New Details About Sinéad O’Connor’s Death Revealed by Police

As the world continues to mourn the loss of Sinéad O’Connor, new details are emerging about her death. A day after the Irish singer, well-known for her hit song “Nothing Compares 2 U,” was confirmed dead at the age of 56 by her family, London’s Metropolitan Police announced Thursday that her death is not being treated as suspicious.

According to police, per NBC News, officers responding to a call at around 11:15 a.m. local time (6:15 a.m. ET) Wednesday to “reports of an unresponsive woman at a residential address” in South London found “a 56-year-old woman” who was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. TMZ reports that officers attempted to revive the woman, but their attempts were not successful. The police statement added, “A file will be prepared for the coroner.” A cause of death has not been revealed at this time.

The police statement comes just after O’Conner’s family confirmed that the singer passed away. In a statement to RTE and the BBC, the family said, “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Sinéad. Her family and friends are devastated and have requested privacy at this very difficult time.”

Born in Dublin in 1966, O’Connor would release 10 albums throughout her career, with her debut album, 1987’s The Lion and the Cobra, achieving gold status and earning her a Grammy nomination for best female vocal rock performance. It was her 1990 No. 1 hit “Nothing Compares 2 U,” a song written and composed by Prince, that skyrocketed her to stardom. The song reached No. 1 in several countries, remained atop the charts in Ireland for 11 weeks, and earned her four Grammy Awards in 1991. O’Connor boycotted that year’s ceremony, writing in an open letter that the Academy “acknowledge[s] mostly the commercial side of art.”

Two years after her massive hit, O’Connor sparked controversy when she ripped up a photo of Pope John Paul II during an October 1992 Saturday Night Live appearance. O’Connor said the move was in protest of child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.

Earlier this month, the singer wrote on Facebook that she had moved back to London after 23 years and was finishing an album to be released next year. She also said she had plans to tour in Australia and New Zealand in 2024 and in Europe, the United States, and other territories in 2025.

O’Connor’s death comes more than a year after her son Shane died by suicide in January 2022. In her final tweet, O’Connor expressed her heartbreak at her son’s loss, writing in response to a tweet asking, Tell me how your life is going using emojis,” the late singer shared the hashtag #lostmy17yrOldSonToSuicidein2022. She shared that she had “been living as undead night creature since,” going on to call her son “the love of my life, the lamp of my soul. We were one soul in two halves. He was the only person who ever loved me unconditionally. I am lost in the bardo without him.”