Prince died from an accidental overdose of painkillers, autopsy results showed Thursday, confirming the pop icon as the highest-profile victim of the US epidemic of opioid abuse.
Prince died from an accidental overdose of painkillers, autopsy results showed Thursday, confirming the pop icon as the highest-profile victim of the US epidemic of opioid abuse.
Ending weeks of speculation, a medical examiner in Prince’s native Minnesota ruled the 57-year-old’s April 21 death an “accident” caused by self-administration of fentanyl, a powerful opioid used to treat severe pain.
The medical examiner’s office, as is customary, gave no details other than the cause of death, with the sheriff’s department in Minnesota’s Carver County still investigating events leading to Prince’s sudden demise. The examiner’s office said that the sprightly five-foot-two (1.6-metre) Purple Rain star weighed just 112 pounds (51 kg) and listed the resting spot of his ashes as unknown.
Fentanyl, a synthetic opiate, is more powerful than morphine and is used to treat people with chronic pain. It is only available by prescription. Prince was found dead at his Paisley Park estate, days after his private plane made an emergency landing that was also reportedly due to a painkiller overdose.
A California doctor who treats painkiller addiction, Howard Kornfeld, had been urgently making plans to treat Prince when the artist died, the specialist’s lawyer said last month. Kornfeld’s son Andrew had arrived at Paisley Park to meet Prince when he discovered his body and called the 911 emergency line for help.
Prince had appeared to be healthy to the public and was legendary for his marathon performances in which he would play for hours straight or put on two shows in a night. But Prince, who was guarded about his personal life, underwent hip surgery in 2010.
His death comes amid growing public alarm over an epidemic in opioid use, which claimed 26,647 lives in the US in 2014, according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
