Doctor prescribed meds for Prince in friend’s name
Search warrants in musician’s death unsealed Monday
The long-awaited search warrants in Prince’s death have been unsealed, revealing a lengthy list of prescription medications found throughout the singer’s estate, some in the name of one of his confidants — and several containing controlled substances.
The search warrants, made public Monday morning, show more than 100 white capsules labeled “Watson 853” were hidden in Aleve and Bayer Aspirin bottles and found in numerous rooms inside Paisley Park.
The capsule is a mixture of acetaminophen and hydrocodone, a prescription classified as a narcotic.
CVS prescription bottles under the name Kirk Johnson — Prince’s former drummer, bodyguard and close friend — were found in the dressing room and mirror room of the superstar’s home. Each contained different kinds of controlled substances.
Johnson had unrestricted access to Paisley Park.
Toxicology reports showed Prince had a lethal dose of fentanyl in his system when he died April 21 from an accidental overdose. Investigators said they found no prescriptions issued in his name, but Johnson had one for oxycodone, prescribed by physician Michael Todd Schulenberg.
Schulenberg was at Paisley Park when deputies arrived on the scene after Prince’s death. He told authorities he prescribed oxycodone for Prince on April 14, the day the musician overdosed while returning from a show in Atlanta, forcing his plane to make an emergency landing.
The doctor told detectives he put that prescription in Johnson’s name for Prince’s privacy.
On April 20, Johnson went to a Walgreens to get Prince’s medication. He told police that was the first time he had done anything like that for Prince.
A suitcase found next to Prince’s bed contained prescription pill bottles in Johnson’s name — none of which were the medication prescribed by Schulenberg. One bottle, labeled vitamin D, had the controlled substance ondansetron hydrochloride inside, according to the search warrant. Another, labeled ondansetron, had the controlled substance acetaminophen/oxycodone hydrochloride.
The medications were prescribed to Johnson on April 7, according to the bottles. The prescribing doctor was listed as Schulenberg.
The search warrant notes a “sizable amount of narcotic medications located inside Paisley Park.”
According to the Associated Press, a search warrant filed in the investigation also said the singer routinely got vitamin B12 injections so he could “feel better” before performances.
Authorities said Prince’s laptop initially wasn’t taken, but it became clear later in the investigation that he didn’t communicate by cellphone, relying on email and the landline at Paisley Park.
Investigators spoke with one of Prince’s previous bodyguards, who said the singer distrusted cellphones after his personal information was stolen. Instead, he emailed from an Apple MacBook, under an account set up by his former manager.
It’s been nearly a year since Prince died at Paisley Park after being found unresponsive in an elevator. He was 57.