Newly unsealed documents relating to the death of music legend Prince reveal that the musician, who died April 21, 2016 of an overdose of the opioid fentanyl, had medication prescribed to him under the name of his bodyguard, Kirk Johnson.
An affidavit from Det. Christine Wagner noted that Dr. Michael Schulenberg, who was present at Paisley Park when detectives arrived on the day of Prince’s death, “admitted in a statement to Detective Chris Nelson that he had prescribed Prince a prescription for oxycodone the same day as the emergency plane landing but put the prescription in Kirk Johnson’s name for Prince’s privacy.”
Prince’s private plane made an emergency landing during a flight from Atlanta to Minneapolis the week before his death, when the musician “passed out” en route.
Police papers made public Monday indicated that Prince admitted to taking one or two “pain pills” during the plane incident.
One affidavit made public Monday indicated that a suitcase found next to Prince’s bed contained “prescription pill bottles in the name of Johnson. A closer examination of those pill bottles revealed that not all the pills inside the containers were the pills listed on the prescription. One of the pill bottles, a Vitamin D bottle, was found to contain the controlled substance Ondansetron Hydrochloride. A second prescription bottle said to contain ondrasetron was found to contain the controlled substance acetaminophen/oxycodone hydrochloride.”
According to the newly released records, “there was a sizable amount of narcotic medications located inside Paisley Park” and pill containers were found “throughout the residence” in areas Prince would frequent.
Another affidavit indicated that some pull containers were labeled with the name “Peter Bravestrong,” an alias that Prince would use when he was traveling.
The records also note that the “Purple Rain” musician’s health had become a topic of concern among the musician’s staff.
An affidavit from Detective Angela Nucci dated April 21 indicated that she was “was made aware by witnesses that were interviewed that Prince recently had a history of going through withdrawals, which are believed to be the result of the abuse of prescription medications,” and that “Prince’s assistants had arranged a meeting between Prince and medical professionals to assess and address Prince’s medical concerns.”
Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.