This Dec. 2, 2003, photo shows attorney William Mauzy, in Milaca, Minnesota. Prince’s representatives called Dr. Howard Kornfeld on April 20, the day before the musician died, to seek emergency help, Mauzy told the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

This Dec. 2, 2003, photo shows attorney William Mauzy, in Milaca, Minnesota. Prince’s representatives called Dr. Howard Kornfeld on April 20, the day before the musician died, to seek emergency help, Mauzy told the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Prince had arranged to meet addiction doctor

MINNEAPOLIS — In his final weeks, Prince hid signs of trouble from his fans, stonewalling reports of an overdose that required an emergency plane landing and making a brief public appearance to reassure them. But privately, the superstar was in crisis, seeking help from a prominent addiction expert that ultimately came too late.

The day before he died, Prince’s representatives reached out to a prominent California doctor who specializes in treating addiction and set up an initial meeting between the two, the doctor’s Minneapolis attorney, William Mauzy, said Wednesday. He said the doctor, Howard Kornfeld, couldn’t leave right away so he sent his son, Andrew, who flew out that night.

It was Andrew Kornfeld who called 911 the next morning after he and two staffers found Prince unresponsive in an elevator at his Paisley Park studio complex, the lawyer said. Prince was declared dead shortly thereafter on April 21. He was 57.

The details about Prince’s death that emerged Wednesday raise questions about whether he received appropriate care and whether those who sought to provide it could face legal consequences for their actions.

Although autopsy results haven’t been released, Mauzy’s revelations, which were first reported by the Star Tribune, buttress reports that Prince had been fighting — and ultimately lost — a battle with prescription painkillers.

Mauzy confirmed that Andrew Kornfeld, whom he also is representing, flew to Minnesota on behalf of his father in the hopes of connecting Prince with a local physician the morning he was found dead.

He said Dr. Kornfeld hoped to get Prince “stabilized in Minnesota and convince him to come to Recovery Without Walls in Mill Valley. That was the plan,” referring to Howard Kornfeld’s California treatment center.

Mauzy said Andrew Kornfeld was carrying a small amount of buprenorphine, which Howard Kornfeld says on his website is a treatment option for patients with addiction issues that offers pain relief with less possibility of overdose and addiction. But he said Andrew Kornfeld never intended to give the medication to Prince, and instead planned to give it to the Minnesota doctor who was scheduled to see the musician.

Mauzy said Andrew Kornfeld was “taken into custody and interviewed and told it was a criminal investigation.” When asked by reporters about the legality of his carrying buprenorphine, Mauzy declined to answer. But he said he believes Minnesota law would protect Andrew Kornfeld from any potential charges related to Prince’s death. He said Kornfeld was released the same day and returned to San Francisco.

Under the law, a person who seeks medical assistance for someone who is overdosing on drugs may not be prosecuted for possessing or sharing controlled substances, under certain circumstances.

Andrew Kornfeld is listed on his father’s center’s website as a consultant, and Mauzy said it wasn’t uncommon for Howard Kornfeld to send Andrew on his behalf. He said Andrew Kornfeld is a pre-med student and that convincing people to seek treatment at the center is something “he has done for years.”

The Kornfelds did not respond to multiple requests for comment from The Associated Press. Also, messages left with Recovery Without Walls were not returned, and no one answered when a photographer knocked on the door

Also Wednesday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said it and the Drug Enforcement Administration are joining local officials in investigating Prince’s death.

A law enforcement official briefed on the investigation has told the AP that investigators are looking into whether Prince died from an overdose. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to talk about the investigation. The same official also said investigators are looking at whether Prince had suffered an overdose when his plane made an emergency landing in Moline, Illinois, less than a week before he died.

Mauzy said Prince’s representatives told Howard Kornfeld that the singer was “dealing with a grave medical emergency.” He declined Wednesday to detail the emergency, and also declined to identify the Minnesota doctor who was supposed to see Prince on April 21.

Stuart Gitlow, an addiction medicine expert speaking without direct knowledge of Prince’s case, questioned whether Howard Kornfeld and his son acted appropriately.

“If a physician feels that a patient is having an emergency, his obligation is to call an ambulance and get the patient to emergency personnel who can assess the situation — not to fly to the patient,” Gitlow said.

“It’s not routine for doctors to fly across the country to start people on buprenorphine,” said Gitlow, a former president of the American Society of Addiction Medicine and a faculty member of the University of Florida. “That’s something that can be handled locally.”

Authorities haven’t released a cause of death. An autopsy was done the day after Prince’s death, but its findings, including the toxicology results, weren’t expected for as many as four weeks.

Prince had a reputation for clean living, and some friends said they never saw any sign of drug use. But longtime friend and collaborator Sheila E. has told the AP that Prince had physical issues from performing, citing hip and knee problems that she said came from years of jumping off risers and stage speakers in heels.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

The rezoned property, seen here from the Hillside Vista luxury development, is surrounded on two sides by modern neighborhoods Monday, March 25, 2024, in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Despite petition, Lake Stevens OKs rezone for new 96-home development

The change faced resistance from some residents, who worried about the effects of more density in the neighborhood.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Former Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy Jeremie Zeller appears in court for sentencing on multiple counts of misdemeanor theft Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ex-sheriff’s deputy sentenced to 1 week of jail time for hardware theft

Jeremie Zeller, 47, stole merchandise from Home Depot in south Everett, where he worked overtime as a security guard.

Everett
11 months later, Lake Stevens man charged in fatal Casino Road shooting

Malik Fulson is accused of shooting Joseph Haderlie to death in the parking lot at the Crystal Springs Apartments last April.

T.J. Peters testifies during the murder trial of Alan Dean at the Snohomish County Courthouse on Tuesday, March 26, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Bothell cold case trial now in jury’s hands

In court this week, the ex-boyfriend of Melissa Lee denied any role in her death. The defendant, Alan Dean, didn’t testify.

A speed camera facing west along 220th Street Southwest on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Washington law will allow traffic cams on more city, county roads

The move, led by a Snohomish County Democrat, comes as roadway deaths in the state have hit historic highs.

Mrs. Hildenbrand runs through a spelling exercise with her first grade class on the classroom’s Boxlight interactive display board funded by a pervious tech levy on Tuesday, March 19, 2024 in Marysville, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lakewood School District’s new levy pitch: This time, it won’t raise taxes

After two levies failed, the district went back to the drawing board, with one levy that would increase taxes and another that would not.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.