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The Schmooze

If Not Illegal Drugs, Then What Killed Amy Winehouse?

While some are still trying to determine whether Amy Winehouse was a nice Jewish girl or not, others are continuing to engage in ongoing speculation as to the cause of the late singer’s death in July.

Rather than putting minds at ease, Winehouse’s family’s announcement yesterday that tests showed that there were no illegal substances found in her body is fueling even further debate about why she died. And we can expect every expert — not to mention pseudo-expert — to be putting forth his or her forensic theory until the formal cause of death is released to the public in October.

ABC’s interviews of a toxicology professor and a forensic pathologist in relation to the Winehouse family’s announcement just left readers and viewers more confused than they were before. What, according to these authorities, caused the singer’s death? It could have been legal drugs or substances, including alcohol (after all, didn’t the family mention only that illegal substances were not found in her dead body?). It could have been abrupt alcohol or drug withdrawal. It could have been cardiovascular diseased caused by years of wild living. It could have been caused by extreme weight swings leading to a severe metabolic imbalance.

In other words, it could have been any, all or none of these things.

How about we just let the newest member of the Forever 27 Club—nice Jewish girl, or not — rest in peace. At least until October.

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