A source told the Minneapolis StarTribune that the autopsy would confirm that Prince had the painkiller Percocet in his system, although the local medical examiner’s office that conducted the examination of the singer has declined to confirm the reports.
Sources close to the investigation told the StarTribune that the famed singer also had a low red blood cell count, which is usually associated with illness.
The 57-year-old singer was found dead in an elevator at his Paisley Park home-studio April 21. Days after Prince’s body was found, a law-enforcement source told Reuters that prescription opioid medication was found at his home.
Since Prince’s death, rumors have emerged claiming that the singer suffered from an addiction to painkillers.
On Wednesday a lawyer for a Dr. Howard Kornfeld, who runs Recovery Without Walls, a clinic in Mill Valley, Calif., said that Prince’s representatives contacted the doctor the evening before his death. Lawyer William Mauzy said that Kornfeld’s son, Andrew Kornfeld, a clinic staff member, traveled to Prince’s suburban-Minneapolis home April 21 for an initial discussion. Andrew Kornfeld said that when he arrived, he was told that the artist was unavailable. A staff member found Prince unconscious in an elevator, and it was Andrew Kornfeld who called 911.
