Purple Rain singer 'may have been dead for six hours' before his body was found

As more details emerge of the final day in the life of music icon Prince, it is feared he may have been dead for up to six hours before he was found unresponsive in the lift of his Paisley Park home. Staff at the compound have described a sequence of events in the day leading up to his death, in which several attempts were made to enlist help for the singer, who is alleged to have been addicted to powerful opioids.

According to the Star Tribune a staff member reached out to Prince's former manager Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins in New York at 6am on April 20, for advice on how to manage his condition, as his health appeared to decline following an overdose five days earlier, which resulted in him being given a so-called 'save shot' in hospital.

Addiction specialist Dr. Howard Kornfeld was contacted less than 12 hours before his death for help with what staff described as ' a grave medical emergency' as the star's dependency spiraled out of control.

William Mauzy, a lawyer for Dr Kornfeld said the medical practitioner was told that Dr Kornfeld hoped to get Prince "stabilized in Minnesota and convince him to come to Recovery Without Walls in Mill Valley. That was the plan"'.

His son Dr Andrew Kornfeld, was initially sent to the Paisley Park compound to explain to the singer the details of the rehabilitation programme at his father's California practice, and to conduct a preliminary evaluation.

However, when Dr Kornfield arrived at the scene on April 21, along with two of Prince's staff, Kirk Johnson, a long-time friend, and Meron Bekure, Prince's assistant ,they discovered the Purple Rain singer unconscious in the lift.

At 9.43am Dr. Kornfield called 911. Around twenty minutes later paramedics pronounced the 57-year-old dead. According to the Star Tribune, the responding paramedic told staff members, law enforcement officers and Prince's assistants that the singer appeared to have been dead for "at least six hours."

While the preliminary findings of a postmortem ruled out suicide as a cause of death it was later reported that Percocet, a powerful opioid was found in his system at the time of death.

Toxicology reports are still pending, however investigators are considering the possibility that the Purple Rain singer may have ingested a lethal combination of drugs.

The investigation continues as police and Federal authorities attempt to determine whether criminal conduct may have been a factor in Prince's tragic death.