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Dolores O'Riordan, the frontwoman of the Irish band the Cranberries, died by drowning in the bath while intoxicated with alcohol, a coroner's inquest has heard.
The singer's death on January 15 aged 46 was ruled as accidental, Sky News reported. She had been found submerged in the bath of her room at London's Park Lane Hilton hotel.
Westminster's Coroner's Court was told on Thursday there was no evidence the singer had taken any drugs other than her prescribed medication.
The Cranberries' singer, who had chart-topping success in the 1990s with hit songs such as "Zombie" and "Linger" was found by the hotel maid and was still dressed in her pyjamas while submerged in the water.
She had taken drinks from the mini-bar in her room and rang her mother at 3am. Five mini bottles of spirits, a small bottle of Champagne and packaging for medication was found in her room.
Her alcohol level was 330mg per 100ml of blood, more than four times the legal limit for driving of 80mg.
The inquest heard she was on a number of prescription drugs for bipolar disorder. Seamus O'Ceallaigh, O'Riordan's psychiatrist in Ireland, had seen her a week before she died and said he believed she had "an episode of mania or elevated mood."
He said that she had managed to be sober over long periods but that her use of alcohol was a "high risk factor."
The coroner, Dr Shirley Radcliffe, said: "There's no evidence that this was anything other than an accident. There was no intention, this seems to be solely a tragic accident," the Guardian reported.
In a statement after the hearing, the band said: "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 to us," the BBC reported.
She is survived by her three children, Taylor Baxter, Molly Leigh and Dakota Rain.
This report has been updated to include further details from the inquest.
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Brendan Cole is a Newsweek Senior News Reporter based in London, UK. His focus is Russia and Ukraine, in particular ... Read more