PRINCE CAUSE OF DEATH- ACCIDENTAL FENTANYL OVERDOSE

An accidental overdose of the powerful painkiller fentanyl killed music megastar Prince, a medical examiner’s report released Thursday reveals.

“The decedent self-administered fentanyl,” A. Quinn Strobl, MD, chief medical examiner for the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office, noted in the findings.

Fentanyl, according to the National Institutes of Health, is a powerful synthetic opiate analgesic similar to but more potent than morphine. The prescription drug, often administered via injection, transdermal patch or in lozenge form, is typically used to treat patients with severe pain.

The one-page report gives no indication of how Prince obtained the drug.

“This public data includes manner and cause of death,” the medical examiner’s office wrote in a news release. “Under Minnesota Law, all other medical examiner data is considered private or nonpublic.”
Nor does the report list any other contributing factors or “significant conditions.”
The autopsy results follow weeks of speculation that the 57-year-old singer was addicted to pain medications when he was found dead on April 21 at his Paisley Park estate.
Prince’s use of painkillers and how he obtained them have been the focus of a criminal investigation. A judge sealed all records in the case, but no charges are known to have been filed.
“The Carver County Sheriff’s Office continues its investigation,” the medical examiner’s office stated.