ACCIDENT

Prosecutor: Prince Thought He Was Taking Vicodin, Not Fentanyl

There will be no criminal charges in the case, Minnesota prosecutors announced.

Minnesota prosecutor Mark Metz announced Thursday that Prince thought he was taking the painkiller Vicodin, rather than fentanyl, when he died in April 2016. Metz also announced that there will be no criminal charges filed after the two-year investigation into the singer's death. Metz claimed there was “no evidence” that Prince knew that he possessed “any counterfeit pill containing fentanyl.” The source of the fentanyl was never discovered by investigators. An autopsy determined that Prince died of an accidental fentanyl overdose. Earlier Thursday, it was announced that Michael Todd Schulenberg, as part of a settlement, agreed to pay $30,000 for “illegally prescribing an opioid painkiller” to the musician a week before his death, according to the Associated Press. Schulenberg, who saw the singer at least twice before he died, allegedly violated the Controlled Substances Act by writing a prescription for Prince under his bodyguard’s name—which Schulenberg claims he did for “privacy” purposes.