Dolores O’Riordan died after accidentally drowning in a bathtub due to alcohol intoxication, the Westminster Coroner’s Court in London confirmed to Us Weekly on Thursday, September 6, which would have been her 47th birthday.
According to the Associated Press, a police officer told the coroner’s inquest that the Cranberries singer was found submerged in a tub at a London hotel on January 15. There were no signs of self-harm and she did not leave a note.
“There’s no evidence that this was anything other than an accident,” coroner Shirley Radcliffe told the news agency.
The AP reported that five miniature bottles of alcohol and a bottle of champagne were found in O’Riordan’s room. The coroner said toxicology tests revealed that the artist had a blood alcohol level four times the legal limit for driving.
The Cranberries released a statement on Twitter after the inquest: “On January 15, 2018, we lost our dear friend and bandmate Dolores O’Riordan. 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.”
The statement continued, “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. 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. We request, please, for our privacy to be respected at this time.”
The rock band was formed in 1989, one year before O’Riordan joined at the age of 18. They disbanded in 2003 but reunited six years later. They are best known for hits including “Dreams,” “Zombie” and “Linger.”
The Cranberries were forced to cancel their world tour in 2017 because of O’Riordan’s back problems. She had also battled depression and bipolar disorder. She was in London for a recording session when she died.
The singer is survived by her three children with ex-husband Don Burton: Taylor, 20, Molly, 17, and Dakota, 13.
