MINNEAPOLIS, Minn., April 22, 2016 (Gephardt Daily) — There is no evidence to suggest musician Prince died of suicide, and investigators found no trauma to his body.
That was about all the Carver County Sheriff Jim Olson was willing to confirm about about the death investigation of the musical icon, declared deceased just 29 hours before the news conference broadcast at 3 p.m. Central time Friday.
The autopsy of Prince, 57, was conducted from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday in Minnesota. The release of any results, including toxicology reports, could take days, or more likely weeks, according to a spokeswoman for the medical examiner’s office.
Prince’s body has been released to family members, the sheriff said.
Olson said officers were called to Prince’s residence at 9:43 a.m. Thursday by staff members who found the musical icon unresponsive in an elevator at the home’s ground-floor level. The employees had come to the residence after they could get no response from Prince, who was alone in his home.
“CPR was initiated, but was not successful,” Olson said. The medical examiner was called in at 10:20 a.m.
Olson refused to speculate on the story that Prince had suffered a serious opiate overdose several days early, and had been treated at a Moline, Illinois, hospital, and had told fans at a concert he suffered from the flu.
“There are so many rumors you read about, I don’t know if I can dispel all the rumors out there,” Olson said. “This is under investigation.”
Prince was last seen alive at about 8 p.m. Wednesday, when an acquaintance dropped him off at home, Olson said.
Olson said he would not comment on Prince’s case, but protocol in cases of this nature would normally include the medical testing of blood and tissue samples; talking to doctors at any hospital where the victim was recently treated; reviewing pharmacy records; and collecting a personal and family medical history.
Olson also praised Prince as an artist and a valued community member. He said Prince was a private person, and he hoped to respect that privacy as much as possible.
