Prince estate gets first paternity claim
A man has filed a paternity claim against Prince's estate, just days after a court ordered DNA testing of Prince's blood in anticipation of potential paternity claims.
Carlin Q. Williams of Kansas City, Missouri, claims he is the biological son of the pop icon, CBS News correspondent Jamie Yuccas reports. Williams is requesting a DNA test and petitioning to be determined as Prince's "sole surviving legal heir." The singer had no known will.
Court documents filed Monday in Minnesota courts show that Williams' mother, Marsha Henson, gave a statement saying that she had unprotected sex with Prince in July 1976 in Kansas City and conceived Williams that day.
On Friday, an order authorizing genetic testing was filed in Carver County, Minnesota to allow DNA testing on a sample of Prince's blood. The results of that test could then be used to settle any potential claims of paternity against the "Purple Rain" singer, who died April 21 at his Paisley Park compound in Chanhassen, Minnesota.
Though the late singer's body was cremated shortly after his death, a vial of his blood was extracted and kept on file by the Midwest Medical Examiner, according to the document.
While there have not been any claims from individuals alleging Prince has any as-yet-unidentified direct heirs, the filing recognizes "that parentage issues might arise and that timing can be of concern when conducting genetic testing."
Earlier last week, Prince's sister, Tyka Nelson, and four of his five surviving half-siblings appeared in court to begin sorting out the late singer's multimillion-dollar estate, for which he has no known will. During that hearing, a judge formalized the appointment of Bremer Trust to handle the estate's financial matters.