The Mystery Around Amy Winehouse Death Solved

The months of speculation are over: Amy Winehouse’s death was the result of too much alcohol, according to a report by Suzanne Greenway, a British coroner, which was released yesterday. According to The New York Times, an investigation determined the singer had more than five times the legal driving limit of alcohol in her body at the time of her death.

The wild child of retro soul, Winehouse was famed for her Grammy Award-wining albums Back to Black and Frank — and for paving the way for other quirky British songstresses including Adele and Duffy. Lady Gaga even paid homage to Winehouse for paving the way for “strange girls” like her in music.

When Winehouse was found dead in her London apartment July 23, rumors swirled around possible causes as the singer famous for crooning, “They tried to make me go to rehab” often battled drug and alcohol addictions. One mid-summer theory even had some suggesting Winehouse died from “alcohol withdrawal.”

The truth sounds fanciful but was much more common than withdrawal. Greenway ruled Winehouse’s demise “death by misadventure,” though American anti-addiction experts are urging fans to recognize it for what its typically called Stateside: Alcohol poisoning. The singer had 416 milligrams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood when she died — a full five times the legal driving limit in the U.K. The coroner noted that 350mg of alcohol per 100mlliliters of blood is considered fatal.