Report: Prince was set to meet Mill Valley doctor before death

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ByWayne Freedman KGO logo
Thursday, May 5, 2016
Prince was set to meet Mill Valley doctor before death
After Prince died, there were suspicions of drug addiction or maybe an overdose and the results of an autopsy have not yet been released. But a new detail released Wednesday is adding to the mystery.

MILL VALLEY, Calif. (KGO) -- The cause of Prince's death has still not been released, though there has been some suspicion of drug addiction, or maybe an overdose. And now a new detail released Wednesday is adding to the mystery and it has local connections.

It's been a day of scrutiny, a day of what-ifs at the Mill Valley office of Dr. Howard Kornfeld, who might have treated Prince had events moved just a little more slowly.

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"Dr. Kornfeld was never able to meet Prince, never talk to Prince, and was sadly never able to arrive in time to help Prince," said William Mauzy, the attorney for the Kornfelds.

Kornfeld is a well-respected specialist in pain management and addiction. The day before Prince died on April 20, Prince's representatives reached out to Mill Valley for help.

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In response, Kornfeld sent a staff member, his son Andrew, in advance. It was Andrew Kornfeld who called 911 from Paisley Park the day Prince died.

Mauzy spoke in Minneapolis Wednesday after the story came out.

"The staff representatives apparently found him in an elevator unconscious. One of the staff members started screaming. Andrew heard the screams and went to the elevator where he saw that Prince not conscious," Mauzy said. He said Prince was suffering.

Locally, friends who knew him say it was hip and knee pain, mostly.

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In San Rafael, producer Narada Michael Walden knew Prince well. "This guy was phenomenal. The energy output was phenomenal," Narada said. He added that he couldn't see him using drugs.

The plan had been for Prince to come to Mill Valley for treatment, but it was too late -- call it one more twist in the story of a superstar.

Friends say this is not what we should remember about him.

"Listen to the music and just love the output of his life music, which is phenomenal," Narada said.

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