Nippy security.

NATISHA LANCE, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Well, Nippy, Inc., is Whitney Houston`s production company. So this was security that was provided by her own management team. So that brings a lot of things into question. And just as Dorothy was saying, there were 15 security guards, 24-hour security. They were all rotating around. Some of these security guards were even sleeping at the funeral home to ensure that the body was secured.

COSBY: So Natisha, what kind of steps, and what do we know about these guards? Do they have a long-standing relationship? Did they sign any confidentiality agreements? What`s the deal with them?

LANCE: At this point, we don`t know about those guards, but I`m pretty sure that is something that is going to continue to be investigated, especially by the leader of this funeral home. She says that the family`s investigation into this photo has been closed, but hers has not.

COSBY: And that is very interesting. Rob Shuter, if we can go to you, I think this is surprising. The family says it`s closed. The funeral director says, I know who did it. Do you smell a little bit of a rat? Someone knows who did it, and suddenly, the family says it`s closed? It`s a little strange.

ROB SHUTER, HUFFINGTONPOST.COM: It is strange. Hi, Rita. How are you? Good to see you.

COSBY: You, too.

SHUTER: It`s really odd here. What`s happened is this funeral director has been the one that has been villainized about this. She`s the one that`s come out and looks like the villain here. She`s the one that the public are getting very angry at. She`s the one that says (ph) somebody spat on her. She`s getting death threats.

It`s in her interests to make sure the public knows who did this. I`m not even sure that Whitney`s family care that much about it, but this funeral director certainly does.

COSBY: Yes, and what is being done, too, Rob, in terms of determining which person had access? As we know, three people from the funeral home, all right, 5 security guards. You can bet they probably grilled each one, don`t you think, Rob Shuter?

SHUTER: They were all on shifts, like, this isn`t -- you know, this isn`t security guards just turn up and disappear. They have set shifts where they have to turn up at certain hours. It`s a real job, like you have to be on time for work, I have to be on time for work. This is a job. So they can clearly look at a log and find out who was there at what time.

And they`ll be looking very carefully at that picture to see if anything changed in the picture, if flowers were delivered maybe two hours before the guests arrived. There`s no flowers in that picture. They will be able to narrow down the time and find out who was on that shift, and that person is going to be looked at very carefully.

COSBY: You bet. Dorothy Cascerceri, you know, it upsets me so much. This poor woman, I feel like, you know, so many people were trying to get a piece of Whitney Houston when she was alive. And now here it is in her death, someone taking advantage. I just think it is so despicable, don`t you think?

CASCERCERI: Yes, it absolutely is. I mean, you know, people really love Whitney. And speaking of taking advantage, you know that her gravesite has had armed guards guarding it because this picture was released with the caption saying that she was buried with $500,000 worth of jewels.

And so the family is concerned that perhaps somebody would go even a step further to take advantage of this situation and of this poor woman who is now laid to rest.

COSBY: Natisha Lance, NANCY GRACE producer, $500,000 worth of jewels -- also, walk us through what else was buried with Whitney Houston. I was reading somewhere $200,000 earrings?

LANCE: $200,000 earrings, which were a gift to herself after the success of "The Bodyguard".

COSBY: That`s a pretty nice gift!

LANCE: I would say so. I would say so. Also, a purple gown that was reportedly selected by her mother. There were 300 gowns that could have been chosen from, but this purple gown was one that was of special importance to Whitney Houston. And also gold slippers that were selected reportedly by her daughter, Bobbi Kristina.

COSBY: Detective Steven Rogers with the Nutley, New Jersey, Police Department, how do you decide and figure out sort of who took what? How do you investigate this? With cell phones these days, you can take anything.

DET. LT. STEVE ROGERS, NUTLEY, NJ, POLICE DEPARTMENT: Well, Rita, first of all, it doesn`t sound like to me that a crime was committed. There`s certainly no crime in taking photographs.

COSBY: Now, how -- how is no -- is there any crime here whatsoever? The person just gets away with it, is that what you`re saying?

ROGERS: Well, yes. Unless the funeral director hires a private investigator, and as I think was said earlier in the broadcast, a civil charge would be brought against people. But there`s no real crime being committed here.

