The exact cause of Prince’s death remains unknown — it could be weeks before autopsy results are released — but the Carver County Sheriff’s Office on Friday shared as much as information as possible with reporters.
“This is a tragedy for all of us,” began Sheriff Jim Olson. “To you, Prince Rogers Nelson was a celebrity. To us, he was a community member and a good neighbor. To his family, he is a loved one. In life, he was a very private person. We’re going to continue to respect his privacy and his dignity and hope you do as well. We also respect the media’s right to information.”
Olson then shared the following information with the press:
At about 9:43 yesterday morning, we received a medical call at Paisley Park in Chanhassen. [Officials] found an unresponsive male in the elevator. CPR was initially started, but was unsuccessful. He was pronounced deceased at 10:07. We have identified him as Prince Rogers Nelson, 57 years old. Staff members from Paisley Park had been unable to contact Prince yesterday morning and went to check on him. They found him unresponsive and called 9-1-1. Deputies went through the building to make sure there was no one else inside. Because this was an unseen death of a middle-aged man, the decision was made to process the scene.
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Additionally, Olson confirmed there were “no obvious signs of trauma on the body” and said there is “no reason to believe this was a suicide.”
