Amy Winehouse: Police Urge Caution Over Singer's Cause Of Death
By: The Hollywood Reporter
Scotland Yard said a drug overdose can't be confirmed until an autopsy has been conducted.
LONDON – London's Metropolitan Police have warned that it is "inappropriate" to rush to judgement on the cause of death of music diva Amy Winehouse, saying nothing can be known until an autopsy has been conducted.
Reports that the 27-year old singer -- who had had a long history of drinking, drugs and self-harm issues -- died of a drug overdose have been widespread. As recently as last month she was forced to cancel a tour after being booed off stage for increasingly erratic behavior. But police have warned that such a conclusion is premature.
"I am aware of reports suggesting this death is the result of a suspected drugs overdose, but would like to re-emphasize that no post-mortem has yet been done and that it would be inappropriate to speculate on the cause of death," said Superintendent Raj Kohli of the Metropolitan Police.
"At this early stage it is being treated as unexplained and there have been no arrests in connection with the incident," he added.
Reports of the "Back To Black" singer and five-time Grammy Award winner's death at her London home began circulating Saturday afternoon before being formally confirmed.
London's ambulance service said it was called to Winehouse's North London home in Camden Square at 3:54 on Saturday afternoon, but the singer was already dead at the scene. A private ambulance took away her body, covered in a red blanket, some hours later.
As yet there is no information on who alerted the police, but newspapers have reported that she may have been troubled by a recent split with boyfriend Reg Traviss. Her father, Mitch is understood to have flown home from New York, where he was had was part way through a jazz singing tour.
Winehouse had made a surprise appearance at The Roundhouse, an intimate music venue in London three days before she died, appearing briefly to support her goddaughter Dionne Bromfield at an iTunes festival concert.
However, fans at the time tweeted that she had refused to take the microphone and appeared fragile and dishevelled, stumbling on stage.
Fans gathered around her home on Saturday as the news emerged, leaving floral tributes and candles.