Whitney Houston was under water and apparently unconscious when she was found in a hotel bathtub, Beverly Hills police say.
Lieutenant Mark Rosen said that the singer was found on Saturday by a member of her personal staff at approximately 3:30pm.
Lt Rosen said Houston was pulled from the tub by members of her staff, and hotel security was promptly notified.
He said further details of Houston's death were not being released to preserve the integrity of the investigation.
The coroner's office said toxicology testing was continuing.
Meanwhile it was reported that the singer's body will be taken home to New Jersey later for a funeral to be held at the end of the week.
Houston's family has raised the possibility of holding a wake on Thursday and funeral on Friday at the Prudential Centre, in Newark, New Jersey, which can seat about 18,000.
The information came from two people who have spoken to the family.
The 48-year-old was found dead in her Los Angeles hotel.
Funeral arrangements are reportedly being made by Newark's Whigham Funeral Home, which handled the 2003 funeral of Houston's father.
