Westminster Coroner’s Court has heard the inquest
Nine months after Cranberries front woman Dolores O’Riordan died suddently at the age of 46, her cause of death has been revealed. The BBC reports that O’Riordan died by drowning due to alcohol intoxication after a court hearing in England.
The singer was found submerged in the bath in her room at a London’s Park Lane Hilton hotel on January 15th. The coroner said she died in a “tragic accident.”
Expert witnesses claim O’Riordan “had drunk an excessive amount of alcohol,” but no harm was done to herself. Toxicology tests show only “therapeutic” amounts of medication in O’Riordan’s blood, with more than four times the legal driving limit.
Empty bottles were found in the room, including five miniature bottles and a bottle of champagne along with containers of prescription drugs with a quantity of tablets in each container.
O’Riordan checked herself into the hotel room, ahead of a recording session with The Cranberries, the previous day. She was confirmed dead at 9:06 am GMT after a hotel employee found O’Riordan “submerged in the bath with her nose and mouth fully under the water.”
The Cranberries were set to tour in 2018, following the recording of the album.
The Cranberries was formed in Limerick, Ireland and became pop rock superstars in the 1990’s with hits like “Zombie” and “Linger.” The group split in 2003, but reunited yin 2009. Last spring, they celebrated their 25th anniversary by releasing Something Else, an album featuring re-worked renditions of their major hits, as well as brand new material.
Last week, the surviving Cranberries members – Noel Hogan, Mike Hogan, and Fergal Lawler – released details of the 25th anniversary release of Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We? The set will be released as 4 CD and 2 CD Deluxe packages with previously unreleased material on October 19th via Island/UMe. 180-gram black LP and limited edition color LP versions will also be available.
