Today a cryptic report about Prince’s death was released by the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office. He died of a drug overdose, and his death was deemed accidental, with no details revealed as to how he obtained or administered the Fentanyl that left him dead in the elevator of Paisley Park, his Minnesota home and music studio, on April 21.
This is the last the office will publicly say on the matter, according to the one-paragraph preface to the report, which is really just a form. It is a very interesting form, however, telling in its way and perhaps appropriate for a tiny giant, a paradoxical musical powerhouse who wrote so much music but is mysterious in life and in death. Let’s see what we can glean.
The Overdose
The form released by the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office is stark because it is understated. The box for accident is checked off to indicate Prince’s manner of death. The cause of death is fentanyl toxicity, self-administered.
The musician killed himself accidentally with a lethal dose of a drug that, according to CNN, is a powerful one. Fentanyl is used legally for cancer treatment and is reportedly much stronger than heroine or morphine. Federal drug enforcement authorities blame its illegal use for a spike in drug overdose deaths. Prince appears to have suffered just this fate.
Mysterious Origins
It is noted in the report that Prince Rogers Nelson was born in parts unknown in 1958 to parents whose origins are also unknown. He was 63 inches tall and weighed 112 pounds when he died. He will be cremated.
We know only that he died alone from a drug overdose, dressed all in black, from his cap to his socks, but for a gray undershirt. His profession is listed as artist and his business is music. It’s a hauntingly spare account of such a prolific musician, but the report also indicates that the Carver County Sherriff’s Office is continuing its investigation of Prince’s death.
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