Prince's death not a suicide: police

During a press conference held Friday, Carver County Sheriffs Office answered questions about the circumstances surrounding Prince’s death and said, “No reason to believe this is a suicide.” Sheriff Jim Olsen also said, “There were no obvious signs of trauma on the body at all.”

“To you, Prince was a celebrity,” Olsen said. “To us, he’s a community member and a good neighbor. To his family, he’s a loved one. In life, he was a very private person. We’re going to respect his privacy and dignity and hope you do as well. We also respect the media’s right to information. Bear in mind this incident happened 29 hours ago and continues to be under investigation. There are some things regarding this investigation I will not be able to talk about.”

Olsen then gave the statement the office had already released on Thursday, confirming that Prince was pronounced dead at 10:07 a.m. at his Paisley Park home in Chanhassen, Minnesota. According to the Sheriffs Office, the last time Prince was seen alive was about 8 p.m. Wednesday night at Paisley Park.

The Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office announced Friday that an autopsy was conducted on Prince, though the Office said in a statement, “Gathering the results will take several days and the results of a full toxicology scan could likely take weeks.”

Olsen also spoke about the conditions of Paisley Park leading up to the medical emergency to which the office responded. “Staff members from Paisley Park had been unable to contact Prince yesterday morning,” he said. “They went to check on him and found him unresponsive. Nobody else was inside.” He also called Prince’s death “unwitnessed,” which is why they processed the crime scene using a crime lab.

When asked if there were prescription drugs found at the scene, officials said no information was available at this time.