Whitney sent home to her family

Whitney Houston’s body arrived back in her home neighbourhood in New Jersey last night amid reports that her doctors will face questions over how she obtained drugs found in her hotel room.

The late singer’s body was flown from Los Angeles in a private jet and transported to Newark’s Whigham Funeral Home, which handled the 2003 funeral of her father.

Houston’s family is said to be considering holding the funeral at Newark’s Prudential Center, which hosts college and professional sporting events and seats 18,000 people.

The body of the singer, 48, was found in a bathtub at her suite on Saturday, surrounded by different bottles of prescription pills including ibuprofen – a painkiller, Xanax – an anti-anxiety drug, Midol – for menstrual cramps, amoxicillin – for bacterial infections and several others.

County coroners will request copies of her medical records and will compare them with prescription bottles found in the hotel room, a source told The Sun.

If anyone gave Houston the drugs illegally, they could be charged. ‘[Authorities] need to determine that no one is criminally negligent. There still could be charges in this case,’ the source said.

Coroners have still not ruled a cause of death but it is believed she died, however it is believed she was found submerged in the bath.

Friends have spoken out to say the singer’s premature death was ‘not a great surprise’ due to her ‘downward spiral’ which was helped along by others.

‘As sad as this sounds, it’s not a great surprise and yet, it’s unbelievable,’ a music source told People magazine.

‘There are demons she fought privately and publicly for many years… She’s been on a downward spiral for a long time and when you have those people around you that enable the behaviour … she couldn’t shake those demons.’

According to one source the singer spent her last days in a drug-fuelled trance. ‘She was like a zombie’, the source said.

It has also emerged that the Beverly Hilton Hotel management asked the coroner to leave Houston’s body in her hotel room until after the Clive Davis’ pre-Grammy party finished, according to RadarOnline.

A source told the website the decision was made ‘out of respect for Whitney Houston’ and amid security concerns.

‘It would be insensitive for the van to be driven out with her body as limos were pulling away with the A-list guests,’ the source said.

The body was eventually removed after midnight, when officers had finished their on-scene work.

Whitney’s body was released to her family  yesterday and flown back to Newark, New Jersey, where she was born.

Sources said the family had suggested there could be a wake on Thursday and a funeral on Friday for the star.

The decision to bury Whitney in Newark was taken after a family rift, according to webiste TMZ.

It said that Dionne Warwick, Whitney’s cousin, and her mother Cissy both wanted her to be laid to rest in Atlanta, which they believe was the place Whitney loved best.

But the rest of the family wanted Whitney buried in Newark and won the day.

She may be buried alongside her father, army serviceman and entertainment executive John Houston, who died in 2003 and was laid to rest at Fairview Cemetery, Westfield, New Jersey.

As speculation continues about the cause of the singer’s death, gossip website TMZ reported that some of her prescriptions were filled out at the infamous Mickey Fine pharmacy, which was raided in 2009 by the DEA for evidence of ‘improper dispensing of controlled substances’, in connection with the death of Michael Jackson.

These reports have yet to be confirmed.