Family Says Amy Winehouse Died From Alcohol Withdrawal

Though the official cause of Amy Winehouse's death at the age of 27 last Saturday night won't be known for weeks, due to an inconclusive autopsy report and the need for further toxicology tests, the late singer's family believes that withdrawal from alcohol is the contributing factor to her early demise.

Though rumors circulated that Winehouse had indulged in a three-day bender before her death, her father Mitch Winehouse expressed his opinion to the contrary in his eulogy for his daughter on Tuesday. "He said doctors had told Amy to gradually reduce her intake of alcohol and to avoid binging at all costs. Amy told him she couldn't do that. It was all or nothing and she gave up completely," a source for the family told Britain's Sun. "Mitch said the shock of giving up, after everything she had been through over a bad few years, was just too much for her to take."

Mitch and Winehouse's other loved ones believe that her tiny 4'11" frame just couldn't handle the sudden withdrawal. A doctor for the Sun confirmed that "dangerous seizures" are one side effect of delirium tremens, the condition associated with alcohol withdrawal.

In the meantime, Mitch honored his daughter on Thursday by distributing her clothes to fans who visited at her home in London. "This is what she would have wanted," he said.