But saying that, if a private investigator is retained by this funeral director, sure, there are a lot of questions are going to be asked by people who were around or near that body. It`s a horrific thing, but I don`t see where any crime was committed.

COSBY: Rob Shuter, these photos go for a lot of bucks, right, sadly? I mean, this is hot property.

SHUTER: Oh, absolutely. Unfortunately, death sells magazines. Death is one of those moments in everybody`s life that is a major moment, whether you`re a celebrity or a regular person. Weddings are another moment. Babies are another moment. Those are the three topics that sell the most in magazines and thus can get the most money when you`re selling these pictures.

COSBY: And speaking of big bucks, they were saying -- and we don`t know. Again "The National Enquirer," you know, they never say if they even paid for the picture. They`re not going to say who gave it to them. What does this kind of go for? We`ve been hearing some reports, Rob, $500,000?

SHUTER: Yes, I would guess $500,000 is the top range here. I think anywhere between a couple of hundred thousand and $500,000 is probably a very good guess.

Now, what`s very interesting about this whole situation to me is that nobody`s really that angry with "The National Enquirer." They have shifted all this blame, all these bad feelings from themselves onto the funeral director. She`s the one that`s really feeling the heat from the public.

COSBY: Yes, she certainly is. Natisha Lance, can you believe the kind of pressure? She says she`s getting death threats, her family getting threats. She was spit on. This is just incredible.

LANCE: It is. There are a lot of people who are angry over this. And Rob is absolutely right that "The National Enquirer" is not receiving the brunt of these blows from this angry public over Whitney Houston`s death, as well as this photo that was released.

But I do want to tell you, Rita, I spoke to a professional paparazzi photographer today, and he would suspect that this photo would reach somewhere in the mid to low five-figure range. However, he said if it was sold over and over again to other outlets, that it could get up to $500,000. But he was thinking that a photo like this would be a lot less than $500,000.

However, he did say that "The National Enquirer`s" top-selling issue was with Elvis Presley in his casket, so perhaps they would spend a lot of money, knowing that they would be able to get quite a profit once it hit the stands.

COSBY: And Natisha, we never usually find out who sells the picture. It`s so rare that you ever find out.

LANCE: That`s right. And this particular paparazzi photographer who I spoke to, his company was responsible for the Michael Jackson photo in the back of the ambulance, if you remember that photo. And he said that that photo got up to a million dollars, but that was sold to several different outlets over and over again. And the full price range, full profit was a million dollars.

COSBY: It is absolutely disgusting, making money on their deaths. How tragic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The problem is, I think, the doctors face is, you know, you do have these celebrities and people that actually have ailments.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A sad chapter.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A final chapter.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But then you have the people that actually don`t follow directions and don`t take as directed, and it becomes a bigger problem than the actual health problems that they`ve had.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She struggled with drugs and alcohol and her stormy relationship with singer Bobby Brown.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ex Bobby Brown.

BOBBY BROWN, HOUSTON`S EX-HUSBAND: I would like to say, I love you, Whitney!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The investigation does not stop.

WHIGHAM: You are looking at the only three people that saw Whitney Houston.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are those who know who arranged for "The National Enquirer" to get this picture on the front page of the tabloid.

WHIGHAM: My staff, my secretaries, my drivers never.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Whigham funeral home has been threatened.

WHIGHAM: God knows.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They have received vicious and hateful e-mails and other terrible acts.

WHIGHAM: God bless you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSBY: I`m Rita Cosby, in for Nancy Grace. Outrage as the final photo of the pop icon emerges, and it`s of her on the cover of "The National Enquirer," showing her dead in her casket.

Let`s continue and go to Nicole Partin, funeral director, and also get some sense from you as to what kind of precautions are done. How could someone betray Whitney Houston like this and her family?

NICOLE PARTIN, FUNERAL DIRECTOR (via telephone): Good evening, Rita. Number one priority of a funeral director is the care and respect of the dead human body, and that includes the privacy rights of the family and of that deceased individual, which means absolutely no photography, no video to be taken. In a high-profile funeral like this one...

COSBY: So Nicole, how did this happen?

(CROSSTALK)

PARTIN: ... prepared to bring in authorities...

