A day after Prince’s death stunned his fans and fellow musicians, the work of finding out why the music icon died began in earnest Friday.
An autopsy was conducted Friday at the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office in Ramsey, Minnesota, but it could be days or weeks before results are complete, spokeswoman Martha Weaver said. The autopsy began at 9 a.m. CT (10 a.m. ET) and lasted four hours, she added.
Carver County Sheriff Jim Olson said there were no obvious signs of trauma on Prince’s body when he was found. There is no reason to believe Prince’s death was a suicide, Olson said.
The medical examiner’s office said it “will not release information until the exam is complete and all results are obtained.”
Prince, whose full name was Prince Rogers Nelson, died Thursday at age 57. He was found unresponsive in an elevator at Paisley Park, his home and recording studio, in Chanhassen, Minnesota.
Found alone at Paisley Park
The last time Prince was seen alive was at 8 p.m. Wednesday when he was dropped off at Paisley Park, the sheriff said. He was alone in the complex when he was found, which Olson said was not unusual given that Prince was a private person.
When members of his staff were unable to contact him Thursday morning, they went to Paisley Park to check on him and discovered him slumped in the elevator, Olson said.
It’s unclear how long Prince had been there, he said, and he wouldn’t say whether there were surveillance cameras in the building.
“Because this was an unwitnessed death of a middle-aged adult, the decision was made to process the scene,” Olson said. “That is also normal protocol. It is not different from what we normally would do.”
The sheriff would not say whether investigators removed any items from the building. And he said he could not confirm whether Prince was taking any medication at the time of his death.
But, he promised, “We are going to leave no stone unturned with this and make sure the public knows what happened.”
@ Agency report.
