Prince’s Death Now A Criminal Investigation

You’ve seen the rumors all week (damn, it’s already been over a week) about drugs playing a role in Prince‘s death, and now authorities have officially opened a criminal investigation into the matter.

The Minnesota Star-Tribune reports that the Carver County Sheriff’s Office enacted an exception to the state’s public records laws “allowing the suppression of information relating to preparing a case ‘for the commission of a crime.'” The paper clarifies that this doesn’t mean criminal charges will be handed out after the investigation, but that it’s now a possibility. Previously, police have said Prince was alone when he died and have ruled out suicide or foul play, but the Star-Tribune‘s sources say cops are looking into whether an opioid overdose led to the musician’s death.

“Prescription pills were found at Paisley Park, but sources have said it was unclear whether they were prescribed to Prince,” the paper reports. “As part of the probe, investigators also are trying to determine how Prince got the pills, and who may have provided them.”

As of the article’s writing, the DEA has not gotten involved in the investigation.