Singer Amy Winehouse poisoned by alcohol: inquest

LONDON: Singer Amy Winehouse was more than five times over the legal British drink-drive limit when she died, an inquest heard Wednesday, as a coroner delivered a verdict of death by misadventure.

Winehouse, 27, was found dead at her London home on July 23 following years of alcohol and drug addiction.

The inquest, in London, was told she had drunk heavily after abstaining from alcohol for three weeks and was poisoned by alcohol.

The singer had 416 milligrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood. The legal drink-drive limit is 80mg.

Coroner Suzanne Greenway said: "She had consumed sufficient alcohol at 416mg per decilitre (of blood) and the unintended consequence of such potentially fatal levels was her sudden and unexpected death."

Her father Mitch Winehouse has said that his daughter made repeated attempts to quit alcohol but without any medical supervision.

Following her death, Winehouse's 2006 album "Back to Black" has become the Britain's highest-selling album of the 21st century. (AFP)
She rocketed to fame after winning five Grammy awards off the back of "Back
to Black" and famously sang about her refusal to seek treatment for her
addiction in her single "Rehab".

Winehouse had only Librium in system at death: father

LOS ANGELES: The father of singer Amy Winehouse said that his daughter had the prescription medication Librium in her system when she died of a seizure in July, according to media reports on Friday.

At a taping of a segment for journalist Anderson Cooper's new talk show "Anderson," which debuts on Monday, Mitch Winehouse repeated past statements that his daughter had no illegal drugs in her system. (Reuters)

Amy had no illegal substances in her system when she died !

Amy Winehouse had no illegal substances in her system when she died, according to toxicology results.The tests revealed the 'Rehab' singer – who was found dead in her home in Camden, north London, on July 23 at the age of 27 – had alcohol in her body at the time of her passing, but it is not known if it contributed to her death.

A statement released by her family today (23.08.11) read: "Toxicology results returned to the Winehouse family by authorities have confirmed that there were no illegal substances in Amy’s system at the time of her death.

Results indicate that alcohol was present but it cannot be determined as yet if it played a role in her death."The family would like to thank the police and coroner for their continuing thorough investigations and for keeping them informed throughout the process.

They await the outcome of the inquest in October."A post-mortem was held last month on July 25 - the day before Amy's funeral, where she was laid to rest in a private ceremony - to find out what caused her death but immediate results were deemed inconclusive.

Some reports had previously suggested the 27-year-old star's cause of death could have been as a result of quitting alcohol after years of heavy drinking, causing her body a shock or seizure.

Following Amy's untimely passing, her father Mitch Winehouse is planning to set up a rehab charity in her memory, with the headquarters set to be at her £2.5 million home.

He said: "It could include help for children in trouble, kids suffering health problems, children's hospices and more. We want to make a positive difference.

"However, Mitch's plans have been delayed because someone else has already registered his proposed name The Amy Winehouse Foundation. Look at Amy's many career achievements in pictures

Winehouse’s father pleads with government on drugs rehab

Amy Winehouse’s father went to parliament on Monday to plead for more state-funded drug rehabilitation centres as his family waits for toxicology test results on the British singer’s death.

Mitch Winehouse discussed plans to tackle a gap in treatment services and wider drugs policy with Crime Minister James Brokenshire.

“I want to involve myself in things that would be important to Amy,” the taxi driver said.

“This isn’t only important to me, this is important to our whole country.

“There’s hundreds of thousands of young people in situations today that could be avoided, and these are our future policemen, doctors and lawyers and solicitors, that we could help.”Winehouse, 27, was found dead at her north London home on July 23. Her death remains unexplained, with toxicology test results due within the next three weeks, although it is not being treated as suspicious.

The soul singer’s sultry vocal talents were often overshadowed by her drink and drug addictions, and her best-known single, “Rehab”, detailed her troubles and reluctance to undergo rehabilitation treatment.

“I think there is a new emphasis and thinking within the government to try and get treatment in at the sharp end rather than money being wasted through the criminal justice system,” Mitch Winehouse said.

“There was one rehab centre for juveniles, Middlegate, which has just shut down because of a lack of funding.

“We were in the fortunate position of being able to fund Amy to go into private rehab, but this is about people who can’t afford it.”Fans of the soul star sent her back on top of this week’s British album chart, which came out Sunday.

Grammy Award-winning album “Back to Black”, which first reached number one in 2007, returned to the summit while Winehouse’s debut release, “Frank”, recharted at number five. A box set of the two albums entered the chart at number 10.

The singer also occupied five spots on the singles chart top 40 with the song “Back to Black” reaching number eight.

Drunk fans create ruckus outside Amy's home

Amy Winehouse's drunken fans created chaos outside the singer's home, forcing neighbours to call the police.

Police were called in as residents complained about the gathered crowd in front of the singer's North London home, who went berserk boozing around and dancing in the street, reported Daily Mail online.

Bottles of wine, cans of beer and cigarette ends were strewn around Camden Square and dumped on the shrine that has built up to the star. Some fans were slumped on the pavements.

The area outside Winehouse's home has been filled with flowers, candles, pictures and heartfelt messages from devastated fans since her death.

Graffiti has also been daubed over buildings and walls with messages to Winehouse. Neighbours became so frustrated that they rang police, who arrived to move the raucous crowds on. One man was arrested.

"We've had four nights of this disturbance. We all have to work. We all have to sleep, and with the drunken nonsense going on a lot of us are finding it hard to get any sleep. Also since when has it been appropriate to show respect for a recently deceased alcoholic with a drunken party?" a neighbour said.

"We were called to reports of disturbances at 10.30pm.One man was arrested for a breach of the peace and some were moved on," a police spokesperson said.

After the celebration got out of hand, police stood guard outside Amy's house alongside a private security guards.

Amy Winehouse foundation for addiction planned

Amy Winehouse's father has revealed plans to set up a foundation in his daughter's name to help people struggling with addiction.
"If you cannot afford a private rehabilitation clinic, there is a two-year waiting list for help," Mitch Winehouse said at the singer's funeral.
He said the 27-year-old had "conquered" her drug addiction and had been "trying hard to deal with her drinking".
He added she had been her happiest "for years" in her final days.
MP Keith Vaz has offered to help with the foundation as Mr Winehouse gave evidence to the Commons home affairs select committee during its inquiry into drugs in 2009.
"I am very happy to help Mitch in any way I can with his important campaign to help rehabilitate those most vulnerable in our society," Mr Vaz said.
On Tuesday, a cremation in Golders Green followed a private service for the singer at Edgwarebury Cemetery in Edgware, north London.
Music producer Mark Ronson and TV star Kelly Osbourne were among the mourners.
At the service, Mitch Winehouse read a eulogy that ended with the words: "Goodnight, my angel, sleep tight. Mummy and Daddy love you ever so much."
He said his Grammy Award-winning daughter, who was found dead on Saturday, had been trying to deal with her drinking and had "just completed three weeks of abstinence".
Mr Winehouse added that his daughter had spoken of her plans to get sober saying: "Dad I've had enough, I can't stand the look on your and the family's faces any more."
"Knowing she wasn't depressed, knowing she... passed away happy, it makes us all feel better," he added.
An inquest into Winehouse's death was opened and adjourned until 26 October at London's St Pancras Coroner's Court on Monday.
A post-mortem examination also took place on Monday, although no cause of death was given. Source : BBC News