Amy Winehouse: Parents thank mourners

LONDON -- Amy Winehouse’s devastated parents formally identified her body on Monday and visited mourners outside her north London home to thank them for their support, as examiners conducted an autopsy to determine the cause of the troubled singer’s death at the age of 27.
Her father, Mitch Winehouse, thanked people for coming to lay bouquets, candles and handwritten notes, which lay in growing mounds across the road from the Victorian house where the soul diva died.
"I can’t tell you what this means to us -- it really is making this a lot easier for us," he said.
The singer’s mother, Janis, was in tears as she examined the flowers, candles, vodka bottles, flags, drawings and handwritten cards left by neighbors, fans and well-wishers. Many of the offerings expressed the same sentiment: "What a waste."
The singer died Saturday after publicly struggling with drug and alcohol abuse for years. Her body was discovered at home by a member of her security team, who called an ambulance. It arrived too late to save her.
Police have said her death is being treated as "unexplained" but not suspicious, and have said speculation that she might have suffered an overdose was inappropriate.
The singer had battled addiction to drugs and alcohol for years, too often making headlines for erratic behavior, destructive relationships and abortive performances.