Entertainment

Prince Death: ‘Purple Rain’ Singer Told Friends His Health Was ‘Perfect’ Days Before He Died

Published on: May 6, 2016 at 12:21 PM
By Patricia Grannum

Prince kept the members of his inner circle in the dark about his health, assuring them that nothing was wrong in the days before his death.

The New York Times reports that even after Prince was rushed to the hospital for what his publicist later called flu symptoms, he insisted that his health was fine. Prince reportedly held a house party at Paisley Park and rode a bicycle around a mall parking lot after he came back from the hospital.

“I’m doing perfect,” Prince reportedly told his lawyer, L. Londell McMillan.

But some of the people closest to the “Purple Rain” singer were not convinced.

The New York Times reports that some of his representatives were so concerned about Prince’s dependence on pain medication that they sought assistance from Dr. Howard Kornfeld, who specializes in treating patients who have developed that condition.

Dr. Kornfeld’s son, Andrew Kornfeld, was among the group of people who found Prince’s body in a Paisley Park elevator on April 21. Andrew was reportedly there to discuss a treatment plan for Prince’s painkiller dependence.

“The hope was to get him stabilized in Minnesota and convince him to come to Recovery Without Walls in Mill Valley. That was the plan,” William Mauzy, a lawyer for the Kornfeld family, stated at a press conference on Wednesday. “[Dr. Kornfeld] felt it was a lifesaving mission.”

But that lifesaving mission was too late. The legendary pop and rock icon was found dead at 57.

Now, Andrew Kornfeld could face could face drug charges as a result. According to People Magazine , soon after he discovered Prince’s body, Kornfeld was found with a dose of Suboxone, a drug that’s used to treat opiate addiction. The drug is classified as a controlled substance in Minnesota.

The punishment for Suboxone possession in Minnesota is up to five years in prison and a $100,000 fine. He could also invoke federal charges for moving the drugs across state lines from California to Minnesota, People Magazine reports.

As this Inquisitr article reports, Mauzy, Kornfeld’s attorney, believes that Andrew could avoid charges because of Minnesota’s Good Samaritan Law. This law states that a person who gives aid during an emergency situation cannot face criminal charges.

Other legal minds disagree, citing the fact that Andrew Kornfeld was allegedly carrying the drug on his person before he was aware that Prince was facing immediate death. This is compounded by the fact that Mauzy also admitted that Andrew did not intend to give Prince the drug but was going to deliver it to a doctor Prince had planned to see on the day that he died.

In other news, the Midwest Medical Examiner’s office is distancing itself from media reports that claimed Prince had Percocet in his system at the time of his death, USA Today reports. A statement released on Twitter from the Medical Examiner’s Office insisted that they had “not released any information regarding Prince investigation to anyone, including law enforcement.”

“Results are pending. This is an ongoing investigation in partnership with the Carver County Sheriff’s Office,” the statement continued. “We will have no further comment at this time.”

As the International Business Times notes, Prince’s body was autopsied by Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Quinn Strobl soon after his death. Afterward, the body was released to Prince’s family and was cremated.

Although several media outlets have reported that Prince’s was found with Percocet in his system, it’s clear that the official cause of death won’t be confirmed for several weeks to come.

[Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images]

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