Prince's fentanyl overdose won't result in criminal charges

Prince.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

After nearly two years of investigation, much of the case surrounding Prince's unexpected death is closed. There will be no criminal charges, Minnesota law enforcement announced Thursday.

The music legend died in April 2016 after taking imitation Vicodin he didn't know was laced with fentanyl, per The New York Times. Law enforcement have since searched for how he may have acquired the counterfeit drug and came up empty.

"There is no reliable evidence showing how Prince obtained the counterfeit Vicodin laced with fentanyl, or who else had a role in delivering the counterfeit Vicodin to Prince," said Carver County attorney Mark Metz in a press conference.

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That doesn't mean someone didn't help Prince get the counterfeit Vicodin, Metz clarified. It just means there isn't enough evidence to press criminal charges in the case.

A Minnesota doctor who treated Prince twice before did face civil violation for an illegal prescription, per the Times, and is paying $30,000 to settle the charge after telling police he prescribed Prince an opiate under a friend's name.

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Kathryn Krawczyk

Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.