Prince Confidant Says He’s Heartbroken, Wants Privacy

A Prince confidant who was among three people to find the singer’s body says he was heartbroken by his friend’s death but that he won’t be discussing it publicly and would like privacy.

Kirk Johnson, Prince’s longtime friend, sometime drummer and best man at his first wedding, had refused to comment on the case until issuing a statement Thursday through his attorney.

Photo: AP Photo / The Times-Picayune

During the 10th Essence Music Festival, which attracted a record-breaking number of attendees.

Johnson was estate manager at Paisley Park, where Prince was found dead April 21. A search warrant said Johnson told investigators of a previous visit by Prince to a medical center for an unspecified illness in 2014 or 2015. The Star Tribune, citing an unidentified source with knowledge of the investigation, has reported that Johnson had recommended the doctor who was seeing Prince in the weeks before his death.