Prince Rodgers Nelson died two weeks ago today after being found unconscious in his Paisley Park compound. An autopsy of the 57-year-old guitar god was conducted by Chief Medical Examiner A. Quinn Strobl the day after, April 22, and according to Minneapolis’ 5 Eye Witness News, “the potent painkiller Percocet was found in Prince’s system.”
Percocet contains oxycodone and acetaminophen, which also showed up in his system, according to sources. 5 Eyewitness News is working to determine the exact amount of drugs detected, whether a doctor prescribed them, or if Prince got the drugs another way. (Via)
TMZ adds that Minnesota law enforcement “is looking at 3 possible abuses… multiple doctors who overprescribed meds, aliases the singer and his doctors may have used, and multiple pharmacies that filled the prescriptions.”
Prince, who also had a dangerously low red blood count, was scheduled to meet with a renowned addiction treatment specialist, Dr. Howard Kornfeld, the day before he was found unconscious. The Drug Enforcement Administration and U.S. Attorney’s office in Minnesota are currently assisting the local authorities in the investigation, although Reuters reports “the cause of Prince’s death remained undetermined. The medical examiner’s office said in late April the autopsy and toxicology results could take weeks.”
We’ll update with more information as it’s available.
(Via 5 Eyewitness News)
