The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Drug Enforcement Administration are joining the investigation of Prince’s death.
“They have agreed to provide federal resources and expertise in our investigation,” Jason Kamerud, spokesman for the Carver County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement released Wednesday.
A law enforcement official told The Associated Press that investigators are looking into whether Prince died from an overdose. 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.
Prince was found dead inside an elevator in his Minnesota home the morning of April 21. Since Prince’s death, there have been multiple reports the artist was struggling with an addiction to painkillers.
On Wednesday, it was reported that a California doctor, Dr. Howard Kornfeld was scheduled to meet with Prince on April 22. Dr. Kornfeld is an opioid addiction treatment specialist.
According to the AP, Dr. Howard Kornfeld sent his son Andrew to meet with Prince a day earlier when it became clear a medical emergency may be occurring. He also arranged for Prince to meet with an addiction specialist in Minnesota on April 21.
When Kornfeld’s son, Andrew Kornfeld, arrived at Paisley Park, Prince was found unconscious in an elevator. Andrew, who is not a doctor, called 911. He was carrying buprenorphine at the time of the visit, his attorney said. The controlled substance is a treatment option for patients with addiction issues and it was intended to be given to the Minnesota doctor who was scheduled to see the musician the morning of his death.
Bill Mauzy, Kornfeld’s attorney, believes Minnesota’s 911 Good Samaritan law means that Andrew Kornfeld would be immune from prosecution for carrying buprenorphine.
The Carver County Sheriff’s Office did not provide any additional details on the investigation. An autopsy was performed on Prince. The results from that exam are pending.
