No criminal charges to be filed over death of singer Prince

No criminal charges will be filed in the death of pop singer Prince, according to prosecutors in the Minnesota county where the artist lived before dying of a drug overdose in 2016.

Carver County attorney Mark Metz said the artist had died after accidentally taking counterfeit Vicodin pills that were laced with fentanyl – an illegal opioid more powerful than heroin. There was no evidence that anyone around the singer knew the pills were fake.

“Prince had no idea he was taking a counterfeit pill that could kill him,” Mr Metz said.

The announcement effectively ended a two-year investigation into how the singer obtained the drugs that lead to his death. He was found unconscious in an elevator at his Paisley Park home in April 2016, at the age of 57.

Investigators later found numerous pills around his home, some of which contained fentanyl. Experts examining his toxicology report called the concentration of fentanyl in his body “exceedingly high”.

A law enforcement official told the Associated Press that the federal investigation was now inactive, unless new information came forward.

Prosecutors had previously accused Dr Michael Schulenberg, a Minnesota physician who had previously treated Prince, of prescribing the painkiller oxycodone for the singer under someone else’s name.

The doctor was not charged on Thursday, but agreed to pay $30,000 (£21,300) to settle a federal civil violation for “[prescribing] controlled substances in the name of an individual, knowing that the controlled substances were intended to be used by another individual”.

Mr Schulenberg did not admit liability as part of the agreement, and a letter sent to his attorneys says he is not the target of a criminal investigation.

Mr Schulenberg’s attorney, Amy Conners, said in a statement that the doctor denies prescribing opiates to any patient with the intention they be given to Prince.

“After he learned of Prince’s addiction, he immediately worked to refer Prince to a treatment facility and to transfer care to a chemical dependency specialist,” she said. “Dr Schulenberg has previously disclosed all information regarding his care and treatment of Prince to his employers, law enforcement, and regulatory authorities in the course of his complete cooperation with all related investigations.”

People who knew Prince in the years before his death said the musician was struggling with pain after years of strenuous performances. Less than a week before his death, the singer passed out on his plane and had to be revived with naloxone – an antidote to opioid overdoses.