Amy Winehouse death was 'misadventure'
Amy Winehouse died as an "unintended consequence" of drinking too much alcohol, a coroner ruled on Wednesday (26Oct11).
The Back to Black hitmaker had downed so much booze in the hours before her death she was almost five times over the legal limit for drink-driving, an inquest heard.
She was found dead in bed at her London home on the afternoon of
Saturday 23 July (11) after her personal security guard became
concerned and checked on her.
A cop who attended the scene found three empty vodka bottles in
Winehouse's bedroom, and toxicology tests later showed the singer's
blood-alcohol reading was way above the level at which a fatal
collapse of the respiratory system can occur. There was no trace of
any illegal substance in her body.
Winehouse's parents, Mitch and Janis, were at the London hearing as
pathologist Suhail Baithun revealed blood samples showed the singer
was 4.5 times the legal drink-drive limit in the U.K.
Winehouse's doctor, Christina Romete, confirmed the star had
started drinking again in the days before her death after a period
of sobriety.
Coroner Suzanne Greenaway announced a verdict of death by
misadventure.
Speaking after the case, Winehouse's family - who have set up the
Amy Winehouse Foundation to help youngsters with addiction issues -
said the verdict comes as a "relief" after months of uncertainty
over the circumstances of the star's death.
In a statement, the family says, "It is some relief to finally find
out what happened to Amy. We understand there was alcohol in her
system when she passed away, it is likely a build up of alcohol in
her system over a number of days.
"The court heard that Amy was battling hard to conquer her problems
with alcohol and it is a source of great pain to us that she could
not win in time. She had started drinking again that week after a
period of abstinence.
"It underlines how important our work with the Amy Winehouse
Foundation is to us, to help as many young people and children as
we can in her name. It means a lot to us and from the overwhelming
messages of support we have had since Amy died, we know she meant a
great deal to people all over the world. We want to thank everyone
for that and for their continuing enthusiasm for the
Foundation."