Medical examiner completes Prince autopsy

Prince

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Latest on the death of pop superstar Prince (all times local):

1:45 p.m.

Authorities say they have completed the autopsy on Prince’s body, but preliminary findings were not being immediately released.

The Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office said it finished its autopsy on Prince at 1 p.m. Friday, roughly four hours after it began. The 57-year-old musician died a day earlier after he was found unresponsive at his Paisley Park compound.

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The medical examiner’s office says that relevant information about Prince’s medical and family history is being collected. The agency says it won’t release its findings until all information is in, including results of toxicology tests, which could take weeks.

Prince’s body will be released to his family later Friday.

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12 p.m.

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A promoter says Prince was slated to perform a surprise set of shows earlier this week in St. Louis but cancelled last week because of health concerns.

Promoter Steve Litman said Friday that he’d been working for weeks to set up two surprise pop-up shows on April 18 at the Fox Theatre in St. Louis. Litman is executive producer for concerts at the theatre.

Litman says tickets were set to go on sale April 15, but that Prince’s representatives told him late on April 14 that Prince needed to back out because of concern he might have to cancel the shows due to illness.

Prince had performed two concerts in Atlanta earlier on April 14 to make up for concerts that he cancelled, citing the flu, a week earlier. Litman says he’d been talking to Prince’s representatives most of that day.

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Prince hosted a dance party two days later at his Paisley Park compound in Minnesota.

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11 a.m.

An autopsy is underway that could provide answers as to why legendary musician Prince collapsed and died at his home in suburban Minneapolis.

Dr. A. Quinn Strobl of the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office began the autopsy about 9 a.m. CDT. A statement from the medical examiner said relevant information about Prince’s medical and social history will also be gathered as part of the death investigation.

Carver County Sheriff Jim Olson planned to hold a news conference Friday afternoon to summarize the ongoing investigation into the 57-year-old musician’s death.

Olson’s office was among the agencies who responded to calls for help Thursday morning at Prince’s compound in Chanhassen. His deputies continue their investigation into Prince’s death.

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10 a.m.

Prince’s former percussionist says the music star had a history of hip injuries, and Prince himself talked of having epilepsy as a child.

Sheila E. spoke with ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Friday, a day after Price died at his home in suburban Minneapolis.

She says Prince suffered hip injuries while performing and damaged his body when jumping from risers in his high heels during his “Purple Rain” days. Prince was seen in recent years using a cane.

Prince himself revealed in a 2009 interview with Tavis Smiley that he had seizures when he was young and was “born epileptic,” though it’s unclear if Prince had seizures as an adult.

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8:50 a.m.

Authorities say it could take days or even weeks before the public learns the cause of Prince’s death.

An autopsy is scheduled for Friday morning, a day after the 57-year-old music superstar was found dead at his studio compound in suburban Minneapolis.

A spokeswoman for the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office says the agency doesn’t plan to release any preliminary information until autopsy results are completed.

Spokeswoman Martha Weaver says she expects the process will take days or even weeks for tests to be completed. She also says no preliminary results will be released by her office, and that the office will wait to release findings when all the information is in.

Once the physical autopsy is finished, Prince’s body will be released to a designee of his family.

Authorities responded to a medical call at Prince’s Paisley Park on Thursday morning to find him unresponsive in an elevator. The local sheriff says first-responders performed CPR, but that Prince couldn’t be revived.

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1:30 a.m.

An autopsy is scheduled for pop music superstar Prince who was found dead at his studio compound in suburban Minneapolis.

The Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office in Ramsey, Minnesota, tweeted that it will perform the autopsy Friday.

Authorities say deputies who were summoned to a medical emergency Thursday found Prince in an elevator, unresponsive. They say CPR failed.

Prince’s death at age 57 has sparked an outpouring of grief from fans, with hundreds gathering outside his studio and in downtown Minneapolis and many more posting remembrances on social networks. Buildings around the country were lit up Thursday night in his signature purple.