The world is still reeling from the incredibly sad news of Whitney Houston‘s passing yesterday afternoon at the age of 48 but there is a LOT of new information to pass along in order to update the tragic story. According to new reports from TMZ, it’s starting to look like Whitney passed away by drowning in her hotel bathtub at the Beverly Hills Hilton. Apparently, Whitney has been taking the prescription drug Xanax to treat anxiety and depression and it appears that she may have taken the drug and fallen asleep in the bath while she prepared for the big Clive Davis Grammy Party that took place last night. According to the report, Whitney was found in the tub underwater. Wow … just … so sad.

No illegal drugs have been found in the hotel room where Whitney Houston died … but prescription drugs were present, and it’s possible the singer drowned in the bathtub … TMZ has learned. Sources tell us … when EMTs arrived Whitney’s body was already removed from the bathtub … Informed sources tell us … Beverly Hills cops — who were still searching the room at the time this story was posted — found various pill bottles. There was no evidence that Whitney was drinking alcohol in the room. Whitney’s body was just removed from the room on a gurney. It will go to the morgue for an autopsy to determine cause of death.

Whitney Houston was found in the bathtub of a Beverly Hills hotel yesterday … with her face underwater … people close to Whitney tell TMZ. According to our sources, her stylist, hairdresser and two bodyguards were among the people in the room at the time. We’re told they became worried about Whitney because she had been in the bathroom for over an hour and it was time to start getting ready for the Clive Davis party. Our sources say they began to knock on the door and there was no answer. We’re told the hairdresser, who is female, went in to check on Whitney. She immediately screamed and, according to our sources, one of the bodyguards came running in and pulled her out of the tub. We’re told Whitney’s face was below the water and her legs were up … like she had slid down the back of the tub. According to our sources, her body was very cold and the bodyguard attempted CPR. That’s when hotel security was called. Paramedics arrived shortly thereafter, but Whitney was pronounced dead at 3:55 PM.

Whitney Houston was taking Xanax … evidence she may have fallen asleep in the bathtub where she died … TMZ has learned. Family members of Whitney tell us the singer had a prescription for the drug, which is commonly used to treat anxiety and depression. We told you yesterday … the night before Whitney died, she had been drinking a lot. Xanax mixed with alcohol can cause severe sedation, which could cause someone to fall asleep in a bathtub.

Of course all of this information provided by TMZ has NOT been confirmed as true by officials but, as they tend to do, they have managed to procure a lot of details from the scene that appear to add up. As I read all of these details together, it really does sound plausible that Whitney took a Xanax in order to relax before she took to the stage last night for Clive Davis‘s party — an event she attends every single year — and just fell asleep (or passed out) in the bathtub and tragically drowned. I just can’t … the thought of walking into the bathroom to find Whitney underwater is horrifying to me. I understand Whitney‘s daughter Bobbi Kristina tried to enter the hotel room where her mother died but she was turned away by police authorities:

Whitney Houston’s daughter Bobbi Kristina got into an angry shouting match with police officers outside the hotel room where her mother was found dead … TMZ has learned. According to law enforcement sources … Bobbi Kristina showed up on the 4th floor of the Beverly Hilton several hours after Whitney’s death. We’re told when officers informed her no one was allowed to see the body — BK screamed, cursed and demanded to see her mother. Ultimately, she was not allowed into the room and left. We’re told Whitney’s cousin Dionne Warwick also showed up later. She too was turned away by officers. As we reported earlier … other family members and friends — who were in the room when authorities arrived — identified Whitney’s body.

That poor, poor girl … I’m utterly heartbroken for her. Everything about this sad end to Whitney‘s life is just rife with tragedy and sadness. An impromptu memorial has sprung up outside the Beverly Hills Hilton hotel where Whitney died yesterday and the famed Apollo Theater in New York has already erected a tribute to the late singer:

I am not ashamed at all to say that I was pretty wrecked last night. After I learned of Whitney‘s passing, I was in a state of shock and disbelief. Even as I wrote my post yesterday, my brain was not fully processing that Whitney Houston had died. As the next hours passed, the realization really started to set in. I spent a good few hours listening to Whitney‘s amazing catalog of music and just sat there and cried. When the rendition of The Star Spangled Banner that she performed in 1991 at the Super Bowl came on, I literally burst out in a fit of crying … the fact that Whitney could turn our national anthem into a hit song during a time of war in this country just really struck me as proof of her insane talent. Old skool Whitney music, new skool Whitney music … I listened to as much of it as possible last night and just … mourned the end of her life. I suspect quite a few of you may have done the same last night … I suspect even more of you actually shed a tear or two for our dear Whitney. She will never be replaced … never. I will be very, very sad over her death for a very long time. I never had the pleasure of meeting her personally but I have been blessed with the opportunity to see her perform over the years and we have all been blessed with a catalog of songs that will not only live for all time but will stand as an eternal testament that we truly had in our midst one of the greatest singers not only of our time but possibly of all time.

I truly hope Whitney Houston is now enjoying the eternal peace that she greatly deserves.

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