Mystery remains over Bobbi Kristina death

The medical examiner who conducted the autopsy on Bobbi Kristina Brown could not determine if Whitney Houston's daughter was murdered.

Bobbi Kristina Brown

An autopsy on Bobbi Kristina Brown could not determine if Whitney Houston's daughter was murdered. (AAP) Source: Invision

An autopsy determined Bobbi Kristina Brown had a mix of drugs in her body when she went underwater in a bathtub, but a medical examiner couldn't tell whether her death was a homicide, making the criminal investigation tougher.

The medical examiner's report released on Friday showed that Brown, the daughter of singers Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown, had morphine, cocaine, alcohol and prescription drugs in her body.

The report said the medical examiner's office couldn't figure out if it was a suicide, a homicide or accidental so it classified the manner of death as "undetermined".

Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard is investigating whether criminal charges should be brought in Brown's death, but has said very little about the probe.

Brown's estate filed a wrongful death lawsuit against her partner, Nick Gordon, accusing him of giving her a "toxic cocktail" and putting her face down in water.

Gordon has not been charged and his lawyer said the report should put to rest "all the negativity surrounding" him.

"He's always maintained his innocence," lawyer Randy Kessler said.

Brown was found face-down in a bathtub in her suburban Atlanta home on January 31, 2015.

She was in a coma for six months before dying in hospice care at age 22.

The autopsy report had been sealed by a judge at the request of prosecutors, for "public safety and investigative reasons," Howard said on Thursday.

However, two television stations sued for its release and a judge ruled in their favour on Thursday.

The medical examiner didn't find really high levels of any drug, and the combination of drugs found in her system is not unusual, said Dr Paul Wax, a professor of emergency medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center who reviewed the autopsy report at the request of The Associated Press.

"She'd used a bunch of drugs, she went into the bath and she basically drowned in the bathtub," he said. "That's pretty much all you can tell from this report."

Medical personnel were able to revive her but she suffered brain damage that left her in a coma, and she ultimately died from pneumonia, the autopsy report says.

Bobby Brown said in a statement that it was "mind blowing" to him for news outlets to seek the autopsy report. He also noted that Friday is his late daughter's birthday.

"First and foremost, 23 years ago today, Bobbi Kristina was born. Krissy will always live in my heart and soul. I love my baby girl," Bobby Brown said.

Brown's death was similar to the way her mother died.

Whitney Houston's body was found face-down in water in her bathtub at the Beverly Hilton Hotel just before the 2012 Grammy Awards. Authorities found prescription drugs in the suite and evidence of heart disease and cocaine in Houston's body and determined her death was an accidental drowning.


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Source: AAP



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