LOS ANGELES - Investigators trying to determine the cause of Whitney Houston's death are seeking information and records from doctors who treated and issued prescriptions to the singer, a coroner's official said Wednesday.
Lt. Fred Corral, of the investigations division of the Los Angeles County Coroner's office, said investigators are contacting doctors and issuing subpoenas for records relating to medicines found at the scene of Houston's death and any medical conditions she may have had.
Corral depicted the moves as routine in a death investigation.
"That's what we do," Corral said. "That's part of the investigation."
Houston, 48, was declared dead Saturday afternoon after being found unresponsive and unconscious, submerged in the bathtub of her suite at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills. She was staying there in anticipation of attending the Grammy Awards on Sunday and a pre-Grammy party hosted by record-label mogul Clive Davis at the hotel the night before.
Investigators have said they found prescription medicines in Houston's hotel suite the day she died. Assistant chief coroner Ed Winter has described the amount of drugs as not unusual.
Drugs and medical supplies found at the scene of singer Michael Jackson's death figured prominently in that investigation and the involuntary manslaughter conviction of his physician, Conrad Murray, last fall. Murray was sentenced to four years in prison for administering a powerful surgical anesthetic, propofol, that caused Jackson's death.
District Attorney Steve Cooley said at the time of the Murray verdict that his office would not hesitate to pursue doctors in future cases. "To the extent that someone dies as a result of their being a so-called Dr. Feelgood, they will be held accountable," Cooley told the Los Angeles Times.
Corral and other investigators have said they have found no evidence of trauma or foul play in Houston's death and said their probe is not a criminal investigation.
Houston's private funeral at the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark at noon Saturday will be televised live. The Associated Press will handle the pool camera arrangements, the news service said Wednesday. It will be available online at livestream.com/aplive.
Gospel singer Marvin Winans, a family friend, will give the eulogy, and Aretha Franklin, Houston's godmother, has been asked to sing, CNN reported, citing unnamed publicists as sources. Others invited, according to CNN, include Houston's friends singer Chaka Khan and civil rights activist Jesse Jackson, and T.D. Jakes, a producer of Houston's last film, Sparkle.
By William M. Welch, USA TODAY