9 Jan 2013

Winehouse died of accidental alcohol poisoning

10:19 am on 9 January 2013

A second inquest into the death of British singer Amy Winehouse has confirmed that she died of accidental alcohol poisoning. The same finding was given at the original inquest.

The hearing on Tuesday was told that Winehouse had more than five times the legal blood alcohol drink-drive limit when she died, having 416mg of alcohol per decilitre of blood in her system - the legal driving limit is 80mg.

The inquest at St Pancras Coroner's Court in London heard the same evidence about the singer's death as was revealed at the first inquest in October 2011.

Winehouse was found dead in bed at her flat in Camden, north London, on the afternoon of Saturday 23 July, 2011.

St Pancras Coroner Dr Shirley Radcliffe said she died from "alcohol toxicity", adding that it was "a level of alcohol commonly associated with fatality".

She said two empty vodka bottles were beside the bed where her body was discovered.

In a written statement, Dr Christina Romete, Winehouse's GP, said:

"She was genuinely unwilling to follow the advice of doctors, being someone who wanted to do things her own way."

Dr Romete saw Winehouse the night before she died. Although the singer had been drinking, the GP said: "She specifically said she did not want to die."