Whitney Houston’s funeral will be held this Saturday in the New Jersey church where she first showed her singing talents as a child.
The service will be held at noon at the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark.
The singer and actress (48) died last Saturday at a hotel in Beverly Hills. She was underwater and apparently unconscious when she was pulled from a bath. Her body was returned to New Jersey today.
Houston was born in Newark and began singing as a child at the New Hope church, where her mother, Grammy-winning gospel singer Cissy Houston, led the music programme for many years. Cousin Dionne Warwick also sang in its choir.
Mourners left flowers, balloons and candles for Houston at the wrought-iron fence around the tall brick church.
Earlier today, the 48-year-old’s body was flown from Los Angeles to New Jersey, where her family is reportedly considering holding a farewell event at a 18,000-seat arena on Friday.
On the night of Houston's death, fire services and hotel security rushed to the suite at the Beverly Hilton hotel, but attempts to resuscitate the actress failed and she was pronounced dead shortly before 4pm local time.
Police said it was too early to determine whether prescription drugs may have been involved in her death.
According to website TMZ, the star’s family were told by Los Angeles County Coroner officials that prescription medication mixed with alcohol - and not drowning - appeared to be to blame. Her family now awaits the results of toxicology tests.
Lieut Mark Rosen said: “As of right now, it’s not a criminal investigation. We have concluded our portion of the investigation at the hotel.”
Los Angeles coroner’s assistant chief Ed Winter said there were bottles of prescription medicine in the room, but added: “There weren’t a lot of prescription bottles. You probably have just as many prescription bottles in your medicine cabinet.”
Yesterday, Beverly Hills police chief David Snowden said the star was removed from the bath by a “member of her personal staff” at around 3.30pm on Saturday. “She was underwater and apparently unconscious,” he added.
Police asked the coroner’s office to place a “security hold” on their findings to curb speculation before a final report is completed.
The star’s death came just hours before she was supposed to appear at a pre-Grammy gala.
Houston, one of the world’s best-selling artists in the 1980s and 1990s, was due to perform at the party of her long-time mentor, record producer Clive Davis, at the Beverly Hilton.
The 54th annual Grammy Awards opened with a prayer and standing ovation to the singer, who herself won a clutch of six prestigious Recording Academy gongs over a turbulent career marred by spells of drug addiction.
Meanwhile, Houston’s daughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown, was taken to a Los Angeles hospital by ambulance and later released. A source close to the family said she was treated for stress and anxiety.
The 18-year-old, who is Houston’s daughter from her tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown, had accompanied her mother to several pre-Grammy Awards events.
PA