Whitney Houston's Funeral to be Held Saturday

[Editor's note: This story originally published Feb. 13, 2012. It has since been updated.]

The funeral for Whitney Houston, who was found dead Saturday inside a Beverly Hills, Calif. hotel room, will be held Saturday at her childhood church in Newark.

The funeral, which will begin at noon at New Hope Baptist Church on Sussex Avenue, is invitation only and will not be open to media, according to Carolyn Whigham, owner of the Whigham Funeral Home, where late Monday.

Houston's body was flown from California to Teterboro Airport shortly before midnight Monday and brought to the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. funeral home, which also handled Houston's father's funeral in 2003.

NJ.com previously reported Houston's funeral would be held at the Prudential Center to accommodate large crowds.

The Newark-born Houston started her singing career at age 11 as a member of New Hope Baptist Church's junior gospel choir. Outside the church Sunday, mourners during an early morning service.

A large crowd in her honor outside Whigham late Monday night.

Houston, 48, who suffered a long history of substance abuse, apparently drowned in a bathtub inside the Beverly Hilton Hotel after taking a cocktail of prescription drugs, according to reports. The cause of death is pending a toxicology report, which could take several weeks.