Prince was 57 when he was found alone and unresponsive in an elevator at his Paisley Park estate on 21 April, 2016. Public data released six weeks after his death showed he died of an accidental overdose of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid 50 times more powerful than heroin.
A confidential toxicology report provides some insight into just how much fentanyl was in his system. Experts who are not connected to the Princeinvestigation said the numbers leave no doubt that fentanyl killed him.
“The amount in his blood is exceedingly high, even for somebody who is a chronic pain patient on fentanyl patches,” said Dr Lewis Nelson, chairman of emergency medicine at Rutgers New Jersey medical school. He called the fentanyl concentrations “a pretty clear smoking gun”.
The report says the concentration of fentanyl in Prince’s blood was 67.8 micrograms per litre. Fatalities have been documented in people with blood levels ranging from three to 58 micrograms per litre, the report says.
It adds that the level of fentanyl in Prince’s liver was 450 micrograms per kilogram, and notes liver concentrations greater than 69 micrograms per kilogram “seem to represent overdose or fatal toxicity cases”.
There was also what experts called a potentially lethal amount of fentanyl in Prince’s stomach. Dr Charles McKay, president of the American College of Medical Toxicology, said the findings suggest Prince took the drug orally, while fentanyl in the blood and liver suggest it had some time to circulate before he died.
Experts say there is no “lethal level” at which fentanyl can kill. A person who takes prescription opioids for a long time builds up a tolerance, and a dose that could kill one person might help another.
Search warrants released about a year after Prince’s death showed authorities found numerous pills in various containers around his home. A lab report shows many of the pills tested positive for fentanyl. Information released publicly indicates the source of those drugs has not been determined.
Last week, the lead prosecutor in the county where Prince died said he was reviewing law enforcement reports and would make a decision ‘in the near future’ on whether to charge anyone.
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