Amy Winehouse Death Ruling Finally Released

It’s official: Amy Winehouse died from alcohol toxicity. Despite a promising period of sobriety right before her July 23 death, the talented-but-troubled singer had two large bottles and one small bottle of vodka in the bedroom of her London home, according to the official inquest.

Winehouse, 27, had been battling her demons and seemed to be winning, but her untimely death shows how precarious recovery can be and reminds us just how difficult alcohol addiction is to overcome.

Officials don’t think Winehouse meant to harm herself, despite the fact that her blood alcohol level was more than five times the legal limit, leading the coroner to rule the incident “death by misadventure.”

Winehouse's parents, Mitch and Janis, were in the court to hear the verdict, as was the late singer’s doctor, Christina Romete. The physician earlier told the court that she last saw Winehouse on the evening before her death. The singer, who had successfully battled drugs problems, had started drinking again after a period of abstinence, Dr. Romete said. Despite that admission, Romette said, “She didn’t want to die, she was looking forward to the future.”

No illegal drugs were found in Winehouse’s system, and immediately following her death this past summer Winehouse's family suggested the tragic incident may have been the result of her suddenly stopping drinking. Treatment experts have long acknowledged that alcohol detox is one of the most difficult and dangerous.

After learning of the cause of death, Winehouse's family issued a statement, saying, “It is some relief to finally find out what happened to Amy. We understand there was alcohol in her system when she passed away; it is likely a build up 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 to us that she could not win in time.”

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