Prince died from an overdose of the powerful painkiller fentanyl
UPDATED June 2, 2016 1 p.m. PT
Prince succumbed to an overdose of fentanyl, a powerful prescription painkiller similar to but more potent than morphine, the Midwest Medical Examiner's Office said Thursday -- confirming what had been widely speculated since the music superstar's untimely death in April.
Earlier in the day, a law enforcement source told the Associated Press that Prince had died of an opioid overdose, though the exact drug was not specified.
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Prince died April 21 at his Minneapolis home. In the weeks that followed, reports swirled that the 57-year-old music superstar had over the years developed an addiction to painkillers he was prescribed for hip surgery meant to reduce the pain from years of dancing and jumping onstage.
The medical examiner said that the fentanyl was "self administered." The report also described scars on Prince's left hip and lower right leg.
Investigators are also looking into where Prince may have been getting access to prescription opioid painkillers.
UPDATES
—June 2, 2016 1 p.m. PT: Includes medical examiner's statement identifying the drug as fentanyl.
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Topics Music
Josh Dickey is Mashable's Entertainment Editor, leading Mashable's TV, music, gaming and sports reporters as well as writing movie features and reviews.Josh has been the Film Editor at Variety, Entertainment Editor at The Associated Press and Managing Editor at TheWrap.com.A finalist for the Los Angeles Press Club's Best Entertainment Feature in 2015 for "Everyone is Altered: The Secret Hollywood Procedure that Fooled Us for Years," Josh received his BA in Journalism from The University of Minnesota.In between screenings, he can be found skating longboards, shredding guitar and wandering the streets of his beloved downtown Los Angeles.
