After two years, the prosecutors from Minnesota are now ready to reveal the findings from the investigation surrounding the unexpected death of music icon, Prince.
What Happened So Far
On April 21, 2016, the "Purple Rain" singer was found alone and unresponsive in the elevator of his famous Paisley Park estate. A subsequent autopsy found that the performer, who was 56 years old at the time of his death, had died of an accidental fentanyl overdose.
The search warrants, which were revealed about a year after his death, claimed that authorities requested and were permitted to scour his property, his phone records, his e-mail accounts, and others. The search was carried out to determine how the singer-songwriter, who was reportedly struggling with addiction at the time, was able to obtain fentanyl. Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, is believed to be 50 times stronger than heroin.
Then, last month, investigators from the Carver County Sheriff's Office presented their findings to Mark Metz, the Carver County attorney.
Chief Deputy County Attorney Peter Ivy confirmed to USA Today on Tuesday, April 17, that prosecutors are ready to announce something in the very near future. He refused to give out details or the exact date that the announcement will be made.
Unanswered Questions
As mentioned, Prince had a complicated history with opioids. A day before his death, his people had contacted Dr. Howard Kornfeld, an opioid specialist from California, to seek an urgent help for the singer. Kornfeld's son was at the singer's home when he was found lifeless.
Upon searching the house, authorities also found numerous bottles of prescription medication, none of which were prescribed to him. A few bottles of opioid inside the Paisley Park estate were prescribed to his friend Kirk Johnson.
Dr. Michael Todd Schulenberg revealed that he wrote prescriptions for Oxycodone, an opioid medication used to relieve moderate to severe pain, for Prince under the name of Johnson to protect the singer's privacy.
However, CNN reported that after a search through Minnesota Prescription Monitoring Program, only one prescription was issued for Johnson. None was issued for Prince. It was discovered that other medications were contained in numerous vitamin bottles.
Two years later, Prince's family still has a number of unanswered questions. They want to know who had been supplying him fentanyl all these time. Also, they want to find out if Prince knew he was taking fentanyl and in dangerous amounts.
The answer to these questions might dictate the direction of the criminal investigation surrounding his death.
