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Artist News
Autopsy confirms Prince died from accidental painkiller overdose
By Chris Cooke | Published on Friday 3 June 2016
Prince died from an accidental overdose of the painkiller fentanyl, according to a report from the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office in Minnesota.
According to the autopsy report, the musician self-administered the painkiller, an opioid many times more powerful than heroin, and which has been called a “threat to health and public safety” by the US Drug And Enforcement Administration, because “incidents” and overdoses related to the drug are “occurring at an alarming rate”.
As previously reported, Prince was found unresponsive at his Paisley Park Studios home on 21 Apr. According to the Associated Press, citing a friend, the musician was taking pain medication because of knee and hip pain, the result of years of performing.
According to the BBC, detectives have already questioned a doctor who saw Prince twice in the weeks before he died, and who prescribed medication to the singer on 20 Apr, though it is not known what the doctor prescribed at that time.
