The body of music superstar Prince was reportedly found only a day before a doctor was due to meet him to help end an addiction to painkillers.
California doctor Howard Kornfeld, described as a national authority on opioid addiction treatment, was contacted by Prince representatives on April 20 because the musician "was dealing with a grave medical emergency", the Star Tribune reports, citing William Mauzy, a Minneapolis attorney working with the Kornfeld family.
The day after the call for help to Mr Kornfeld, who runs Recovery Without Walls, a Californian outpatient clinic, Prince was found dead at age 57 at his home-studio complex called Paisley Park in Minneapolis, according to the report.
The doctor's son Andrew Kornfeld arrived at Paisley Park the morning of April 21 and was one of three people there when Prince's body was found in an elevator, the paper said. He called 911.
Howard had planned to fly out the following day, the paper said.
Neither the doctor nor the lawyer responded to Reuters' requests for confirmation of the report.
The hope was that Prince would agree to go to California for care, which would include around-the-clock nursing support, the paper said.
Prince's cause of death remains undetermined and it could be weeks before results are released from an autopsy.
Prescription opioid medication was found on him, media reported, citing law enforcement sources.
Police have said they found no signs of suicide or obvious trauma in Prince's death.
Reuters
