About six months after being found face down and unresponsive in a bathtub in her Georgia home – and a month after being moved to hospice – Bobbi Kristina Brown, the only child of Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown, has died at the age of 22.
The Associated Press reported her death on Sunday night. “Bobbi Kristina Brown passed away July 26, 2015, surrounded by her family,” a rep for the Houston family said. “She is finally at peace in the arms of God. We want to again thank everyone for their tremendous amount of love and support during these last few months.”
Bobbi Kristina was discovered by friend Max Lomas and the man she referred to as her husband, Nick Gordon, on Jan. 31, and was transferred to an Atlanta-area hospital. Though no drugs were found at her home when medics arrived, a criminal investigation was eventually opened; however, no arrests have been made.
Upon arrival at the hospital, she continued breathing with the aid of a ventilator as friends and relatives flocked by her side. Within days, she had very little brain activity and was moved to Emory University Hospital, which is considered a top facility for neurological problems.
For weeks, conflicting reports surfaced about Bobbi Kristina’s progress and the severity of her condition, all while she was still in a medically induced coma. However, on Feb. 10 the Brown family felt the need to speak out and address stories that claimed she would be taken off of life support the following day on the third anniversary of her mother’s death
Doctors eventually removed her breathing tube, allowing Brown to be ventilated through a hole in her throat, but she suffered a major setback when her medical team attempted to take her off medications and rouse her from her coma. Bobbi Kristina had violent seizures and had to be placed back on the drugs.
In March, she was relocated to a rehabilitation centre. At the time, her grandmother Cissy Houston told Entertainment Tonight, “I’d like to thank everybody who was praying. Who really knows the worth of prayer and I’m sure it’ll get through. I’m just waiting for whatever happens. We go to the hospital every day and pray and I talk to her because she can still hear and I rub her hand,” she said. “We do what we can do. The rest is… all up to Him. We know nothing about His plan… All I can do is hope for the best.”
Since then, there continued to be conflicting stories regarding Bobbi Kristina’s condition. In late June, Bobby Brown, 46, slammed reports that his daughter was “going home to die.” He added, “Right now we are focused on Bobbi Kristina’s medical prognosis and the criminal investigation. These are the priorities for us. Whoever had a hand in causing my daughter’s injuries needs to be brought to justice.”
Days later, on June 24, her aunt, Pat Houston, released a statement on behalf of the entire family announcing that they had made the decision to move Bobbi Kristina into hospice care. “Despite the great medical care at numerous facilities, Bobbi Kristina Brown’s condition has continued to deteriorate. As of today, she has been moved into hospice care. We thank everyone for their support and prayers. She is in God’s hands now.”
Her father Bobby Brown stuck by her bedside much of the time she was hospitalised, although he notably left long enough to be with his wife, Alicia Etheredge, as she gave birth to a baby girl on July 9 in L.A.
Bobbi Kristina’s death was reported on July 26 by a spokesperson for the Houston family.
The parallels between Bobbi’s death and her mother’s are eerie. On Feb. 11, 2012, Whitney was found face down and unresponsive in a bathtub at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. The coroner determined Houston, 48, accidentally drowned after taking cocaine.
Bobbi inherited her mother’s passion for the spotlight, performing both on stage and in front of the camera. When she was still a little girl, she sang live with Whitney on several occasions, and in 2011, she boldly recorded a cappella YouTube version of Adele’s ballad “Someone Like You.” In addition, she appeared on several TV shows with her family: First, on her father’s reality show, Being Bobby Brown, in 2005 and, more recently, in the docu-series The Houstons: On Our Own.
Bobbi was also a guest star on Tyler Perry’s series For Better or Worse, earning rave reviews from the show’s creator. “That kid has such a future,” Perry told The Hollywood Reporter.