COSBY: Nicole, how did this happen? I mean, I understand the regular steps, but you`ve got -- in this case, you`ve got an enormous celebrity, and it happened.

PARTIN: Right. And standard protocol would mean bringing in local city and state police. In this sense, the family and management said, We have our own security. And if at that point, their security comes in and says, We`re going to watch over the body, I have to stand with the Whigham Funeral Home on this one. She says, We have three employees and three employees only who were on there. These people take their career very seriously. They`re not going to jeopardize that.

COSBY: All right, well, let`s go to Michael Garcia, Michael Jackson`s former bodyguard. Michael, you`re a celebrity bodyguard. In addition to this funeral home, there was this private company, Nippy. This is Whitney Houston`s company that they employed out. Sounds like people who`ve worked with her probably before, I would assume.

So how did this happen there? It sounds like if it didn`t happen at the funeral home, that looks like the place you look.

MICHAEL GARCIA, MICHAEL JACKSON`S FMR. BODYGUARD: Yes, first of all, thank you for having me. Absolutely. And I think it has to do with the three people that were inside the funeral home. And I think they really need to take...

COSBY: Wait! So you think the funeral home or you think the bodyguards? Who do you think did it?

GARCIA: I think it`s anybody who had access to -- you know, to get inside of the building, including the three people, including the security. You have to look at everybody, you know, and everybody has to be suspect.

When you`re talking about -- like, the lady was mentioning hundreds of thousands of dollars -- you know, people do some outrageous things. And whether you think it`s right or not, they`re going to do it. And you know, $100,000 can really make some people, you know, turn a blind eye, or it can make some people do some outrageous things, you know?

COSBY: Yes, sell your soul. Now, Michael, you know, you worked for a very high-profile person, Michael Jackson. He was friends also with Whitney Houston, as we know. Walk us through, though -- don`t you sign some sort of confidentiality? Don`t you sign, OK, I will not do this, I will not do that? These people let you into their lives. They trust you.

GARCIA: You know what? Every detail is different. Some people might have the necessary documents to sign for confidentiality and some people might not. And some people might be working there because they know somebody. So there`s a lot of different measures that go into it.

And people, you know, may be not as qualified and maybe a little starstruck, you know, might take a photo op, you know, and get into that. So just like the police officer mentioned earlier, you know, they`re going to have to look at times and see what time -- you know, things that are logged and who was working the shift. And I`m sure they`ve got security cameras that are on location.

So there`s a lot of things to look at. But to me, I would figure that everybody is suspect at this point, including the three directors and everybody a part of the security.

COSBY: And Rob Shuter, columnist, "Naughty but Nice," with the HuffingtonPost. Rob, you`ve covered a lot of celebrity cases in your day, my friend. How unusual is it that they`ve got somebody checking on her every six, seven minutes? They`re right by. Clearly, somebody must have seen who took the picture.

SHUTER: Yes, I don`t know if somebody did see who took this picture. What I would predict happened...

COSBY: Inside job! Inside job, Rob!

SHUTER: Yes, but I think it was just one person. I think that -- you know, that the body is dead, so it`s not as if she`s got five security guards watching her. You`re literally just watching a casket. So I guess it`s just one guy in a room standing there. And it only takes one and they got the picture, Rita.

COSBY: Absolutely. And boy, did they betray her trust.

SHUTER: Oh! They did.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can imagine the scene. It was described as a chaotic scene.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whitney Houston pronounced dead at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The open-casket picture allegedly of Whitney Houston.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ms. Houston`s body.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ran in "The National Enquirer."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whitney Houston.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everything was running (ph) so fast.

BROWN: I love you!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The private service at her childhood church.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The owner of the Whigham Funeral Home denies it was anybody on her staff.

WHIGHAM: My staff, my secretaries, my drivers never, never was exposed to any area that she was in.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And the suspicion.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How did it get there?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is unfair and expedient to cast blame.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who`s responsible?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSBY: And the final photo of the beautiful pop icon is released. It`s not a pretty picture at all. It`s a picture of her dead in the casket and it`s on the cover of "The Enquirer." And some believe that "The Enquirer" may have bought the picture for half a million bucks.

