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Final Houston autopsy report released

Whitney Houston - Drug paraphernalia found in bathroom
Whitney Houston - Drug paraphernalia found in bathroom

Whitney Houston's final autopsy report has revealed that the singer died face-down in a very hot hotel bathtub.

The report also reveals that drug paraphernalia were discovered on the bathroom counter nearby.

The report released on Wednesday said the hotel suite was littered with prescription drugs and open alcohol containers.

"I collected... a spoon with a white crystal-like substance in it, a rolled up piece of white paper from off the top of a counter along the east wall in the bathroom," the New York Daily News quoted coroner's supervisor Kristy McCracken writing in the report.

"I also collected remnants of a white powdery substance from out of a drawer and from the bottom of a mirror in the same drawer in the bathroom counter," the investigator said.

In a grim account of the singer’s final hours, it was revealed that on the afternoon of her death, Houston complained of a sore throat.

Her assistant said she should take a bath and then left her alone to run an errand. When the assistant returned less than an hour later she found Houston "lying face down in the bathtub, unresponsive," the report said.

"The bathtub was filled with water, and there was water on the bathroom floor. However, the water was not running," the report said.

The bathtub contained "extremely hot water," the report said - 93.5 Fahrenheit (34 Celsius) at 9.35pm, more than five hours after Houston died.

The report also, reveals the toll the singer's drug use took on her body.

When coroner's officials said two weeks ago that Houston died from accidental drowning, they also revealed that cocaine had played a role in her death.

The coroner's office has said there were signs of both chronic and recent use.

An investigator noted a hole in the singer's nose, listed under "history of substance abuse".

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