23 Apr 2016

Prince death: No sign of foul play

11:19 am on 23 April 2016

A postmortem has been carried out today on the body of the American pop star Prince, and police say there was "no reason to believe" his death was a suicide.

Prince performs a concert in 2009.

Prince performs a concert in 2009. Photo: AFP

Authorities say it could be weeks before the results of the postmortem and toxicology exam are made public.

The 57-year-old was found dead yesterday in a lift at his home in Minneapolis.

Officials have made no comment on the possible cause of death.

Carver County Sheriff Jim Olson, the sheriff of the Minnesota county where the singer had his home said there was no sign of trauma on the pop superstar's body.

The sheriff warned that full results from the post-mortem could take several weeks, and the incident was still under investigation.

There was no one in the residence at the time except Prince, Mr Olson said, but this was not unusual.

He was last seen at about 8pm Wednesday night, local time, and was found unconscious by some of his staff at about 9.30am the next morning.

The police have been in touch with Prince's family, the sheriff said.

The singer had been rushed to hospital in Illinois last Friday, while flying home from a concert in Georgia, but was treated and released a few hours later.

Tributes have been paid around the world to the enigmatic musician, who sold more than 100 million records.

Fans have set up impromptu memorials in his home town Minneapolis and in New York.

In London, US President Barack Obama said he and the US ambassador began the day by listening to Prince's hit Purple Rain and Delirious before attending bilateral meetings.

- BBC

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