How Did Amy Winehouse Die?

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

The new inquest repeated the findings that Winehouse had 416mg of alcohol per decilitre in her blood, enough to make her comatose and depress her respiratory system.

She was found dead by paramedics, fully clothed, with a laptop on her bed and empty bottles of vodka on the floor.

Recording a verdict of misadventure, the St Pancras coroner, Dr Shirley Radcliffe, said: “She voluntarily consumed alcohol, a deliberate act that took an unexpected turn in that it caused her death.”

The inquest heard a statement from Winehouse’s GP, Dr Christina Romete, who described the singer as single-minded and intelligent.

She said Winehouse had been battling her alcohol addiction but had repeatedly refused psychiatric help because she thought it would affect her creativity and had repeatedly lapsed into drinking binges following dry periods.

Winehouse had a well-documented drug habit, regularly using heroin, crack cocaine and cannabis – but had stopped taking drugs before a trip to St Lucia, where her alcohol consumption became increasingly problematic.

On returning to the UK, she fell into a pattern of abstaining from drink for a few weeks, then lapsing, according to Romete.

She was taking medication, Librium, to cope with alcohol withdrawal and anxiety, and had been reviewed by a psychologist and a psychiatrist the previous year.