Tragedy: Amy Winehouse was found dead after a vodka binge just after she had told her doctor she wanted to live, her second inquest was told today...
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Amy Winehouse drank herself to death while watching herself on YouTube hours after telling her doctor she did not want to die, a fresh inquest heard today.
The star, 27, was found slumped on her bed in her north London home after consuming so much vodka she stopped breathing on July 23, 2011.
Ms Winehouse had also battled bulimia in the months prior to her death, St Pancras Coroners Court heard.
It came during the second inquest into her death, after the first held in October 2011 was declared void after it emerged the presiding coroner was under-qualified.
The singer was discovered next to two empty bottles and tests showed she was five times over the drink drive limit when she passed out.
But the Grammy award winning star had told her doctor she wanted to live before embarking on the drinking binge that killed her.
Today Coroner Dr Shirley Radcliffe upheld the original verdict that Ms Winehouse died from misadventure.
‘The toxicology analysis revealed a level of alcohol commonly associated with fatality’, she said.
‘I am satisfied on the balance of probability Amy Winehouse voluntarily consumed alcohol.
‘It was a deliberate act which took an unexpected turn in that it led to her death.'
Fresh inquest: Police officers leave the second inquest into the death of the singer, called after the previous coroner was found not to be qualified...
Crush: Journalists wait to enter a new inquest, which also found that Ms Winehouse died from misadventure...
The singer’s doctor Christina Romete had been helping her battle drug and alcohol addiction for several years, and saw her the day before she died.
‘In the course of the last consultation, Amy did not appear to be depressed at any stage’, she said.
‘She specifically said she did not want to die.’
The singer spent that night watching YouTube videos of herself with bodyguard Andrew Morris, before downing enough vodka to stop her breathing.
‘She had been drinking throughout the day, I’m unsure what time she started, she was drinking vodka’, said Mr Morris.
‘At one point she came to my room and wanted to show me clips on YouTube of a Nigerian male she used to go out with.
‘You could tell she’d had a few drinks, but she wasn’t completely drunk. I’ve seen her drunk enough times in the past to know when she’d had too much.
Sadness: Winehouse's home in London, where she died, became a shrine after her death in 2011...
Thousands came to Camden to pay their respects, in some cases even leaving alcohol as a tribute...
Mr Morris said he heard the singer laughing as she watched videos of herself online until he fell asleep at around 4am.
The security guard, who said they had a ‘brother-sister relationship’ and had moved in to her Camden Square home, found her slumped on the bed at 10am the next day, but assumed she was sleeping.
It was not until around 3.30pm that he checked on her again and raised the alarm after realizing she had not moved.
Professor Michael Sheaff said the amount of alcohol drunk was enough to stop her breathing.
‘When levels are extremely high, it can have an effect on the central nervous system’, he said.
‘At that level, it is likely Ms Winehouse had a respiratory arrest.’
The inquest heard Ms Winehouse had a well-documented battle with alcohol, being admitted to hospital several times but struggled to stop boozing.
‘It was apparent Amy was a highly intelligent individual’, said Dr Romete.
‘It was not possible to convince her to take a course of action unless she wanted it.’
Inspiration: Despite problems in her private life Amy Winehouse was considered one of the great singers of recent times...
Tributes: Mourners gather outside Amy's flat in Camden to pay their respects after her death in July 2011...
Dr Romete said the singer was sober for ‘12 to 13 days’ prior to her death, but had been back drinking for three days prior to being found unconscious.
The original inquest verdict into the death had to be ditched after it emerged deputy coroner Suzanne Greenaway, who oversaw the hearing, was under-qualified.
She was appointed in July 2009 by her husband, Andrew Reid, who was the coroner for Inner North London, after working as a solicitor and barrister in Australia.
But she resigned in November last year when it became clear she did not have the required five years’ experience in the Law Society.
Dr Reid also quit from his post last month as he faced disciplinary proceedings and the possibility of being removed.
‘There is evidence she consumed a very large amount of alcohol at some point before her death’, said Dr Radcliffe.
‘Amy died as a result of alcohol toxicity.’
Tragic: Amy's father Mitch is consoled by friends at her funeral in 2011. He said today the family did not want to attend the second inquest...
Amy Winehouse's father today said that coroners had made a 'massive cock up' which led to his daughter's inquest having to be heard again.
But he said he was not surprised that today's fresh ruling matched the original findings of the court.
Mitch Winehouse said he 'expected' the ruling but he attacked as 'preposterous' a series of blunders that meant the inquest into Amy's death had to be rescheduled after it was revealed the original coroner Suzanne Greenaway was not properly qualified.
'That is what we expected. It is the same evidence so it was bound to each the same conclusion. What other conclusion could they reach?' he said.
Asked whether he felt let down by the coroner's office, which failed to undertake adequate checks to make sure Miss Greenaway was qualified to practice in the UK, he said: 'It was a massive cock up.
'They messed up twice - once when they sent the original coroner's report to the wrong address and the second time when a coroner who wasn't qualified oversaw the inquest.
'It is preposterous.'
Mitch said he had chosen not to go to today's inquest because he wanted to spare himself and his family the ordeal of hearing the circumstances surrounding his daughter's tragic demise.
He said: 'There was no need for us to go today. If we had been in London we wouldn't have gone, I wasn't going to put my family through that, it was horrible. That is the end of the story.'
Culled from The Daily Mail UK.
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