‘Percocet was found in Prince’s system?’

Still unfounded –  “Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office has not released any information regarding Prince investigation to anyone, including law enforcement”

– ME’s Office, Carver County

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Within hours of the Drug Enforcement Agency and the U.S. attorney’s office joining the Carver County Sheriff’s probe into Prince’s death on Wednesday, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported that the painkiller Percocet was detected in the singer’s body when he died on April 21, citing a source familiar with the investigation.

However, until the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office releases its conclusive findings, we won’t know what actually caused his death. Toxicology reports, the lengthiest part of the autopsy process, generally take between three weeks to one month to be released, which means Prince’s results are probably not due for another week or two.

Midwest Medical Exam ‏@MidwestMedExam

For immediate release

The “Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office has not released any information regarding Prince investigation to anyone, including law enforcement,” tweeted the M.E. for Carver County, Minn, where Prince was found dead April 21 in his Paisley Park compound. “Results are pending. This is an ongoing investigation in partnership w/ Carver County Sheriff’s Office. We will have no further comment.”
With its tweets Thursday, the medical examiner tried to debunk reports on Wednesday by the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, which quoted “a source familiar with the investigation” of Prince’s death who said the painkiller Percocet was detected in Prince’s body.
The tweets also aimed to discount any suspicion that the source of the Percocet report came out of the medical examiner’s office or the Sheriff’s Office.
The final ruling on the cause of Prince’s death is pending toxicology testing and may be at least a week away. In the meantime, speculation about the role prescription painkillers could have played has been fueled by reports, also anonymously sourced, that investigators are exploring the painkiller overdose theory because prescription drugs were found in Prince’s possession and in his home.
Also, the U.S. Attorney and the federal Drug Enforcement Agency announced Wednesday they have joined the investigation to “augment” the Carver County Sheriff’s Office with “federal expertise and resources.”

Dr. Howard Kornfeld: California based addiction specialist, called in the day before to provide specialist interventio

William Mauzy, an attorney for California addiction specialist Dr. Howard Kornfeld founder of Recovery Without Walls, explained at a  press conference held on Wednesday in Chicago, the doctor’s plan to treat Prince for opioid addiction, including the and his son’s role, Andrew Kornfeld . Because the Kornfield could not free up his own schedule until April 22, he sent Andrew ahead in his stead on a redeye flight to Minneapolis. As it turned out, he was one of the people who discovered the singer’s body in an elevator at Paisley Park and made the 911 call.
Andrew  Kornfeld is a graduate of the University of California at Santa Cruz, where he studied neuroscience and psychology. According to the website for Recovery Without Walls, the pre-med student serves as a consultant, mentoring to patients and working as a spokesperson.  Persuading at-risk patients to seek help is something “he has done for years,” Mauzy told reporters.
“Andrew’s purpose in being there was to describe the Recovery Without Walls program, to familiarize Prince with that,” Mauzy said. Dr. Kornfeld’s plan was for Andrew to get Prince “stabilized in Minnesota and convince him to come to Recovery Without Walls in Mill Valley.”
Mauzy added that Andrew was also carrying a starter dose of Suboxone (buprenorphine), which he planned to transfer to a local doctor who had an appointment to meet with Prince the morning of April 21. The pills, which are used to ease a patient’s opioid withdrawals while still alleviating their pain, were never administered and were later taken by the Carver County Sheriff’s Office.
“It is my belief that the [Minnesota law] providing immunity for people who make a 911 emergency call – to receive immunity for any medications, any controlled substances on the scene – will provide statutory immunity to Andrew,” Mauzy speculated, referring to state Good Samaritan laws that protect individuals from being prosecuted for possession of controlled substances if they were seeking help for someone in an emergency, since the drugs in Andrew Kornfeld’s possession were prescribed by his father, who has a valid Drug Enforcement Agency control number.