Houston 'found under water in bath' (From Asian Image)

Houston 'found under water in bath'

7:52pm Monday 13th February 2012 in Entertainment News © Press Association 2011

Whitney Houston was under water and apparently unconscious when she was found in a hotel bathtub, Beverly Hills police said.

The singer, 48, was found on Saturday by a member of her personal staff at about 3:30 pm.

She was pulled from the tub by members of her staff, and hotel security was promptly notified, Lieutenant Mark Rosen said.

Further details of Houston's death are not being released to preserve the integrity of the investigation, he said.

The coroner's office says toxicology testing is continuing.

There were no indications of foul play and no obvious signs of trauma on Houston's body, but officials were not ruling out any causes of death until they have toxicology results, which are likely take weeks to obtain.

Two people who have spoken her family said the singer's body will be taken home to New Jersey late today for a funeral to be held at the end of the week.

They said the family has raised the possibility of holding a wake on Thursday and funeral on Friday in New Jersey at Newark's Prudential Centre, which can seat about 18,000.

The singer was found unresponsive in her hotel room at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, just hours before she was supposed to appear at a pre-Grammy gala.

The Grammys themselves were in part a memorial to Houston, a six-time winner. LL Cool J introduced a clip near the start of the show of a glowing Houston singing her signature ballad, a cover of Dolly Parton's I Will Always Love You.