Relatives of Prince Roger Nelson, the late musician best known as Prince, have accused authorities in Minnesota of stonewalling their request for information involving his 2016 death.
Attorneys for Prince’s surviving siblings filed a memorandum Wednesday in Carver County Court requesting copies of investigative data compiled by local authorities following the “Purple Rain” singer’s sudden passing so that they may consider pursuing a wrongful death lawsuit before the statute of limitations expires in 2019.
Prince died of a fentanyl overdose inside Paisley Park, his home and recording studio in Chanhassen, southwest of Minneapolis, on April 21, 2016. He was 57.
Minnesota law gives potential plaintiffs three years to initiate wrongful death claims, leaving Prince’s relatives roughly 14 months to file suit. The county has kept certain details about his death under wraps, however, prompting attorneys for Prince’s next-of-kin to file this week’s memo in support of their motion to compel the production of requested data currently exclusively in the custody of local authorities.
“Trustees requested all investigative data Carver County has regarding Mr. Nelson’s death, but the County denied their request,” attorney Matthew Barber wrote the court on behalf of Prince’s siblings.
“Trustees need the requested data now so that they can make their decisions about the wrongful death claim. They also need the data to determine which theories they must assert in making a wrongful death claim, and who the potential defendants and insurers are,” Mr. Barber wrote.
Specifically the memo asks the court to order the Carver County Sheriff’s, Medical Examiner’s and Attorney’s Offices to produce “all investigative data in their possessions related to the death of Mr. Nelson.”
The Carver County Attorney’s Office did not immediately comment on the filing. Authorities previously argued that releasing the requested documents would violate state confidentiality law and potentially impede an ongoing investigation.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid typically several times stronger than heroin. Authorities have not disclosed the source of the fentanyl that caused the singer’s death.
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