Was Prince on Drugs?

An autopsy was conducted on the body of Prince, the legendary performer who died at age 57 this week.

Authorities report that it could be weeks before the cause of death is released. 

However, Carver County Sheriff Jim Olson said Prince’s body had no signs of violence when he was found unresponsive Thursday morning at his estate in suburban Minneapolis. 

There was also nothing to suggest that it was suicide. Olson said it appeared Prince had been at his home alone.

“This is certainly a big event internationally and nationally, and I can tell you that we are going to leave no stone unturned with this and make sure the public knows what happened,” the sheriff said at a news conference.

Olson and a spokeswoman for the medical examiner refused to say whether any prescription drugs were taken from Prince’s home after his death, and they would not comment on a report by the celebrity website TMZ that the “Purple Rain” star had suffered an overdose of a powerful painkiller less than a week before he died.

Former band member Sheila E. told the Associated Press that Prince suffered pain from years of jumping off risers and speakers on stage while wearing high heels. 

“There was always something kind of bothering him, as it does all of us,” she said. “I hurt every single day. You know we’re like athletes, we train, and we get hurt all the time. We have so many injuries.”

Prince’s cousin Chazz Smith attests that Prince did not use drugs or alcohol. 

“We decided to never get into that stuff, and no one did,” he said. 

Heather McElhatton, who worked on and off as a set decorator for Prince’s video shoots at Paisley Park from 1988 to 1998, said she never saw him take drugs or drink during her time there.

“But he did have a lot of energy. He could shoot for two days straight,” McElhatton said.

While speaking at a press conference, Martha Weaver, a spokeswoman for the Midwest Medical Examiner’s office, expressed both an affection for him and a determination to do a thorough investigation.

“For our generation, he was the songbook and the narrative for some of the greatest moments in our individual lives, much like Elvis Presley and Ira Gershwin before him,” Weaver said. “And this is something that we remember and we take very, very seriously.”

For the third straight day, hundreds of fans have been mourning outside his home, leaving purple flowers and balloons along the fence.