The music world was shocked when, almost two years ago to this day, musical icon Prince tragically passed away due to a drug overdose. Now, Carver County Attorney Mark Metz has announced that the long investigation into his death with be closed, with no criminal charges filed.
Prince was found dead in the elevator at Paisley Park Studios in Chanhassan, Minnesota. It was later discovered that the singer's death was due to fentanyl painkillers, which were disguised as Vicodin pills. An autopsy found 67 micrograms of fentanyl per liter in Prince's bloodstream, more than enough to act as a fatal dose to any human being.
According to StarTribune, Metz stated that the investigators conducted a "extensive, painstaking and thorough" investigation into the matter, but they were unable to produce any conclusive evidence as to who sold Prince the counterfeit medication. "There is no reliable evidence showing how Prince obtained the counterfeit Vicodin containing fentanyl," said Metz. "The bottom line is that we simply do not have sufficient evidence to charge anyone with a crime related to Prince’s death."
The U.S. Attorney's office in Minnesota also confirmed that they had agreed to a settlement with Prince's doctor, who filed painkiller perscriptions for Prince's bodyguard, Kirk Johnson, with the full knowledge that the pills were actually for Prince himself. The doctor will have to pay a $30,000 fine, and will be under investigation by the DEA for two years. He is currently not under investigation for giving Prince the fentanyl pills.
Unless new evidence or an unknown witness comes forward, the mystery as to who sold Prince the drugs will go unsolved.
