US music star Prince, who passed away on Thursday, April 21, 2016, has been cremated and a private memorial service has taken place at his Paisley Park home, the late singer’s publicist revealed in a statement.
The ‘Purple Rain’ hitmaker’s body was reduced to ashes by fire yesterday, April 23.
Prince’s sister, Tyka Nelson, was spotted earlier with her son Prez taking the 57-year-old star’s ashes from the First Memorial Waterston chapel in south Minneapolis, where funeral services for all religious, ethnic and social backgrounds are provided.
The superstar was a member of the Christian denomination, the Jehovah’s Witnesses, and although his funeral took place within a week of his death – as their faith dictates – it didn’t follow their ritual of being laid to rest in a grave after a special service at their place of worship.
However, sources told the Daily Mirror newspaper that Prince had informed his family of the type of send-off he wished to have and insisted there be no drama and it should be a quiet service.
The funeral comes just a day after Prince’s body was released to his family following the autopsy.
The results will be revealed in a few days but during a press conference held to discuss the autopsy, Carver Country Sheriff Jim Olson ruled out suicide as a cause of death.
He said: ‘We have no reason to believe at this point that it’s a suicide, but it’s early on in the investigation. Prince is a very private person and I don’t think it would be unusual for him to be there by himself.’
