The Associated Press
A second coroner's inquest confirmed Tuesday that Amy Winehouse died
of accidental alcohol poisoning when she resumed drinking after a period
of abstinence. Coroner Shirley Radcliffe ruled that the 27-year-old
soul singer "died as a result of alcohol toxicity" and recorded a
verdict of death by misadventure. She said there were no suspicious
circumstances.
She said that Winehouse "voluntarily consumed alcohol; a deliberate act that took an unexpected turn and led to her death."
The Grammy-winning singer was found dead at her London home on July 23, 2011.
Radcliffe said a postmortem had found that Winehouse had a blood
alcohol level five times the legal driving limit, and above a level that
can prove fatal.
She said that that much alcohol could
affect the central nervous system so much that a patient could "fall
asleep and not wake up."
Winehouse's family did not
attend the 45-minute inquest, which was held after the original coroner
was found to lack the proper qualifications for the job.
The
coroner later resigned after her qualifications were questioned. She
had been hired by her husband, the senior coroner for inner north
London.
The first inquest in 2011 produced an identical verdict.