The body of Whitney Houston was expected to arrive in New Jersey on Monday night in preparation for her funeral, which is likely to be held Friday in Newark, the city where she was born, according to a person with knowledge of the family’s plans. 
 
 The arrangements will probably include a viewing of the body on Thursday and a funeral on Friday at the Prudential Center, according to the person, who insisted on anonymity because the plans were still preliminary. The services were being handled by Whigham Funeral Home, which arranged the 2003 funeral of Ms. Houston’s father, John. 
 
 The Prudential Center, home to the New Jersey Devils, can seat up to 17,625 for hockey games and 18,500 for basketball games. As many as 1,000 seats are expected to be set up on the arena’s floor, the person said. 
 
 That is a far greater number than could be accommodated at New Hope Baptist, the red-brick church where Ms. Houston got her start singing in the choir and where on Sunday mourners gathered to pay their respects by leaving flowers, candles, balloons and condolence cards. Still, a Devils game scheduled for Friday night may pose a logistical challenge to the funeral, the person said. 
 
 The viewing will probably last throughout the day on Thursday, with lines of thousands of mourners expected to snake through the Prudential Center. It was not yet clear who would speak at the funeral. 
 
 A photograph of a smiling Ms. Houston appeared on Monday night on the video screen outside the arena. 
 
 The singer, 48, was pronounced dead on Saturday afternoon in California. Although the authorities have said there was no evidence of foul play, the results of an autopsy are being withheld until toxicology tests determine whether there were drugs in Ms. Houston’s system at the time of her death, the Los Angeles County coroner’s office said. That process is likely to take several more weeks. 
 
 Dozens of fans and a handful of reporters stood outside the two-story brick funeral home on Monday night as they waited for the body to arrive. As music played from a car stereo nearby, people danced, hugged and even sang along to some of Ms. Houston’s songs, including the 1985 hit “You Give Good Love.” 
 
 At about 11:50 p.m., a gold-colored hearse with cursive W’s emblazoned on its side windows pulled up to the funeral home, as people chanted, “Whitney!” 
 
 One of the onlookers, Juan Barja, 43, simply lamented: “I never saw her in concert. Now it’s too late.” 
 
 Barbara Hargrove, 29, of Newark, said she had come to pay her respects. 
 
 Ms. Houston “showed the people from Newark that it’s not just an inner city,” Ms. Hargrove said. “We can get out. We can make it.” 
 
 Ms. Hargrove said she remembered a similar gold-colored limousine and hearse at the funeral of Ms. Houston’s father. 
 
 “Everything was gold,” she said, “and I know she’ll be in gold, too.” 

 A hearse under heavy police escort arrived late Monday at a funeral home officials said was handling the arrangements for late pop star Whitney Houston. 
 
 Stacey Bates, center, and Gregory Hanks put up balloons on a makeshift memorial for the late singer Whitney Houston outside of New Hope Baptist Church, Monday, Feb. 13, 2012, in Newark, N.J. As a young... (Associated Press) 
 
 Evelyn Rios cries after reading a poem she wrote and posted on a makeshift memorial for the late singer Whitney Houston outside of New Hope Baptist Church, Monday, Feb. 13, 2012, in Newark, N.J. As a... (Associated Press) 
 
 The hearse traveled from Teterboro Airport, where officials had told The Associated Press Houston's body would arrive Monday night on a flight from the Los Angeles area. 
 
 Several officials familiar with funeral planning said arrangements were being made by Newark's Whigham Funeral Home, which handled the 2003 funeral of Houston's father. They spoke to the AP on Monday on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak for Houston's family. 
 
 Houston died Saturday at a hotel in Beverly Hills, California. She was 48. Officials say she was underwater and apparently unconscious when she was pulled from a bathtub. 
 
 Houston was born in Newark and was raised in nearby East Orange. 
 
 A woman at the funeral home, where several police officers were stationed, said she could neither confirm nor deny reports that it would handle the arrangements. A white tent was set up leading into the funeral home's rear entrance, and two opulent golden sarcophaguses stood at the front entrance. 
 
 Dozens of Houston fans went to the funeral home, where they played her songs, sang, lit candles to remember her and hoped to get a glimpse of her casket. 
 
 Houston's family raised the possibility of holding a wake Thursday and a funeral Friday at Newark's Prudential Center, which hosts college and professional sporting events and seats about 18,000 people. City officials were awaiting the family's arrival to complete the funeral planning. 
 
 A picture of Houston appeared Monday night on the electronic board outside the arena, one of the nation's busiest entertainment venues, with a New Jersey Devils ice hockey game Friday night posing a logistical challenge to a planned funeral that day. 
 
 Houston's relatives also were debating whether to have a smaller service at New Hope Baptist Church, where family members have sung. They planned to meet Tuesday with officials to finalize the details, according to someone who had knowledge of the planning but wasn't authorized to speak publicly about it and requested anonymity. 
 
