MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (CelebrityAccess) — When the iconic rock star Prince died in 2016, it was due to an overdose of the painkiller fentanyl, however, authorities on Thursday revealed that the musician was unaware he was taking the deadly drug.
“He thought he was taking Vicodin and not fentanyl,” Carver County Attorney Mark Metz said at a press conference in the Minneapolis suburb of Chanhassen on Thursday.
According to the Associated Press, Metz, who is the senior prosecutor in Carver County told reporters that after an exhaustive investigation, no charges would be filed in the case.
Metz said that the investigation concluded that Prince, nor anyone on his team was aware that he had become addicted to fentanyl, a synthetic painkiller that is much more potent than heroin.
“To actively charge a crime requires probable cause and a reasonable likelihood of conviction. The bottom line is that we simply do not have sufficient evidence to charge anyone with a crime related to Prince’s death,” Metz said.
Metz also noted that there was no evidence to conclude that the counterfeit Vicodin pills laced with fentanyl found at Prince’s home had been prescribed by a doctor.
“There is no reliable evidence showing how Prince got (fentanyl) or who else had a role in delivering it to him,” Metz added.
According to the Associated Press, the investigation revealed that Prince had a significant quantity of what he apparently believed to be vicodin in his home, all seemingly obtained without a prescription. Police reports describe finding more than 100 white capsules labeled “Watson 853” – a label used on Vicodin pills, a prescription mixture of acetaminophen and hydrocodone, were concealed in over-the-counter painkiller bottles around Prince’s Paisley Park studios.
However, how Prince obtained the counterfeit pills remain a mystery.