We are taking your calls, everybody. Let`s go to Barbara from New York, who`s on the line. Barbara, what`s your question?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Rita. It`s nice to see you.

COSBY: Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Miss Cissy Houston was so wonderful to allow all of us to view the services for her daughter. And I noticed the funeral -- the funeral -- I mean, the funeral itself -- that director herself was extraordinary.

When Whitney`s remains were brought to her funeral home after she left the coroner`s office, she did everything to protect with integrity Whitney by having the canvas there, so you couldn`t even see her being brought in there.

Now, this is my question, and it just infuriates me. What do we have to do? People have a right to their privacy. This woman had passed away. I just don`t understand why there are not laws governing that. And it just infuriates me because to me, this is very disgusting.

And "The Enquirer" has been sued before by well-known people who are living. Why can they not be sued for printing that picture on the front page of their newspaper -- of their paper? Thank you so much, Rita.

COSBY: You know what, Barbara? You bring up some great questions. Let`s unleash the lawyers. Let`s go to Alex Sanchez, defense attorney. Alex, first of all, I thought she had some great questions.

First question, how come this was not more well protected? It sounds like the family went through extraordinary steps. Shouldn`t there be some sort of lawsuits after this?

ALEX SANCHEZ, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: You know, I think the funeral director`s getting a bad rap here. She seemed to have done everything she possibly could to ensure the security.

COSBY: But she obviously didn`t do well enough. I mean, you know...

SANCHEZ: Yes, but if she`s turning over security to Whitney Houston`s bodyguards and the family is taking responsibility for securing the body, why is the funeral director suddenly responsible? At the end of...

COSBY: Can`t you say it`s still -- can`t you say it`s still her home, that she still is the overseer? Or does she just abandon it...

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: No, not abandon. She gave responsibility to that group to take care, make sure nobody comes in and violates the privacy of Whitney Houston. So you`re going to blame the funeral home for this? That sounds irresponsible.

COSBY: No, but somebody is responsible! I`m not saying...

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: They are. And I think we know who is responsible. And it`s those people, it sounds like to me from the evidence that I`ve heard, that the people that were in charge of monitoring this -- the -- Whitney Houston, or somebody in that crowd, unless it`s a...

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "The National Enquirer" put in awful intrusive photographs.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A picture of Whitney Houston`s body in her casket.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You`re looking at the only three people that saw Whitney Houston.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Open casket picture plastered on the cover of a national tabloid.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These people who are buying these magazines who are constant consumers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Body was pulled from the bathtub.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three to four weeks away from completing all their tests.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She was a train wreck happening. And no one could stop her.

BOBBY BROWN, SINGER: My ex-wife, Whitney Houston. I will always love you

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSBY: And this is Rita Cosby in for Nancy Grace.

Some beautiful pictures of Whitney Houston, but a very ugly picture I think of her on the cover of the "Enquirer" of her dead in her casket, the final photo of the beautiful pop icon.

And right before the break, Barbara was calling and she was asking about specifically can "the Enquirer" be sued for showing this photo?

Let`s go to Randy Kessler, if we could, defense attorney, to ask him that question.

Randy, I don`t think "the Enquirer" can be sued. I mean, they`re allowed to publish what they like. It`s the subject of taste, right?

RANDY KESSLER, DEFENSE ATTORNEY, CHAIRMAN, FAMILY LAW SECTION OF ABA: Not only can`t they be sued but this is what they do. This is how they get people watched them. But, Barbara asked another question which why don`t we have laws to prevent this. Its cases like this that caused laws to be passed. And maybe there will be an outrage and maybe people will rise up and say, we want laws passed.

COSBY: So Randy, you wait? You wait until something like this happens? Why not protect families like this? Not just because it`s Whitney Houston. Anybody. I mean, what a horrible thing, somebody in their final, you know, this is their final good-bye to their daughter. And this is what happens?

KESSLER: It is and a horrible thing to say, but people in the spotlight, you know --.

COSBY: What? That`s the price they pay? You know?

KESSLER: You know, I`m not saying it`s right, I`m not saying it`s acceptable. But it`s part of what you know. When you`re popular and you make your money from the millions who love you, there`s incentive out there. People want to know every detail.

