Cranberries singer Dolores O’Riordan drowned in hotel bath while drunk
The Cranberries front-woman Dolores O’Riordan drowned in a London hotel room bath after drinking alcohol, an inquest heard.
The Irish singer, from Limerick, was pronounced dead aged 46 on January 15 at the Hilton Hotel in Park Lane where she had been staying while recording.
Coroner Shirley Radcliffe told an inquest at Westminster Coroner’s Court that the cause of death was drowning due to alcohol intoxication and concluded that the death was an accident.
PC Natalie Smart, who attended the scene, told the inquest: "I saw Mrs O’Riordan submerged in the bath with her nose and mouth fully under the water."
The inquest heard there were empty bottles in the room – five miniature bottles and a bottle of champagne – as well as containers of prescription drugs with a quantity of tablets in each container.
Toxicology tests showed only "therapeutic" amounts of medication in O’Riordan’s blood, but showed up 330mg of alcohol per 100mls of blood – meaning she was more than four times the 80mg legal limit for driving.
The Cranberries formed in the Irish city of Limerick at the end of the 1980s and had international hits in the '90s with songs including "Dream," ''Linger" and "Zombie."
O'Riordan, who would have turned 47 on Thursday, the day of the inquest, was renowned for her distinctive singing voice.
In a statement issued after the hearing, the band said: "On January 15th 2018 we lost our dear friend and band mate 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.
"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 lead-singer was also a member of alternative rock group DARK - and had been working on a new studio album with The Cranberries in the months before her death.
The mother-of-three had been in London to record a cover of Zombie with hard rock band Bad Wolves when she died.