newsmakers

newsmakers

Winehouse died of alcohol poisoning

LONDON

Soul diva Amy Winehouse died with empty vodka bottles in her room and lethal amounts of alcohol in her blood — more than five times the British drunken-driving limit — a British coroner ruled Wednesday.

Coroner Suzanne Greenaway gave a verdict of “death by misadventure,” saying the singer died of accidental alcohol poisoning when she resumed drinking after weeks of abstinence.

“The unintended consequence of such potentially fatal levels [of alcohol] was her sudden and unexpected death,” Greenaway said.

The singer, who had fought a very public battle with drug and alcohol problems for years, was found dead in bed at her London home July 23 at age 27. An initial autopsy proved inconclusive, although it found no traces of illegal drugs in her system or signs of injury.

Pathologist Suhail Baithun told the inquest into the singer’s death that blood and urine samples indicated that Winehouse had consumed a “very large quantity of alcohol” before her death. The level of alcohol in her blood was 416 milligrams per 100 milliliters, he said — a blood alcohol level of 0.4 percent.

The British and U.S. legal drunken-driving limit is 0.08 percent.

Such levels of alcohol intake could have stopped her breathing and sent her into a coma, Baithun added.

Lindsay Lohan’s dad appears in Fla. court

TAMPA, Fla.

The estranged father of actress Lindsay Lohan made his first appearance in court on domestic- violence charges.

Judge Walter Heinrich set bail at $5,000 for Michael Lohan on Wednesday. Lohan is accused of grabbing his on-and-off girlfriend and pushing her down multiple times during an argument at her Tampa condo Sunday. The judge told Lohan to stay away from 28-year-old Kate Major.

Authorities say Lohan went to Major’s condo and that she decided to let him stay even though she had a temporary domestic- violence injunction against him in Sarasota County.

Bruce Willis, wife expecting baby

LOS ANGELES

Bruce Willis is adding to his brood.

A representative for the 56-year-old actor says he is expecting a baby with wife Emma Heming Willis. Publicist Samantha Mast says this is the first child for the couple, who were married in March 2009.

Willis and his wife are “overjoyed with this news, and they look forward to welcoming this newest addition into their family,” according to a statement released Wednesday.

Willis has three daughters — 23-year-old Rumer, 20-year-old Scout and 17-year-old Tallulah Belle — from his previous marriage to Demi Moore.

Associated Press