And it`s not just people that are dead. There are people in their bad moments, their worst moments. They caught by the paparazzi doing things. They wished they were seen doing. It`s part of who we are. And it`s part of the public`s problem because we crave that stuff. And everyone wants to see it. If we didn`t want to see that picture, this would not be a story. People want to see the picture.

COSBY: You know what`s disgusting is somebody obviously took that picture.

Let`s go to Ramani Durvasula. She is a clinical psychologist. What kind of a person takes pictures like this and really basically does anything for money?

RAMANI DURVASULA, PH.D., CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: An opportunist. I mean somebody who doesn`t have any remorse. I mean, this is incredibly disrespectful not only to Whitney Houston but to her survivors. So, somebody who is disrespectful, opportunistic, disrespectful and just doesn`t care.

COSBY: Absolutely. And Rob Shuter with the "Huffington Post." You know, this is not the first picture of Whitney Houston that`s gone out that`s unsavory. The picture of her in the gurney and her body bag was out, right?

ROB SHUTER, COLUMNIST, NAUGHTY BUT NICE, HUFFINGTON POST: Yes, absolutely. There was a picture of her in the body bag leaving the hotel. A gross, gross picture. But that also was out there.

What`s interesting thought particularly about the picture in the casket to me was it was actually her sister-in-law Patricia Houston, who ran the company Nippy Inc. She was Whitney`s manager, she spoke at the funeral. It was Patricia presumably that hired the security team. I`m surprised that Patricia doesn`t want to know who leaked this picture.

COSBY: Well, and you know what`s interesting? She apparently went to tremendous lengths on the gurney photo and said look, I want to make sure there`s no picture like that out there. It got out. I guess, you know, I just think it`s horrible, don`t you think, Rob? I mean, this is despicable.

And yet there are also photos, apparently some video from the hallway, too. So I think they`re going to be able to figure out who is responsible.

SHUTER: Yes, I think eventually we`re going to find out. And let`s remember, the lady that runs the funeral home has told us she knows who did this. She knows the name. So I think if this sort of protest, if this anger continues, if she keeps getting death threats, people spitting on her, she`s going to reveal that name. So whoever did this, better be careful.

COSBY: Rob, you bring up a great point. She at some point is going to say forget it. There`s a picture of her.

Let me play also -- this is where she basically said, look. I know who did it; the family knows who did it. Let`s see who will spill the beans. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAROLYN WHIGHAM, DIRECTOR, WHIGHAM FUNERAL HOME: Whatever length of time it takes, and I am quite sure it is not going to be of any surprise to the family who it is. Now, that`s between them and God.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSBY: And detective Steven Roger, do you think at some point we`re going to find out who it is? And you can tell that funeral director -- and again if they didn`t have anything to do with it, these poor people are just being barraged and assaulted. Don`t you think we`re going to finally know who did it? We are going to get to the bottom of it?

STEVEN ROGER, DETECTIVE (via Skype): I`m sure we will, Rita. In fact, that funeral direct are is so adamant about their integrity and the way they conduct business, I really believe that real soon, at least to protect their business, we`re going to find out who did this.

COSBY: I think so, too. Let`s go to the callers.

Let`s go Richard from California. You`re on the line, Richard. What`s your question?

RICHARD, CALLER, CALIFORNIA: I guess my question is really this. First of all, my respects to the family. What a wonderful artist she was. And I can hear her songs and she still will live forever with us.

COSBY: Absolutely. And what`s your question, Richard? I agree. I think she was the most phenomenal artist ever. She truly was. What`s your question?

RICHARD: My question is how does she have so many security guards, so many people watching over her body that something like this that would be really -- I don`t want to say damaging because it`s not damaging, but how painful for all the people who really loved her?

COSBY: It is heartbreaking. And Mike Garcia, Michael Jackson`s former bodyguard, how do you think this happened? And it is such a betrayal of trust. I think Richard hits a really good point because these are people that she let in her inner circle. And if indeed, it was the family member who is running the security company, she trusted these people, too.

