Prince: Prescription painkillers were found next to star's body, police sources reveal

Reports claim pain-killing prescription pills were found where the musician died
Investigation: US Drug Enforcement Administration is assisting
Yui Mok/PA Wire/Press Association Images
Alistair Foster28 April 2016
The Weekender

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Authorities investigating the death of Prince found prescription opioid medication on his body, according to reports in the US.

They claim pain-killing prescription pills were found where the musician died at the age of 57 at his home in Minneapolis last week.

Both reports, from CNN and Minneapolis newspaper Star Tribune, quoted unidentified police sources.

Local police are also said to have requested the US Drug Enforcement Administration to assist in the investigation.

Prince - In pictures

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Authorities have said they have found no signs of suicide or obvious trauma, but that it could take weeks before autopsy results reveal how the performer died.

The intensely private musician, whose hits included Purple Rain and When Doves Cry, was found dead in a lift at his home last Thursday, shocking millions of fans around the world and prompting glowing tributes by fellow musicians.

A week before Prince’s death, he suffered a health scare which caused the unscheduled landing of his plane in Illinois. He is believed to have suffered an overdose while flying back to Minnesota from Atlanta, where he had played in two concerts in one night.

Paramedics responded to a call of an “unresponsive passenger” and sources claim he was given a shot of the opioid antidote Narcan.

In the week leading up to his death, he was spotted making several trips to a local pharmacy.

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