We have another update on the passing of Prince.
Nearly two years to the day on which Prince died from a drug overdose, Carver County attorney Mark Metz says no criminal charges will be filed in conjunction with this tragedy.
During a press conference on Thursday afternoon, Metz explained that the “charging decision must be made on legal merits,” and not just on celebrity status, eventually stating that he “will not file any criminal charges” due to a lack of evidence.
Prior to this confirmation, there had been many questions over how Prince obtained the many (MANY) bottles of prescription pills that authorities found inside his home in April of 2016.
As previously reported, the iconic musician was found unconscious in his mansion and pronounced dead shortly afterward.
The DEA found prescription bottles in Prince’s possession at the time, with information later coming out that revealed Prince was prescribed heavy doses of Oxycodone just six days before he passed away.
Just last month, The Associated Press made public a toxicology report that detailed the levels of fentanyl flowing through the star’s body on the day he died.
It now is clear that Prince died as a result of this excessive amount of the aforementioned drug.
It turns out, however, that the artist had been taking counterfeit pills containing the powerful painkiller, unbeknownst to himself at the time.
“Prince had no idea he was taking a counterfeit pill that could kill him,” Metz said.
However, he added that there is no evidence showing just how he obtained these counterfeit pills and, as a result, no one can be held accountable in a legal sense.
Metz did say for certain that Dr. Michael Schulenberg examined Prince around the time of his passing and prescribed percoset for the singer – in another man’s name – which he will be “held accountable for.”
But it is not believed Schulenberg prescribed for Prince the drugs that killed him.
(He will need to pay the government $ 30,000 in fines, though.)
Federal prosecutors and the Drug Enforcement Administration had opened an investigation into how Prince obtained the prescription medication, the agencies confirmed in the past.
Based on court documents from last year, none of the numerous bottles found in Prince’s home were actually in his name.
Some of them were in the name of bodyguard Kirk Johnson, for example.
Metz added it was likely Prince had also taken one of the counterfeit Vicodin when he overdosed on a private jet the week before he died.
He recovered from this incident and even performed a show for fans prior to his demise less than a week later.
It’s all very sad and very confusing.
The bottom line, however, remains the same:
Prince was a man in a lot of pain who went to great lengths in order to obtain heavy doses of medication.
He did so in ways that could not guarantee he always received the right mix of prescription pills.
The musician’s history with opioids was worrisome enough to those around him that, the day before he died, Prince’s team had called an opioid addiction specialist in California seeking urgent help for the star.
Alas, the plan was formulated too late.
We can only hope Prince is now resting in peace.
