After more than seven months in lockup, the troubled songbird's beloved and beleaguered husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, has copped to roughing up a barkeep and then trying to cover it up.
Fielder-Civil, 26, pleaded guilty to committing grievous bodily harm and conspiring to pervert the course of justice (i.e., witness tampering) related to the 2006 pub brawl, and now faces years behind bars.
The five-time Grammy winner appeared in court last week to support her husband. During those hearings, Fielder-Civil, who has been locked up since November, and three codefendants pleaded guilty, but Justice David Radford barred the release of the news because the pub manager whom they targeted, James King, is facing a separate trial.
But the restriction was lifted Monday, and the news has spread like wildfire. Fielder-Civil now faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison for the assault charge and a maximum life sentence for the perversion of justice count, though experts say it is not likely to be imposed on the case.
Winehouse has yet to comment on the guilty plea, but she has been a vocal supporter of her husband for months, visiting him often in jail and referring to the case at concerts. She was interviewed by British cops in relation to the conspiracy charge, but police announced in February that they would not charge her in the case.
Fielder-Civil's codefendants in the case also pleaded guilty to charges related to the crime, and King, who pleaded not guilty, faces trial on the charge of perverting the course of justice. The entire group will be sentenced at a later date.
The 24-year-old Back to Black singer and Fielder-Civil married in Miami in May 2007. Along with his stint in jail, their first year of marriage has also seen her head to rehab in January to battle her much-publicized drug problem.
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