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Prosecutor Won't File Charges In Prince's Overdose Death

No criminal charges will be filed in the accidental drug overdose death of the late, great Prince, as per Carver County attorney Mark Metz via a news conference on Thursday (April 19).

During the conference, Metz explained that the star, who suffered from an opiate addiction, died of an accidental overdose at his Paisley Park estate after taking counterfeit Vicodin pills that were laced with fentanyl. He was 57. "Prince had no idea he was taking a counterfeit pill that could kill him," the attorney said during the conference. "Prince's death is a tragic example that opioid addiction and overdose deaths do not discriminate, no matter the demographic."

Despite an "intensive investigation," Metz said law enforcement had been unable to determine who actually provided the counterfeit drugs. Because there was no evidence of how Prince received the painkiller, no charges can be filed. Additionally, there was no evidence that any person associated with the musician knew he had counterfeit pills containing fentanyl. Hours before the attorney's announcement, prosecutors announced that Michael T. Schulenberg, the Minnesota doctor who prescribed an opioid painkiller to Prince a week before his death, had agreed to settle a federal civil violation by paying $30,000. 

News of the lack of charges arrived the same day that the Prince Estate, in collaboration with Warner Bros. Records, shared the original version of his hit "Nothing Compares 2 U," which was recorded in 1984, six years before Sinead O'Connor's 1990 rendition. Prince fans can listen to the original version at the top of every hour on iHeartRadio's iHeartPrince Radio online or via the iHeartRadio app.

Photo: Getty Images