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Prince dies at age 57

By Larry Philpot on April 21, 2016

Photo credit: Larry Philpot. Updated at 1:15pm: It is being reported that Prince has passed away. The artist’s publicist, Yvette Noel-Schure, said in a statement that he died at his Paisley Park home Thursday morning in Chanhassen, Minnesota. Last Friday, Prince was reportedly hospitalized in Illinois in connection with flu symptoms that were ongoing.

Prince sold tens of millions of albums worldwide in a career that spanned several decades. The artist rose to superstar status with the release of his landmark album “Purple Rain.” That album sold millions of copies and spent 24 consecutive weeks at the top of the Billboard 200, in part because of songs “When Doves Cry”, “Little Red Corvette”, “1999” and “Let’s Go Crazy.”

Previous: TMZ is reporting that a death investigation is taking place at Minnesota’s Paisley Park, the studio and home of Prince. According to the report, the Chanhassen, MN Sheriff’s departent told TMZ that authorities responded to a medical emergency at the residence, and that there had been a death there.

Last Friday, Prince was reportedly hospitalized in Illinois in connection with flu symptoms that were ongoing. More as this story develops.

Update from TMZ.com:

3:43 PM PT — The medical examiner’s office has received Prince’s body and will perform an autopsy Friday.

12:25 PM PT — The Sheriff’s department says Prince was found in an elevator at Paisley Park. They performed CPR, but were unable to revive him. He was pronounced dead on the scene at 10:07 AM Central Time.

11:27 AM PST — The Carver County Sheriff’s Office tells TMZ they are now investigating the circumstances of Prince’s death. At this time, there are no signs of foul play.

Prince‘s longtime friend and collaborator Sheila E. wants answers — and she’s jetting to Minnesota right now to get them.

We just got Sheila as she was boarding a flight at LAX, and she was visibly shaken about the news of Prince’s death. She gave us a message for the millions of fans mourning around the world.

Sheila — who’s been tight with Prince since the mid-’80s — seemed puzzled about reports he’d been battling the flu, but also … determined to find out the truth.
Read more: http://www.tmz.com/2016/04/21/sheila-e-prince-dead/#ixzz46VWbOVVK

Update:

Prince was treated for a drug overdose 6 days before his death … multiple sources tell TMZ.

We broke the story … Prince’s private jet made an emergency landing in Moline, Illinois last Friday, hours after he performed in Atlanta. At the time his reps said he was battling the flu … something we questioned because his plane was only 48 minutes from home before the unscheduled landing.

Multiple sources in Moline tell us, Prince was rushed to a hospital and doctors gave him a “save shot” … typically administered to counteract the effects of an opiate.

Our sources further say doctors advised Prince to stay in the hospital for 24 hours. His people demanded a private room, and when they were told that wasn’t possible … Prince and co. decided to bail. The singer was released 3 hours after arriving and flew home.

We’re told when Prince left he “was not doing well.”

We know authorities in Minnesota are trying to get the hospital records from Moline to help determine cause of death.

We have made more than a dozen attempts to reach Prince’s reps for comment, but they went radio silent.

Update TMZ.com 4/22/2016:

Prince had OD’d on Percocet days before his death, and he ingested so much, EMTs had to administer a “save shot” at the airport where his plane made an emergency landing to save his life.

Sources in Moline, Illinois tell TMZ, Prince’s entourage told responders he had taken the painkiller after his Atlanta concert which triggered the emergency.

Percocet is a painkiller which contains a combination of acetaminophen and oxycodone, an opioid. It is highly addictive.

We’re told Prince was taking painkillers for a hip problem. We’re told he had corrective surgery for his hips around 2010.

Update:

From TMZ.com

Prince‘s autopsy was just completed … but the cause of the singer’s death is still a mystery.

The four hour procedure started at 9 AM CDT Friday and Prince’s body will be released to his family later today. We’re told results from the exam won’t be disclosed until toxicology results come back … which could take several weeks.

A rep for the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office in Minnesota says they’re still collecting the singer’s medical records as well as family medical history to complete their investigation.

Prince died Thursday morning after being found unresponsive in his Paisley Park compound.

Prince‘s body had no obvious signs of trauma when he was found in an elevator … according to the Sheriff running the investigation into his death.

Carver County Sheriff Olson gave few details about what his deputies found at Paisley Park on Thursday morning. He said they’ve found nothing to indicate the superstar’s death was a suicide.

A rep for the Medical Examiner’s Office said the autopsy was complete, but they will not release any results until toxicology testing is also complete … and that could take several weeks.

We broke the story … Prince had been to his local Walgreens 4 times in the week before his death — and had been treated for a Percocet OD in Moline, IL last week. When asked if he knew of any medications Prince was taking …the Sheriff said he “would not confirm.”

Prince was found by staffers at Paisley Park, who’d gone there to check on him after being unable to reach their boss by phone. As for the 911 caller, presumably one of those staffers, not knowing the address at Paisley Park — the Sheriff said he did not find that to be unusual.

Update APR28 from TMZ/com

Authorities have obtained a search warrant for Prince‘s house, and in the docs there’s an ominous warning … if the justification for the warrant gets out it could cause others to destroy evidence.

The warrant was issued Thursday in Carver County, Minnesota, allowing cops to search the home in Paisley Park Studios, where the singer lived and died. Our sources say authorities want to see if there’s evidence of drugs, correspondence, prescriptions and medical information that could help in the death investigation.

The Sheriff’s Office says in the request for a warrant … they want to keep the information in the warrant confidential because “premature disclosure of the details provided in the search warrant and its accompanying documents may compromise this law enforcement investigation by causing the search or related searches to be unsuccessful.”

Translation … we know authorities are interested in drugs that were prescribed by doctors and filled by pharmacies, and they don’t want evidence tampering.

The judge ordered that the sensitive documents be sealed for 6 months or until the commencement of any criminal case.