Attorneys still looking for Prince's will
Administrators for the estate of Prince tell a judge they have not located a will, as relatives of the superstar musician gather at a Minnesota court.
PT0M52S 620 349Prince was found dead at his Minnesota compound just one day before he was supposed to meet with a doctor to help him with his alleged painkiller addiction, according to a published report.
Lawyer William Mauzy told the Star Tribune of Minneapolis that representatives for Prince called Howard Kornfeld, a northern California doctor who specialises in opioid-addiction treatment, on the night of April 20 because the iconic musician "was dealing with a grave medical emergency".
The following morning, Prince's body was discovered in an elevator at his Paisley Park complex in suburban Minneapolis.
A new report claims Prince was due to see an addiction specialist shortly before he died. Photo: AP
Kornfeld, the medical director at Recovery Without Walls, could not make it out to meet with Prince until April 22, so he had sent his son and associate, Andrew Kornfeld, to fill Prince in on the medical care that the clinic could offer him, their family's attorney told the Star Tribune.
"The plan was to quickly evaluate his health and devise a treatment plan," Mauzy, who is working with the Kornfelds, told the newspaper. "The doctor was planning on a lifesaving mission."
Mauzy, a prominent Minneapolis lawyer, told the Star Tribune that Andrew Kornfeld arrived early on April 21 at Prince's home in Chanhassen, not far from Minneapolis. Mauzy said Kornfeld brought buprenorphine, a medication that is used to treat opioid addiction.
Prince's sudden death prompted a outpouring of tributes around the world. Photo: AP/Andres Kudacki
But Prince was nowhere to be found, Mauzy said.
He was soon found unresponsive inside an elevator - and Andrew Kornfeld dialed 911.
Mauzy said Andrew Kornfeld told him that the other people on the scene "screamed" and "were in too much shock," so Kornfeld made the emergency call.
The Carver County Sheriff's Office recently released a transcript of the call in which a man - now identified by the lawyer as Andrew Kornfeld - told a dispatcher he needed help "at Prince's house."
"So yeah, um, the person is dead here," he told the 911 operator.
Throughout the call, the dispatcher kept asking him to find the address of the home and he continually replied, "I'm working on it, I'm working on it."
"Okay, do we know how the person died?" the dispatcher asked.
"I don't know, I don't know," he said.
Moments later, he alerted the authorities to their exact location.
"Paisley Park," he said.
"You're at Paisley Park; okay, that's in Chanhassen," the dispatcher said. "Are you with the person who's -"
"Yes," he interrupted, "it's Prince."
In the days following Prince's death, media reports prompted speculation that the musician had been using drugs. Sources told the Star Tribune at the time that Prince's painkillers were found at the scene.
An autopsy was completed April 22, but the Midwest Medical Examiner's Office said toxicology results could take weeks.
After Prince's representatives called Howard Kornfeld, the physician, he recommended that a local doctor care for the musician until Kornfeld could get to Minnesota, Mauzy told the Star Tribune.
Prince's team hoped the musician would be willing to go to California with Kornfeld for long-term treatment, Mauzy said.
Kornfeld, described on his website as a "nationally recognised leader in the utilisation of the opioid pain medication," runs a private medical practice in Mill Valley, near San Francisco. His website says he "specialises in the treatment of chronic pain, chemical dependency, prescription medication management issues, and problems with alcohol."
Neither Kornfeld nor his attorney could immediately be reached for comment.
The Washington Post
