Prince toxicology report shows high level of fentanyl, experts say
MINNEAPOLIS (KABC) -- A toxicology report from pop icon Prince's autopsy shows the singer had an "exceedingly high" level of the drug fentanyl in his body when he died.
Doctors said the concentration of fentanyl in Prince's liver was more than six times higher than what's typical of a fatal overdose. They also found a potentially lethal amount of the drug in his stomach.
Prince died after being found unresponsive at his home in Minnesota nearly two years ago. He was 57.
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Public data released six weeks after his death showed he died of an accidental overdose of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid 50 times more powerful than heroin.
A confidential toxicology report obtained by the Associated Press provides some insight into just how much fentanyl was in his system. Experts who are not connected to the Prince investigation said the numbers leave no doubt that fentanyl killed him.
"The amount in his blood is exceedingly high, even for somebody who is a chronic pain patient on fentanyl patches," said Dr. Lewis Nelson, chairman of emergency medicine at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. He called the fentanyl concentrations "a pretty clear smoking gun."
The report also says the level of fentanyl in Prince's liver was 450 micrograms per kilogram, and notes that liver concentrations greater than 69 micrograms per kilogram "seem to represent overdose or fatal toxicity cases."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
