Cranberries Singer Dolores O’Riordan Drowned In The Bathtub, Coroner Finds
Nearly eight months after singer Dolores O’Riordan’s body was found in the bathtub of her London hotel room, officials have concluded that she drowned as a result of intoxication from alcohol.
A coroner determined Thursday that the 46-year-old Cranberries frontwoman’s death was accidental, according to The Guardian. The results came on what would have been the singer’s 47th birthday.
O’Riordan’s alcohol level was 330 milligram per 100 milliliters of blood, more than four times the legal limit for driving in the United Kingdom. The coroner said the singer had been drinking heavily before she was found dead at about 9 a.m. on Jan. 15 in room 2005 of the Hilton hotel in London, where she had recently arrived to attend a recording session. O’Riordan was found by a maid the morning after she checked into the hotel submerged face up in the bath, wearing a long-sleeved vest and pajama bottoms.
The report also found that the singer had prescription drugs in her system, including lorazepam, medication used to treat anxiety disorders. The report concluded that the levels of medication in her blood were therapeutic and that no note was found, leading police to determine that her death was not suspicious.
“There’s no evidence that this was anything other than an accident. There was no intention, this seems to be solely a tragic accident,” said the coroner, Dr. Shirley Radcliffe, as quoted by The Guardian.
O’Riordan had begun composing a suicide note in September 2017 under the influence of alcohol and lorazepam, but a U.S. psychiatrist who assessed her over the phone on Dec. 26 said that she had been doing better, according to The Guardian report.
According to The Guardian report, the Irish singer-songwriter had struggled with bipolar disorder and excessive drinking for many years. O’Riordan had also previously discussed being sexually abused as a child by a family friend and her struggle with anorexia.
O’Riordan’s bandmates — famous for ’90s hits like “Zombie” and “Linger” — have shared a statement in response to the coroner’s report. Their message sends “heartfelt condolences” to their late bandmate’s family and asks for privacy as they “struggle to come to terms with what happened.”
“Dolores will live on eternally in her music,” the statement shared on the band’s official Twitter account reads. “To see how much of a positive impact on people’s lives has been a source of great comfort to us. We’d like to say thank you to all of our fans for the outpouring of messages and their continued support during this very difficult time.”
— The Cranberries (@The_Cranberries) September 6, 2018
