We now know why Dolores O’Riordan passed away in January. The former Cranberries lead singer was shockingly found dead in London several months ago, leaving this world at the relatively young age of 46. There were various theories as to what transpired at the time, with many outlets claiming O’Riordan’s death was related to her history of substance abuse. One irresponsible tabloid even alleged she had overdosed on sleeping pills . Now, however, per The BBC, coroner Shirley Radcliffe has completed her report and determined that the artist died due to a “tragic accident.” She drowned in her hotel bathtub after drinking a lot of alcohol. According to this doctor and her findings, there were no signs of injury or self-harm found during the post-mortem examination. The BBC goes on to say that authorities discovered a bottle of champagne and five miniature bottles in O’Riordan’s hotel room, in addition to “containers of prescription drugs with a quantity of tablets in each container.” Moreover, toxicology tests revealed that O’Riordan’s blood contained “therapeutic” amounts of medication but 330mg of alcohol per 100mls of blood. This equates to “four times over the 80mg legal limit for driving.” In simpler terms: the singer was very, very drunk. But the official report does not state she intentionally drowned herself. Following the release of these findings, The Cranberries released a statement that reads: Today we continue to struggle to come to terms with what happened. Our heartfelt condolences go out to Dolores’ children and her family and our thoughts are with them today. Dolores will live on eternally in her music. To see how much of a positive impact she had on people’s lives has been a source of great comfort for us. We’d like to say thank you to all of our fans for the outpouring of messages and their continues support during this very difficult time. O’Riordan joined The Cranberries when she was only 18 years old. She quickly became an integral part of the band both for her voice and also her songwriting. The group, whose top hits include “Linger,” “Dreams,” and “Zombie,” sold over 40 million albums worldwide and had multiple Billboard Top 200 hits throughout the 1990s. O’Riordan released her first solo album in 2003. Six years later, the group got back together and released an acoustic album as recently as 2017. O’Riordan’s death came as a stunning tragedy to her friends and fans. The remaining band members have repeatedly paid tribute to O’Riordan on Twitter, saying shortly after she died: We are devastated on the passing of our friend Dolores. She was an extraordinary talent and we feel very privileged to have been part of her life from 1989 when we started the Cranberries. The world has lost a true artist today. Elsewhere, The Cranberries will releasing a new album, which O’Riordan had been working on with them before her death. It will contain previously unreleased material by the band, as well as other bonus material from the era and it will be released in October. O’Riordan leaves behind three kids – Taylor, Mollie and Dakota – as well as her boyfriend, Olé Koretsky. May she rest in peace. View Slideshow: 32 Musicians Who Died Too Young
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Dolores O’Riordan Death Ruled "Tragic Accident" by Coroner
