Houston death ruling 'weeks away'

ROUGH CUT - NO REPORTER NARRATION

The Los Angeles County Coroner's office says it has completed its autopsy on Whitney Houston but is awaiting the outcome of toxicology tests before determining the cause of her death.

Coroner's Assistant Chief Ed Winter said on Sunday (February 12): "We have concluded the autopsy on Miss Whitney Houston. It was concluded today. There will be no cause of death at this time because it is pending toxicology and that could take up to six to eight weeks. At this time her cause of death is deferred and we are finishing with all of our testing and it will be an ongoing investigation."

Houston, who was 48, was found dead at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Los Angeles on Saturday (February 11).

Winter said a 'security hold' had been placed on the case, limiting the amount of information that can be released.

But he said: "I'll just comment that she was found in the bath tub, and that was put out by Beverly Hills P.D. I believe somebody removed her from the bath tub and the paramedics did CPR on her. There was no visible signs of trauma and foul play is not suspected at this time."

Over the course of her 30-year career Houston established herself as one of the most-admired and influential singers of her time.

she won six Grammys, 30 Billboard awards and 20 American Music Awards.

But by the early 1990s her success on stage was accompanied by an increasingly troubled personal life .

The last ten years of Houston's life were dominated by drug use, rumours of relapses, and trips to rehab.