MIKE GARCIA, MICHAEL JACKSON`S FORMER BODYGUARD: Absolutely. It`s the ultimate betrayal. And you know it`s not so much who hired the security company but also the security officers themselves who, you know, it`s the integrity of them. So, definitely comes down to each individual and how they`re going to handle the opportunity and if they`re going to take it or not.

COSBY: Yes. And how they can sleep at night now if they took this picture. Shame on them after they got paid.

GARCIA: Hundreds of thousands of dollars will change people`s minds in an instant.

COSBY: Yes. Then they have no morals.

So, let`s go to Lisa from New Jersey is on the line. Lisa, what`s your question?

LISA, CALLER, NEW JERSEY: I was listening to Carolyn Whig ham saying that only her, and two other staff members was around Whitney`s body the entire time. But my question is, did they embalm her, did they dress her, did they do her makeup, did they do her hair? Somebody else had to do that. I`m pretty sure them three women didn`t do it.

COSBY: That`s an interesting question. Let`s go to Natisha Lance. Were there other people that had access or was it such a mom and pop shop that they do it all there?

NATISHA LANCE, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Well, according to Ms. Whig ham, it seems as if those were the only three in addition to the 15 security guards. And I do want to say, Rita, I reached out to Nippy Inc. today to get the answer to the security guards.

I guess the bigger question is what were the instructions that they were given? Could they bring their cell phones in, many people`s cell phone have cameras on them. What were they allowed to have with them when they were doing the security? I did not receive a call back from them. But those are interesting questions that need to be answered as well.

COSBY: Yes. those are great questions. Nicole Partin, former funeral director, current funeral director. What kinds of steps are taken when it is someone this high profile? Did they take their cell phones, did they say, you can`t do this, you can`t do that.

NICOLE PARTIN, FUNERAL DIRECTOR (via telephone): Yes. It`s actually very standard protocol to say no cell phones allowed by the staff, absolutely no cell phones in the prep room which would be where the make-up was applied, where the clothing was applied, absolutely no video devices, no camera devices allowed. Especially in such a high profile case.

And again, we would rely on the local, civil and state police to come in, but again the family and management said we have our own security. And also the family members have a right at any moment during normal business hours to come into the funeral home. And we don`t know if maybe a family member had access to the body.

COSBY: And Dorothy Cascerceri, I`ve seen reports that apparently, they believe this photo or they know this photo was taken on the day of the wake. So what about surveillance cameras? Doesn`t that narrow down and doesn`t it make you go, OK, then they pretty much have an idea and according to the funeral director they know?

DOROTHY CASCERCERI, SENIOR EDITOR, IN OUCH WEEKLY: Well, right. I mean, the fact that they`re saying they know the day that it was taken, it definitely makes think, where are these security cameras? Do they have security cameras? Is it such a mom and pop shop that they don`t. We don`t really know.

But, like I said before, the fact that they know and they can determine that the photo was taken the day of the wake makes you think to yourself that perhaps the following day, the day of the funeral, Whitney was not buried with all of that jewelry or in that dress or whatever it may be. I`m only speculating here. And trying to get to the bottom of how do they know when the photo was taken unless there`s something in that photo that only they know that makes them determine that.

COSBY: Or they maybe know who took it. Maybe they know it. And yet to be investigated. Shame on that person.

CASCERCERI: Yes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We remember Whitney Houston and we dig for more answers into her shocking death.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: However, there were prescription medications, medications for anxiety and sleeplessness as well as a throat infection.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Whitney Houston in her final days.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Drinking on the morning that she died. Drinking heavily on the day before. Poolside on Wednesday, there`s a drink by her side.

WHITNEY HOUSTON, SINGER: You have to know when how to slow that train down.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Controversy over a disturbing picture of Whitney Houston on a supermarket tabloid.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It shows the singer in her casket.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The story now behind that photograph.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Whitney Houston secretly taken in her casket.

HOUSTON: Moment that I don`t think anybody that wasn`t there would believe.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who`s responsible?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Somebody who worked in the funeral home.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not me. I just want my name cleared.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She said the family may not be surprised by who is responsible.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSBY: And you just heard "so emotional" from Arista records. This is Rita Cosby in for Nancy Grace.

