Minnesota police have confirmed the U.S. attorney’s office and the Drug Enforcement Administration are helping them in their investigation into Prince’s death.
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A spokesman for the Carver County Sheriff’s Office said that the two federal groups have “agreed to provide federal resources and expertise in our investigation”.
Mauzy said it was Andrew Kornfeld – who works in his father’s practice – who called 911 when Prince’s unresponsive body was found in an elevator at Paisley Park, Prince’s suburban Minneapolis compound.
Mauzy said Prince’s team reached out to Dr. Kornfeld, who sent his son, Andrew Kornfeld, to Minnesota on a red eye flight on a “life saving mission” to give Prince the prescription Suboxone, a medication prescribed to those with opioid addiction.
When Andrew Kornfeld arrived at Paisley Park, Prince was not available, Mauzy said. But he said Andrew Kornfeld never meant to give the medication to Prince, and instead planned to give it to the Minnesota doctor who was scheduled to see the musician.
Buprenorphine is a long-acting opioid similar to methadone that is among “the most commonly prescribed medications for the treatment of opioid use disorders in the USA”, said Dr. Joshua Lee of New York University School of Medicine.
On his way back from Atlanta, Prince’s plane made an unscheduled stop in Moline, Illinois.
Music legends we lost in 2016Mauzy and Howard Kornfeld haven’t responded to messages from The Associated Press on Wednesday morning.
Mauzy says he was retained after Andrew Kornfeld was questioned by investigators, and feared he could face charges in connection with Prince’s death.
Kornfeld runs the Recovery Without Walls clinic in Mill Valley, California, north of San Francisco, which offers confidential treatment for substance addiction as well as chronic pain.
“It’s nearly impossible to get access to it, I have people who are driving 100-150 miles each way once a month because there is no doctor in their neighborhood who can prescribe it, but this is an easy medication to prescribe, it should be prescribed in primary care”, said Dr. Willenbring. Mauzy said Kornfeld brought buprenorphine, a medication that is used to treat opioid addiction.
Prescription opioid medication was reportedly found at the scene, according to a law enforcement source.
Investigators also believe a health scare about a week before Prince’s death, which caused an unscheduled landing of his plane in IL, was likely the result of a reaction to the pain medication, a law enforcement source said. Mauzy said Kornfeld wasn’t able to travel immediately to Minnesota, so arranged for his son Andrew to go instead.
A Prince staff member let Andrew Kornfeld inside where he found the “Purple Rain” singer unconscious and phoned 911.
Kornfeld says it’s a national epidemic that needs to be prioritized.
The cause of death remains undetermined, and it could be weeks before autopsy results are released.
Carver County Chief Deputy Jason Kamerud declined to comment Tuesday about the investigation.
A law enforcement official briefed on the investigation told the Associated Press that investigators are looking into whether Prince died from an overdose.
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Investigators said the 22-year-old James, a Nevada resident, knows the girl, but didn’t specify what their relationship is.
