Amy Winehouse's father hands out T-shirts outside her home as reports emerge suggesting she died because she quit alcohol

By Sarah Fitzmaurice


Handouts: Mitch Winehouse pops out of his daughter's home to give out T-shirts to waiting mourners


Amy Winehouse's parents returned to the tragic singer's house amid reports their daughter died because she quit alcohol.

Her father Mitch and mother Janis made their way to Amy's north London home this morning as part of the Jewish tradition, Shiva.

Later in the day Mitch, 60, handed out T-shirts to waiting fans outside the Camden property.

Mourning: The Winehouse's are observing the Jewish tradition of Shiva a week-long custom aimed to help with the bereavement process


Mitch and Janis, 56, were accompanied by their son Alex and close friend Tyler James as they looked at the tributes left outside the property before making their way inside.

According to Jewish tradition the Winehouse family will be observing the tradition of Shiva for a week.

The period of mourning is part of the customs of bereavement in Judaism.

Mourning: Amy Winehouse's parents Mitch and Janis were seen arriving at the singer's house this morning

Tributes: Amy's north London home is guarded by a security professional as fans leave floral tributes and messages for the tragic singer


The estranged couple's appearance at the house comes as it has been claimed the singer - who died at the age of 27 on Saturday - passed away was because she stopped drinking.

Some of her security guards also appeared at the house to start clearing some of the singer's belongings - including, poignantly, a guitar.

They also carried out holdalls and suitcases of items thought to hold special meaning for her family and friends.

Sad task: An acoustic guitar in a binliner is taken from Amy's home in Camden Square as the heartrending job of clearing her belongings begins

Removals: Security guards for the late star left with bags of property as mourning fans looked on

Taken away: One of the bags was labelled to help the contents be identified


It is thought that Amy had been told to cut down on her drinking gradually, but her cold turkey approach to quitting the booze gave her frail body a shock it couldn’t handle.

A source close to the family told the The Sun newspaper: ‘Abstinence gave her body such a fright they thought it was eventually the cause of her death.’

Saying goodbye: Amy's brother Alex was also in attendance at the singer's house today

Touching: Mitch receives a hug from several of the fans waiting outside the house

Emotional: One fan sobs as she breathes into a T-shirt which once belonged to Amy


The Rehab singer was found dead at her Camden home by a body guard on Saturday and, after an inconclusive autopsy, her funeral was held on Tuesday attended by her close friends and family.

Amy’s father Mitch gave a touching eulogy where he said that Amy had beaten her battle with drink and drugs and she hadn’t drunk for three weeks and hadn’t touched drugs for years.

However it has been claimed that the singer was drinking gin and red bull drinks at the Roundhouse in Camden three days before her death as her goddaughter Dionne Bromfield performed as part of the iTunes festival.

Tragic loss: Amy Winehouse's family are said to believe that the reason she died was because she cut out booze totally


Speaking on Tuesday Mitch told mourners: ‘Three years ago, Amy conquered her drug dependency, the doctors said it was impossible but she really did it. She was trying hard to deal with her drinking and had just completed three weeks of abstinence.’

'She said, "Dad, I've had enough of drinking. I can't stand the look on your and the family's faces any more'.

A source told The Sun: ‘Mitch said the shock of giving up, and everything she had been through over a bad few years was just too much for her to take.’

Amy’s doctor had given her a clean bill of health the day before she died.

Dr Julian Spinks told the Daily Star: ‘If you go from very high alcohol consumption to nothing you can get the DTs and fits that can leave you unconscious, in danger of stopping breathing and dying because of that.’

While the reasons for Amy’s death will not be revealed until toxicology results come through, which police say could take up to four weeks.

Meanwhile the police are said to be piecing together Amy’s final hours and there are reports that the singer may have met up with a ‘mystery man’ hours before her death, The Mirror has reported.

Hundreds of fans have paid tribute to the singer creating a shrine outside her London home and on the day of the funeral well-wishers celebrated her life with a party.

Mitch visited the street and said: 'Amy was about one thing and that was love. Her whole life was devoted to her family and her friends and to you guys as well. We're devastated and I'm speechless, but thanks for coming.'

Her boyfriend, film director Reg Traviss, also paid tribute to the singer and said he had lost 'my darling who I loved very much'.

Yesterday her close friend Mark Ronson performed a special set in tribute to the singer in his first performance since her death.

It has also been claimed that Amy left a trove of unreleased music, but no decision has been made about whether it will be released.

Spokesman Chris Goodman says there is 'plenty' of material, but there have been no discussions yet about releasing anything.

Sales of her music have soared since her death. In the U.S., digital sales of her tracks have risen by 2,000 percent in the past week.


source: dailymail