And the last picture of Whitney Houston released again. It is a picture of her dead in her coffin. And people believe that "the National Enquirer" got it. We don`t know all the details but we know it`s on the cover. And some people believe they got it for half a million buck.

We`re taking your calls, everybody. Let`s go to Suzanne from Michigan who is on the line. Suzanne, what`s your question?

SUZANNE, CALLER, MICHIGAN: I really don`t have a question. I have more of a comment.

COSBY: OK.

SUZANNE: She was as beautiful in death as she was in life.

COSBY: She truly was.

SUZANNE: And I did not think that was an obnoxious picture. I don`t know what the fury is about. This is a picture that people who weren`t allowed to go to the funeral and view the body --

COSBY: So Suzanne, you don`t have a problem -- see, I think there`s something unseemly looking at it. But she`s a beautiful woman. I agree with you regardless.

SUZANNE: It`s better than the picture I saw of Michael Jackson`s skinny and hanging out of a gurney.

COSBY: Although, you know what`s interesting? Let`s go to Dorothy Cascerceri, senior editor of "In Touch." You know, Suzanne raises a point, she`s a beautiful woman. But, the response, Dorothy, has been really overwhelming and incredible hour. It`s a respect of privacy.

CASCERCERI: Right. I think Suzanne does make a valid point that Whitney is a beautiful woman alive and dead, I mean she really is. But at the same time people are outraged because they`re thinking about their own families. And they`re thinking about what if their own mother or daughter, you know, was in their casket, would they want somebody in there taking a photo without their permission? And I think that`s what`s at issue here. If the family released the photo to the public, we`d be dealing with a whole different ball game.

COSBY: Absolutely. And you have to still respect. Look. It`s a daughter, it`s a loved one. There is still very much a break of trust.

Rob Shuter, I want to ask you about the pre-nap. Because look, all this is all about money. That`s why the photo`s on "the Enquirer." You know, that`s why somebody probably pays them. They can make a lot of money selling it. People are looking at it. What do we know about the pre-nap with her and Bobby Brown?

SHUTER: This was an excellent pre-nap. This pre-nap should be the standard I think for every celebrity pre-nap. They made it very clear that what was her was hers and what was his was his. And it was that clear. There was nothing gray about this at all.

So when they finally did get divorced, which obviously they did, there was no argument, none whatsoever, about who should have what. In fact, there was even a confidentiality clause in the divorce, which means that Bobby cannot go on and do a tell-all book where he`ll make a lot of money from that. So I think legally they did this very, very well.

COSBY: And Natisha Lance, what do we know about her finances? Because this is a woman - she was a superstar.

LANCE: She was a superstar. And unfortunately, according to many reports, Rita, her finances were in shambles up until her death. There are many reports out there that she had borrowed money and had advances from record companies as well as her last loan being in the tune of $1.2 million dollar from Clyde Davis.

Now, the issue here is that now after her death, she`s making money from these records. But according to reports her family, her heirs are not going to see any of that money until the debts are paid off.

COSBY: Randy Kessler, defense attorney. You are also, the chairman of the family law section of the American Bars Association. Is there any way -- you just sort of heard all the details. Is there any way, say, Bobbi Kristina, the beautiful daughter of Whitney and Bobby Brown. She gets maybe some money at some point. I hope she`s taken care of, you know, emotionally and financially. My goodness, this poor girl.

Is there any way that money could end up in Bobby Brown`s hands or somebody else`s hands? How will that work?

KESSLER: No. in fact, that the nice thing about this pre-nap. Some pre-nups say if you die or you divorce, here`s what happens to the money. This is the pre-nap is the way I think they should all be done which is if you are going to die or someone dies, you have a will and the will decides how the money is distributed. The pre-nap was only for divorce. They got divorced. The pre-nap is over and done with. Everything now is governed by her will.

COSBY: And Rob Shuter, apparently, there`s also this auction that say it was a legends auction already scheduled before this. What do we know about that? Because they`re selling some of her stuff there.

SHUTER: Absolutely. There`s a lot of stuff that came in and out of Whitney`s life that is now very valuable. Any of the costumes she wore in "the bodyguard," she didn`t keep this stuff. So, it`s interesting. She wasn`t that sort of celebrity that held on to stuff.