 Houston began singing as a child at Newark's New Hope Baptist Church, where her mother, Grammy-winning gospel singer Cissy Houston, led the music program for many years. Her cousin singer Dionne Warwick also sang in its choir. 
 
 On Monday, mourners left flowers, balloons and candles for Houston at the wrought-iron fence around the tall brick church, which sits near the edge of an abandoned housing project near the train line leading to New York City. 
 
 "She was an inspiration to everybody," said Gregory Hanks, an actor who grew up in the neighborhood and who dropped off a bouquet of flowers. 
 
 Hanks said he saw Houston perform at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center years ago. 
 
 "I grew up listening to her as a little boy, and to hear her sing, you knew she was special," the 26-year-old said. 
 
 Sandy Farrow, a technology consultant from Mitchellville, Maryland, who was in the area visiting relatives, said she was a senior at Clifford J. Scott High School in East Orange when Houston was a freshman. 
 
 "We felt like she put East Orange on the map," she said. 
 
 Farrow said Houston's death came as a shock. 
 
 "We lost somebody who I thought, after all her troubles, was coming back," Farrow said. 
 
 Across the street from the church, Bashir Rasheed set up shop with a duffel bag full of T-shirts reading "In Memory of Whitney Houston 1963-2012." He said he had sold 24 shirts at $10 apiece within a few hours. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Associated Press writer Dave Porter contributed to this report. 

 Whitney Houston's body arrives home in New Jersey 
 
 Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. 
 
 Whitney Houston's body has been flown from California to her home state of New Jersey, ahead of a funeral expected later this week. 
 
 A gold hearse took her body from Teterboro airport to a funeral home in her hometown of Newark, reports said. 
 
 The 48-year-old singer was found underwater and unconscious on Saturday in a bath at a hotel in Beverly Hills, police said. 
 
 Toxicology tests are under way after an autopsy on Sunday. 
 
 The authorities say it may be up to eight weeks before they can confirm the cause of death. 
 
 No criminal probe is under way, police said, but LA's coroner said her room did contain some prescription drugs. 
 
 Funeral plans 
 
 In a news conference on Monday, Beverly Hills police spokesman Lt Mark Rosen said fire department officials were told the singer was found unresponsive on Saturday morning. 
 
 "Ms Houston was pulled from the tub by members of her staff and hotel security was promptly notified," he said. 
 
 Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. 
 
 "First aid and CPR measures were performed in an attempt to revive her," he said, adding that after unsuccessful attempts, Houston was pronounced dead at 15:55 local time (23:55 GMT). 
 
 The police spokesman played down reports that prescription drugs might have been involved in her death. 
 
 "Our intent at Beverly Hills Police Department is not to fuel the speculation or rumours that are circulating right now," Lt Rosen said. "We can't comment on where those rumours have come from." 
 
 However, the Los Angeles coroner's office then said there were bottles of prescription medicine in the room, although it did not provide further details. 
 
 "There weren't a lot of prescription bottles," said Ed Winter, the coroner's assistant chief. "You probably have just as many prescription bottles in your medicine cabinet." 
 
 Houston's body was released to her family late on Monday morning. The body was then flown from Van Nuys Airport in the Los Angeles area east to New Jersey. 
 
 Born in Newark, Whitney Houston began her singing career as a child at the city's New Hope Baptist Church. Her cousin, singer Dionne Warwick, also sang in its choir. 
 
 On Monday, mourners left tributes, including flowers, balloons and candles, alongside the church's fence. 
 
 Houston's hits included I Will Always Love You and I Have Nothing 
 
 "She was an inspiration to everybody,'' said Gregory Hanks, a 26-year-old actor who grew up in the area. 
 
 The White House said President Barack Obama offered his condolences. 
 
 Press secretary Jay Carney said: "I know that his thoughts and prayers are with her family, especially her daughter. 
 
 "It's a tragedy to lose somebody so talented at such a young age." 
 
 Houston was one of the world's best-selling artists from the mid-1980s to the late 1990s, selling 170 million records worldwide. 
 
 But her later career was overshadowed by drug use and a turbulent marriage to singer Bobby Brown. 
 
 Houston was found in her hotel room just hours before she was supposed to appear at a gala before the Grammy Awards.
– Whitney Houston is back home in New Jersey, where family members are planning to let fans say farewell at a service for the late singer. A gold hearse took Houston's body from the airport to a funeral home in her hometown of Newark, reports the BBC. Her family hopes to use the city's 18,000-capacity Prudential Center for a wake on Thursday, and a funeral on Friday, sources tell the New York Times. The viewing of the body is expected to last all day Thursday, but a New Jersey Devils game scheduled for Friday night may pose a logistical challenge to funeral arrangements, the source says. Houston's family is also considering holding a smaller ceremony at the New Hope Baptist Church, where the singer started her career in the choir. Mourners have left flowers and candles for Houston at the fence around the church, reports AP.