Prince evidence: Taking a closer look at the files

(KMSP) - From the pills that ultimately killed him, to photos of his shoe collection, the evidence released in the Prince death investigation gives insight into his death and his life. 

The evidence files are a very public display of a very private person, but they also show the extent of the investigation and document Prince’s opioid problems. 

A thorough documentation of Paisley Park began immediately after Prince was found. 

Hundreds of photos from investigators show the mix of mundane and eclectic. A plain looking laundry room with a rack of healed and glittered shoes in the corner. His messy make-up counter and cash strewn on a desktop. Prince’s suitcase, with more cash, Clairol hair color and pill bottles. 

The pills, some the counterfeit fentanyl-laced Vicodin, were found all throughout. 

The prescriptions in Kirk Johnson’s name—vitamin D2 and nausea medication. 

In addition to the video of Prince and his right-hand man, Kirk Johnson, going to see Dr. Michael Schulenberg the evening before his death, investigators also pulled security video from Walgreens. The security footage showed Johnson at 7 p.m. filling the prescription for a drug used to treat those symptoms. 

Hours of audio recordings revealed that those close to Prince knew he wasn’t feeling well, but they didn’t know why. 

Investigators also spoke at length with singer Sinead O’Connor who had fallen out with Prince not long after she recorded “Nothing Compares 2 You.” She reached out to them to say she believed his problems stretched back decades. 

The investigative documents didn’t uncover anything beyond the counterfeit Vicodin. Thursday the Carver County Attorney said they didn’t believe Prince knew they contained fentanyl. 

An early Prince recording of “Nothing Compares 2 U” found in Prince’s vault was released Thursday.