USA TODAY US Edition

Bobbi Kristina Brown dies

Her death, after being found ‘unresponsi­ve’ in January, comes three years after her superstar mother Whitney Houston died in eerily similar circumstan­ces Mystery remains about day she was found

- Ann Oldenburg and Maria Puente

Daughter of late Whitney Houston was found unconsciou­s in her home in January.

Bobbi Kristina Brown, the little-girl-lost daughter of the late, legendary Whitney Houston, died Sunday in an Atlanta-area hospice, nearly six months after she was found unconsciou­s in her Georgia home. She was 22.

She never regained consciousn­ess to explain what happened before she was found Jan. 31, face down and unresponsi­ve in her bathtub.

“It is hard to say goodbye. On Sunday, July 26, Bobbi Kristina Brown made her transition peacefully,” said a statement posted to Whitney Houston’s Facebook page. “The family thanks everyone for their loving thoughts and prayers. As Bobbi Kristina would say: ‘The wind is behind me and the sun is in my face.’ ”

“She is finally at peace in the arms of God,” the Houston family told USA TODAY in a statement. “We want to again thank everyone for their tremendous amount of love and support during these last few months.”

She had spent the last months in two Atlanta hospitals, a medical rehab facility and a hospice, much of the time in an induced coma and on life support.

Her Houston family relatives announced last month that her condition had continued to deteriorat­e and that she had been transferre­d to the hospice, a move usually reserved for end-oflife care for patients.

Her death, coming three years after her mother’s eerily similar demise, marks a double tragedy, one of the most heartbreak­ing of the celebrity world.

Krissi, as she was known, was found by her live-in boyfriend, Nick Gordon, and friend Max Lomas, unconsciou­s in her bathtub at her Roswell, Ga., home.

A Roswell Police Department statement said Gordon “started CPR and a police officer took over lifesaving measures until an ambulance arrived.”

It is still not clear what happened to her or why. Police have been investigat­ing the circumstan­ces but have not announced their findings nor charged anyone with anything.

The conservato­r for Bobbi Kristina filed a lawsuit against Gordon, accusing him of beating her up the day she was found, and stealing $11,000 from her account afterward.

Bobbi Kristina was “unresponsi­ve” when discovered and remained so. She turned 22 on March 3, 2015, still unconsciou­s.

She was first taken to the North Fulton Hospital in Atlanta and later was transferre­d to Emory University Hospital. She was placed in an induced coma and kept on a ventilator as her family gathered at her bedside.

In March, she was transferre­d to a nearby medical rehabilita­tion facility, but her condition remained unchanged, according to her grandmothe­r, gospel great Cissy Houston. She said doctors told her Bobbi Kristina had suffered “global and irreversib­le brain damage” and that her condition remained unchanged despite intensive treatment.

Although much about what happened before she was found remains murky, it’s known that she was in a car crash four days before. She was driving with a friend in Roswell when her Jeep Liberty blew a tire and she lost control, causing her to cross into oncoming traffic and collide with another vehicle.

Her friend and the driver of the other vehicle were hospitaliz­ed with serious injuries.

Bobbi Kristina’s tragedy echoed the circumstan­ces of Whitney Houston’s tragedy: The 48-year-old superstar was found dead in a bathtub at the Beverly Hilton hotel on Feb. 11, 2012.

Authoritie­s found a dozen prescripti­on drug bottles in the hotel suite. They concluded that Houston accidental­ly drowned. Heart disease and cocaine use were listed as contributi­ng factors in her death.

 ?? INVISION/AP ??
INVISION/AP
 ?? 2010 PHOTO BY VITTORIO ZUNINO CELOTTO, GETTY IMAGES ?? BOBBI KRISTINA BROWNMARCH 4, 1993 — JULY 26, 2015Bobbi Kristina Brown is “finally at peace in the arms of God,” the Houston family told USA TODAY in a statement.
2010 PHOTO BY VITTORIO ZUNINO CELOTTO, GETTY IMAGES BOBBI KRISTINA BROWNMARCH 4, 1993 — JULY 26, 2015Bobbi Kristina Brown is “finally at peace in the arms of God,” the Houston family told USA TODAY in a statement.
 ?? LARRY BUSACCA, WIREIMAGE ?? Whitney Houston with her daughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown, during a concert in New York City in 1999.
LARRY BUSACCA, WIREIMAGE Whitney Houston with her daughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown, during a concert in New York City in 1999.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States