REPORT: Whitney Houston Funeral at Newark's Prudential Center

PHOTO: Screencapture: Wetten Dass

More developments after the tragic death of pop superstar Whitney Houston. The 48-year-old singer and actress died  Saturday in Beverly Hills on the eve of the Grammy Awards.

Funeral arrangements are reportedly underway as Houston's body was released by the Los Angeles County Coroner. "Houston's body departed from Los Angeles earlier this afternoon on a private XO Jet bound for New Jersey. It has been handed over to the care of her family," reports EOnline.

The funeral has been "tentatively scheduled for Friday at the Prudential Center" in Houston's hometown of Newark, reports the Star-Ledger.

The arena, which seats more than 18,500 people, represents the largest indoor venue in Newark and could accommodate far greater crowds than the New Hope Baptist Church, the red brick house of worship that served as Houston’s childhood church. The source declined to be identified because he was not authorized to speak for the family.

If plans proceed as expected, the service would take the route of Michael Jackson’s 2009 public memorial service at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, which brought out tens of thousands to bid the pop icon’s final farewell in a star-packed event.

In other news: The Beverly Hills Police Deparment has confirmed that "Houston was found in the bathtub of her Beverly Hilton hotel room by a member of her personal staff," reports EW. The Los Angeles County Coroner performed an autopsy on Sunday but a final cause of death will likely be deferred pending toxicology results.

There has been speculation that the pop icon died after mixing Xanax and alcohol, or, possibly drowned in the bathtub after falling asleep. More developments as they become available.

Comments

[alicia banks]

thanks rod!

rip wh

we will always love u!

http://aliciabanks.xanga.com/759005336/whitney-houston-is-singing-with-angels/

[Osiris]

I know it's been a few days but I still can't quite believe that she's really gone.

A voice like that can't die. We need it.

[Chitown Kev]

@Osiris

On one hand, I can't believe it, on the other hand, one of the most frequent comments that I've heard in the past few days is "I'm not surprised."

So many significant events in my life are intertwined with a Whitney song...

I remember when I first went into a halfway house for drug treatment in 1993 and I really wasn't sure that it would work out...in fact, I was pretty sure that it wouldn't work and I was scared and alone.

So I went into the shower and there was this queen absolutely EMOTING as he was singing (not badly, I might add!) "I Have Nothing"...we're talking about banging on the damn shower wall emoting as ONLY a queen can do when worked up by a Whitney song.

There's so much that I want to say but...really, I feel incredibly sad and incredibly blessed (and that's a word that I don't particularly like) at the same time.

[Terry in Toronto]

The funeral home director was on TV saying that it will be a private, invitation only, family affair.