In Whitney Houston's hometown, her family plans a private church service, with no public memorial set. In Los Angeles, where she died, there's not even a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for fans to pile flowers. So for the legion of music lovers mourning a global superstar, where do broken hearts go?
Fans who have gathered outside New Hope Baptist Church, where Houston will be eulogised on Saturday at an invitation-only service — and outside the funeral home where her body now rests — say they understand why the family wants to keep the world out. But they also yearned for the chance to share in the remembrance of a native daughter who made them proud.
Farewell
The family decided that, after sharing Whitney with the city, state and world for more than 30 years "this is their time now for their farewell", said funeral home owner Carolyn Whigham.
"The family thanks all the fans, the friends and the media, but this time is their private time," she said.
Police met with church officials on Tuesday to discuss logistics and how to handle the large crowds expected to gather Saturday in the streets outside the church.
Star on the Walk of Fame
In Los Angeles, it has become a tradition that whenever a major celebrity dies, fans lay flowers and other gestures of sorrow and tribute on the deceased's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Houston had no star, leaving Angelenos with nowhere in particular to express their grief.
Gospel singer Marvin Winans, a Grammy Award winner and longtime family friend, has been chosen to give the eulogy in Newark. Winans, in his role as a pastor, married Houston and Bobby Brown in 1992.
Prescription drugs
Meanwhile, the investigation into the death of Whitney Houston is shifting to a new phase, with officials focusing on the prescription drugs found in her hotel room and who prescribed them to her.
Investigators are expected in the next few days to serve subpoenas on the doctors, as well as the pharmacies where Houston obtained the prescriptions, as they try to determine her cause of death, according to a source with knowledge of the case.
