Whitney's picture in open casket creates furore

The cover page of National Enquirer magazine this week carried a photo of what they say is Whitney Houston in her open casket prior to her funeral on Saturday.

The picture shows Whitney Houston in an open casket at the Whigham Funeral Home in New Jersey before her burial last weekend.

According to the Boyculture blog, the mag “is on sale on newsstands completely out in the open”.

The magazine claims the photo was taken at the Whigham Funeral Home in New Jersey, not at the church where the funeral service was held, reports fox.

The magazine somehow thought it was appropriate to put an unauthorized picture of the late singer’s dead body on every newsstand in America.

Whitney Houston, 48 years old, was found dead in the bath of her Beverly Hills hotel room on February 11.

Meanwhile, the cemetery Houston was laid to rest has been closed to the public indefinitely.

Officials at the Fairview Cemetery in New Jersey made the decision following a series of traffic problems resulting from grieving fans wanting to pay their respects to the singer, who was buried there on Sunday.

Police Captain Cliff Auchter said, “It’s a private property, and it’s up to them to make that decision. It was done in light of the overcrowding that occurred.

“The cemetery is a maze of very small roads, so if two cars come face to face, you have a Mexican standoff.”

Those with relatives buried in the cemetery will not be affected by the ban, and a round-the-clock police presence will remain in place for the forseeable future.