Published: October 27, 2011
By GEORGIA GRAHAM

AMY Winehouse died of “misadventure” after turning to booze again following a three-week spell of abstinence, a coroner ruled yesterday (Wednesday).

The singer, 27, was found dead in her house in Camden Square, Camden Town in July. The night before she had told her doctor that “she did not want to die”.

At a packed inquest held at St Pancras Coroner’s Court, it was revealed that Ms Winehouse’s vital organs were working properly but that she had dangerous levels of alcohol in her blood.

The pathologist in the case, Dr Suhail Baithun, said there was a reading of 416 milligrams of alcohol in her system. Putting that figure into context, Dr Baithun told the court that people can begin to “lose control” of their reflexes at levels over 200mg.

Levels of 350mg, he said, were “associated with fatalities” due to “the depression of the respiratory system” – meaning that drinking that amount of alcohol could stop someone breathing and eventually force them into a coma.

The inquest heard that Andrew Morris, Ms Winehouse’s live-in security guard, was the last person to see her alive. He told the court that she had “big plans” for the weekend and that he had heard her laughing, listening to music and watching television on the night before her death.

Mr Morris last saw Ms Winehouse at two in the morning on July 23 when he checked on her before going to his own room.

At 10am the next day, he went again to her room, saw her on her bed and thought she was sleeping.

It was not unusual for her to sleep in late, Mr Morris told the court.

When he returned to make a further check on her after 3pm she had  not moved position. Alarmed, Mr Morris called an ambulance, but when paramedics arrived they pronounced Ms Winehouse dead at the scene.

Two large bottles of vodka and one small bottle of vodka were later recovered from her bedroom by police officers, the court heard.

Mr Morris had taken annual leave shortly before Ms Winehouse’s death. At this time she was in the middle of a three-week period of sobriety.

On Wednesday July 20 when he returned to the Camden Square house he realised she had started drinking again.

Mr Morris, who had lived with Ms Winehouse for four years, told the court: “I returned at about 10 o’clock in the morning [on Wednesday], I realised she had been drinking because of the way she was speaking to me. I had realised she had a drink on the Wednesday.

“She [was drinking] normally, she didn’t appear drunk – it wasn’t drinking to get drunk, so to speak. [On Friday] she was aware of everything that was happening. She was alert and she was calm.”

Ms Winehouse’s GP Dr Christina Romete told the court that in the days before her sudden death she had started drinking again and was “tipsy” when she last met her.

Ms Winehouse had told her doctor she did not know if she would stop drinking but that she “did not want to die” when they met for the last time at 7pm the night before her death. 

Dr Romete, who described her patient of four years as “one of the most intelligent women” she had ever met, told the court: “During the first part of July she was abstinent from alcohol, but started drinking again on the 20th of July. She said she couldn’t remember when she started drinking again – but her security guard told me. She was calm, she was coherent. She was tipsy, I would say, but she didn’t slur her words and was able to hold a full conversation.

“Apart from the fact that she had started drinking alcohol again there was no other concern.”

Dr Romete said she had repeatedly warned Ms Winehouse about the effects of her drinking.

She said: “The advice I had given to Amy over a long period of time, in verbal and in written form, was about the effects alcohol can have on the system, including respiratory depression and death, heart problems, fertility problems and liver problems.”

Ms Winehouse had a deep affection for Camden Town and its famous music scene.

She was a regular in the area’s pubs with The Good Mixer, The Hawley Arms and The Dublin Castle among her favourites. At times, she served behind the bar to the surprise of customers queuing up for drinks.

A long and well-documented struggle with drink and drugs was often played out in the tabloid Press and she was relentlessly pursued by paparazzi.

Despite these strains, her albums Frank and Back To Black, particularly the latter, were heralded as seminal albums and she has been celebrated posthumously as one of the greatest female vocalists Britain has produced.

A secret gig she staged in the back room of the Dublin Castle remains part of Camden Town’s rich musical folklore.

The inquest heard Ms Winehouse, who was taking medication for anxiety and alcohol withdrawal, was reviewed by a psychologist and a psychiatrist last year.

Dr Romete told the court that dialectical behavioural therapy had been recommended but that Ms Winehouse had always resisted.

She said: “She was opposed to any sort of therapy and this is something that had been true throughout the years I have known her. 

“She had her own views and was very determined to do everything her own way – including any form of therapy. She had very strict views [on that].” 

The family did not comment when leaving the inquest, but Ms Winehouse’s father Mitch hugged Dr Romete as he left the courtroom.

Since her death Mr Winehouse, 60, has started the Amy Winehouse Foundation in her memory.

It has already made its first three £10,000 donations to charities: children’s hospices Littlehaven’s in Essex and Chestnut Tree House in Sussex, plus Hopes And Dreams, which gives holidays to sick children have all benefited.

Ms Winehouse’s family issued a statement last night (Wednesday). It read: “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. She had started drinking again that week after a period of abstinence.”

It added: “It underlines how important our work with the Amy Winehouse Foundation is to us, to help as many young people and children as we can in her name.

“It means a lot to us and, from the overwhelming messages of support we have had since Amy died, we know she meant a great deal to people all over the world.”

St Pancras deputy coroner Suzanne Greenaway said: “She had consumed sufficient alcohol at 416mg per decilitre [of blood] and the unintended consequence of such potentially fatal levels was her sudden and unexpected death.”

Lockout – Press finally denied access to star who always made news

SHE was pursued by the Press for most of her life – so there was no surprise that the little coroner’s courthouse by St Pancras Gardens was swamped with reporters and photographers yesterday.

Amy Winehouse’s friends have indicated several times since her death in July that there were days when she just wanted the media to leave her alone.

But, whether it was winning awards or arguing with her husband, Amy was always front-page news.

A fenced area at the front of the court penned in dozens of cameras. Only journalists with approved passes were ushered into the court – a small group containing both of Camden’s local papers but not reporters from national titles such as The Times, the Daily Mail and the Mirror.

Even the BBC News entertainments correspondent Lizo Mzimba could not charm his way past the coroner’s officers and police officers guarding the entrance.

Two German newspapers, who had applied earlier, were allowed in to witness the hearing, which lasted little more than a hour.

All the major TV stations – most of whom had called ahead and had reporters inside the court – were still frustrated as parking ­wardens issued parking tickets in Camley Street outside the court.

The interest that surrounded everything Amy did was in sharp contrast to the one other inquest held at St Pancras yesterday.

To a virtually empty press bench, the case of Islington-born Dorothy Margaret Mannigan, an 80-year-old who died days after falling down the stairs, was heard. But the press pack were only interested in Amy.
GEORGIA GRAHAM and DANNY FOY