- Troubled singer had a long battle with drink and drugs
- Family: We are bereft by the loss of our wonderful Amy
- Devastated after split from director Traviss last month
- Father Mitch flies home from New York 'to be with Amy'
- Autopsy could take place 'within next 24 hours'
- Claims she bought cocaine, heroin, ecstasy and ketamine in the hours leading up to her death
Tragic death: Amy Winehouse was found dead in her flat yesterday;
The sordid details of Amy Winehouse's final hours emerged today, with claims that she bought a cocktail of narcotics including cocaine, ecstasy and ketamine.
Although the exact cause of death has not yet been released by police, it is claimed she was seen buying drugs from a dealer in Camden just after 10:30pm on Friday.
The reports emerged as her family released an emotional statement in which they said they were 'bereft' by her early death.
'Our family has been left bereft by the loss of Amy, a wonderful daughter, sister, niece. She leaves a gaping hole in our lives,' they said.
'We are coming together to remember her and we would appreciate some privacy and space at this terrible time.'
Winehouse was found dead at her London home on Saturday afternoon.
A source told The People that she was seen buying substances, believed to be cocaine, heroin, ecstasy and ketamine leading up to the hours before her death.
She is also thought to have been drinking heavily, which may have been the trigger of a lethal concoction of drugs and alcohol.
The source told the newspaper: 'Amy seemed determined to have a big one on Friday night.
'She was out in Camden on Friday evening, but seemed determined to carry on the party back at her flat.
'None of us know who was with her into the early hours of Saturday. But getting out of it was clearly her main priority of the night.'
Another source from one Camden pub told the tabloid that they had also seen Amy buying cocaine from a well known dealer in the area.
Meanwhile, friends of the star told the Sunday Mirror that they believe she died from a 'bad' ecstasy pill mixed with a large amount of alcohol.
Winehouse also suffered from emphysema, which is a disease of the lungs that causes shortness of breath.
One friend told the newspaper: 'It was an ecstasy overdose. She could do cocaine until the cows come home. But this was obviously a dodgy pill.'
Gaping hole: Amy's father Mitch Winehouse was seen at New York's JFK Airport on the day of his daughter's death;
A post-mortem is to be scheduled in the next few days to reveal the exact cause of death.
The 27-year-old star, who had fought a long and well-publicised battle with drink and drug addiction, was pronounced dead after police were called to her £2.5 million three-storey home in North London.
After word spread of her tragic death, fans and her friends paid tribute to the singer by creating a shrine outside her home.
Pictures of Amy, alcohol, cigarettes, a guitar, flowers, candles and letters were laid outside her North London flat in her memory.
Never forgotten: A fan lays another bunch of flowers down in front of Amy's flat in Camden, alongside a picture of her with a note saying RIP Never Forgotten'
London. Flowers and Tributes are left outside Amy Winehouse's home this morning after the singer died yesterday of a suspected drug overdose.
Pieces of artwork had also been laid down, including a striking photo of Winehouse posing in a bar, and a picture by artist Mysterious Al, showing Winehouse's face with monochrome cartoon eyes and a white streak in her trademark beehive hair.
Many notes were also left, one reading 'Too fragile, too beautiful, too big a talent for this world', and another which said: 'To an exquisite singer with a beautiful voice'.
Fans of the singer also gathered at her favourite haunt The Hawley Arms in Camden last night after hearing the news.
Amy had been photographed numerous times pouring pints to customers at the pub and candles were lit there as a tribute to the star.
The pub’s owner told the Independent on Sunday: ‘She was a special person with a good soul and this should not have happened. We will sorely miss her.’
While Amy's management Metropolis Music released a statement today saying: 'We are trying to come to terms with the death of a dear friend and colleague, the most amazing artist and talent.
'We will always remember Amy as a vibrant, funny, caring young woman who made everyone around her feel welcome. We have lost a very special person, part of our family.'
Amy's goddaughter Dionne Bromfield, with whom Amy made her final public appearance on Wednesday night, wrote on her Twitter page: 'Forever in my heart....love you always #amy.'
And Lady Gaga added: 'Amy changed pop music forever, I remember knowing there was hope, and feeling not alone because of her. She lived jazz, she lived the blues.'
Camden tribute: Flowers were hung through a fence in Camden Square alongside bottles of alcohol and wine glasses;
Artwork: A picture by artist Mysterious Al, showing Winehouse's face with monochrome cartoon eyes and a white streak in her trademark beehive hair was left with candles;
Neighbour John Lea, 30, said he had last seen her around two weeks ago, looking 'normal'.
He said: 'I'd see her occasionally, wandering around. She didn't go out much really. I didn't hear the noises on Friday night, although I was in. I didn't realise anything had happened until the ambulances and police turned up, and I saw two women outside who were very, very upset.'
Another neighbour and fan, who did not want to be named, said she had seen her near the Hawley Arms pub around six months ago looking 'happy and healthy'.
She said: 'It's sad to hear she's passed away. People just saw her as part of the community here, especially young people. It's nice to see that they have come here (to the singer's home).'
Her untimely death follows a long list of musicians who have all died at the age of 27, known as the 27 Club. They include rock legends Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, Kurt Cobain and Rolling Stone Brian Jones.
Amy was said to be devastated and ‘inconsolable’ after being dumped by her on-off boyfriend Reg Traviss, 34, just before she checked herself into The Priory rehabilitation clinic last month.
Traviss, who had previously turned down a marriage proposal from the star, was desperate to help Amy turn her life around, say friends, but when he realised she could not beat her demons he ended the relationship.
Last night, as Winehouse's body was taken to a local mortuary, her heartbroken mother Janis admitted she believed her daughter's death had been 'only a matter of time' when they met just 24 hours before she died.
'She seemed out of it. But her passing so suddenly still hasn't hit me,' she said.
Young fans: Two young girls are photographed by journalists leaving a tribute for Amy Winehouse outside her flat'
In loving memory: Pictures of Amy, a guitar, flowers, candles and letters were laid outside her North London flat as a tribute to the star;
Instead, she said, she preferred clinging for comfort to Amy's own parting words at the end of an enjoyable day they had spent together on Friday.
As mother and daughter kissed on the doorstep Amy told her, 'I love you, Mum'.
'They are the words I will always treasure and always remember Amy by', she said.
Last night Amy’s father Mitch - who had predicted she would die if she failed to quit drink and drugs - said he was devastated but has vowed ‘not to crack up for Amy’s sake’.
The cabbie-turned-singer was on a jazz tour in New York when he heard the news. He said: ‘I’m coming home. I have to be with Amy. I can’t crack up for her sake. My family need me.’
Amy had recently completed her third album but the release date was delayed by Island Records when she went into rehab.
She bought her five-bedroom Camden home in 2009 but only moved in this May after spending £200,000 installing a recording studio and gym.
As the investigation to establish the cause of her death began, three people were seen outside the house, which is in one of London’s most expensive streets. They were Mr Traviss, her bodyguard – known only as Neville – and former Big Brother contestant Aisleyne Horgan-Wallace, 32, a long time friend of the singer, who looked distraught.
A Scotland Yard spokesman said: ‘Inquiries continue into the circumstances of the death, which at this stage is being treated as unexplained. We do have people we’re speaking to but nobody has been arrested.’
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