Colorado Prisoner Files Prince Paternity Claim
The Prince paternity controversies have begun — with a prisoner in Colorado filing the first claim following the music legend’s death. Carlin Q. Williams, who is behind bars at a “supermax” prison for firearm possession, filed a paternity claim Monday stating he is Prince’s “sole surviving legal heir,” according to court records.
The claim requests a DNA test to prove Williams is the son of the Purple One. According to the claim, William’s mother Marsha Henson said she met Prince in the Crown Center Hotel lobby in Kansas City, Mo. in July 1976. The two “drank wine” before having unprotected sex in a room there, court papers say. Henson gave birth to Williams in April 1977. Prince would have been 18 at the time, fresh out of high school and several years away from superstardom. His debut album, “For You,” did not come out until 1978.
Court papers do not state Williams’ claims for his stake in Prince’s estimated $300 million estate. Williams is serving a seven-year sentence for firearm possession, after he was caught with a .32 caliber pistol that was transported in interstate commerce, records show. He will be imprisoned until 2020. Court records show Williams is a former crack dealer who racked up more than dozen offenses, including drug trafficking and possession, domestic assault and resisting arrest.
Williams is represented by Patrick Cousins, an attorney in West Palm Beach, Fla. who worked with Prince for several years in the 2000s. Cousins declined to comment on the paternity claim, citing pending litigation, but said Williams had reached out to him several years ago about the same matter. Cousins said that at the time he “could not corroborate” what Williams told him.
Williams, a Kansas City native, recorded rap songs under the name Prince Dracula. His web pages are filled with claims of his Prince-ly heritage, even though Prince’s middle name, Rogers, is often misspelled on them. “I am Prince (rodger nelson) aka Prince The Singer’s Son,” one Prince Dracula page says. A Project Free Music profile of him proclaimed: “Son of Prince Rodger Nelson & Marsha Henson, so as you see he was born into the music and royal blood line.” His Facebook profile says simply: “son of Prince.”
A 2014 sentencing record for Williams said his father “had no presence at all in his life.” But it did not identify the father. Prince’s estate has not commented on the claim. The filing comes just days after a Minnesota judge authorized DNA testing of a sample of Prince’s blood — anticipating “parentage issues” would arise for the famously promiscuous music star.
SOURCE: WWF