Prince Estate Drama Heats Up as Possible Niece Steps Forward

Papers also indicate that “Purple Rain” singer may also have had a great-niece

Prince
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Think your relationship with you parents is complicated? Prince probably has you beat.

Nearly a month after the “Purple Rain” singer’s April 21 death at age 57, the drama surrounding his estate is thickening, with a woman coming forward on Wednesday to state that she is the singer’s niece.

Another woman has also stepped up to claim that Prince had a great-niece.

In papers filed in federal court in Minnesota on Wednesday, Brianna Nelson claims to be the daughter of Duane Nelson Sr., Prince’s reported bodyguard and half-brother.

Duane Nelson Sr., who was not among a list of siblings and half-siblings filed by Prince’s sister Tyka Nelson following the singer’s death, shares the same father as the deceased singer.

However, court papers note that Tyka did identify herself as Duane Nelson Sr.’s sister in a statement following his 2011 death.

An affidavit was also filed Wednesday by a woman, Jeannine Halloran, who claims to be the mother of a 11-year-old, who she claims is the daughter of Duane Nelson Jr. The minor is identified only as V.N.

According to the papers, Duane Nelson Jr., who died in 2004, was the son of Duane Nelson Sr., which would thus make her Prince’s grand-niece.

According to papers filed by Tyka Nelson, Prince died without a will, though author and documentarian Ian Halperin, who’s currently collaborating on a documentary about the final hours of Prince’s life, told TheWrap that the people he’s spoken to insist that there is a will. One theory holds that the document could be in Canada, where the singer had a home.

The Bremer National Trust has been appointed special administrator of the singer’s estate.

Prince died on April 21, days after he reportedly was treated for an overdose of the opioid painkiller Percocet. He was found unresponsive in the elevator of his Paisley Park home in Minnesota, and responders were unable to revive him.

The results of an April 22 autopsy are still pending. Bremer has secured a sample of the singer’s blood to test for possible parentage issues. The singer had no known living children at the time of his death.

Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.

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