Don`t be surprised by that. Dorothy, Judy garland never held on to the ruby slipper. I think when you`re making a movie you don`t think that in 20, 30, 40 years time it`s going to be worth a fortune. So, whoever owns this stuff is the one who will make the money from it.

COSBY: Tonight, everybody, "CNN heroes."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEN NEDIMYER, DEFENDING THE PLANET: I grew up diving in the Florida keys, and it was just the most magical place. The coral reefs were so pretty. And I decided that`s what I wanted to do for a living, is dive on coral reefs.

In an area where there`s live coral, there`s always more fish. The reefs provide protection for our coastal areas and recreational opportunities for millions of people.

I was diving for 40 year and over time I started to see those coral reefs start to die. Coral reefs worldwide are in decline. If they die completely, coastal communities will be bankrupt, tourism will be virtually gone. The billion people in the world will be impacted.

I started thinking how can we fix this upon. My name is Ken Nedimyer, my goal, to restore and reefs.

GARY YOSS, DIVER: We developed a system that`s simple and something that we can train others to do.

NEDIMYER: We start with this piece of coral this big and we hang it out in trees. And after a year or two, it becomes this big. Then we cut off the branches and do it again.

BILL CAUSEY, REEF CONSERVATION PIONEER: Ken`s coral nursery is ten times larger than other center in existence.

NEDIMYER: In 2003, we originally planted six corals here. Now, there are over 3,000 growing in this area alone.

Before I felt helpless watching it die. Now I think there`s hope. It`s not too late. Everybody can help. I see all those corals and all those fish. It is like the whole reef is coming back to life and making a difference is exciting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Whitney Houston`s mom has reportedly upset.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That photograph of Whitney Houston in an open casket.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whig ham funeral home is not responsible.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Plastered on the cover of a national tabloid.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And the suspicion was that the picture had been taken by somebody who worked in the funeral home.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not me. I just want my name cleared.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Cissy Houston is demanding a lie detector test.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am quite sure it will be no surprise to the family who it is.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For anyone she thinks may have taken that picture.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now that`s between them and God.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSBY: And I`m Rita Cosby in for Nancy Grace.

The beautiful Whitney Houston died February 11th, and missed all of this. They still don`t have a cause of death.

Let`s bring in Dr. Michelle Dupre. She is a forensic expert and also medical examiner.

And Dr. Dupre, why is it taking so long to determine cause of death?

DOCTOR MICHELLE DUPRE, M.D., MEDICAL EXAMINER, FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST: Well, there are a lot of things that need to be checked and ruled out. Drowning was that one time considered and of course, that`s a diagnosis of exclusion. So, that means we need to rule out every other cause. When you have drugs suggested, of course, you have to screen for all of those.

COSBY: How long, though, and thorough of an examination. We know there was some medicine by her bed. Does it make it more complicated? What is complicating this or is it normal procedure?

DUPRE: It is basically normal procedure.

COSBY: Let`s bring in lieutenant Steven Rogers with and up late police department. Do you think we will get to the bottom especially of all these photos that we`ll finally figure out who did this?

ROGERS: Well, you know, Rita, the story of this photo appears to be focused in on the people that were around her body. I can`t conceive of anyone that was not around that body. I can`t conceive of anyone that was not around that body. So again, you go back to the funeral director, trying to protect the integrity. And bottom line, police are not going to be too involved.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right, then.

Tonight, everybody, let`s remember Marine Corporal William Cooper, 22- years-old from Eupora Mississippi. Killed in Afghanistan, who was awarded bronze star, purple heart, and NATO service medal. An avid sports fan, lettered in football, was a top player in the state of Mississippi. He also loved hunting, fishing, four wheeling, swimming, working out. An annual rodeo and city park monument in his hometown have been named in his honor.

He leaves behind parents, Allen and Debra, brothers Jason, Cody, his fiancee, and high school sweetheart Emily. The couple was set to marry after his deployment.

William cooper, an American hero.

And I want to thank all our guests tonight, but our biggest thanks go to you, for being with us and also always inviting us into your homes. It has been great to be with you tonight everybody.

Good night. I`m Rita Cosby. Have a good and have a really safe weekend.

END