In the end, she drank herself to death. A British inquest has found that singer Amy Winehouse died as a result of acute alcohol poisoning with a blood alcohol level more than five times the legal limit for driving at the time of her death. Officially, the inquest returned a verdict of death by misadventure.Winehouse was found unconscious by her security guard in her north London home on July 23.
At the time of her death, Winehouse's family members insisted that she was clean and sober and told reporters they suspected that she died from seizures as a result of alcohol withdrawal.
Blood-Alcohol Level of 0.416
At the inquest however, testimony revealed that Winehouse had a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.416. For most people, a BAC of 0.350 would be fatal. Three empty vodka bottles were found in her apartment.
There were no drugs found in her system.
Andrew Morris, the "Rehab" singer's personal security guard, was the last person to speak to Winehouse around 2 a.m. on July 23. He told the inquest that he checked on her around 10 a.m. and saw she was still in bed, which wasn't unusual.
Then when he checked on her again around 3 p.m. and she had not moved, he checked for a pulse.
'Source of Great Pain'
Chris Goodman, a spokesman for the family, issued the following statement:
"It is some relief we finally found out what happened to Amy. We understand there was alcohol in her system when she passed away. It is likely a buildup 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 that she could not win in time. She had started drinking again that week after a period of abstinence," Goodman said.
News Source: Inquest: Singer Amy Winehouse Died of Alcohol Poisoning Related Information:
Photo: © Getty Images