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Amy Winehouse death was 'misadventure'

Written by . Published: October 26 2011

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."

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