Prince's half-brother and heir Alfred Jackson dies at 66

Alfred Jackson, the half-brother and heir to musician Prince, has died at age 66.

Tyka Nelson, another of Prince's siblings, confirmed the news of Jackson's death Thursday on Facebook.

"This morning my older beloved brother Alfred passed on," Nelson wrote. "Thank u for respecting our privacy at this time & 4 being so nice 2 him."

TMZ reported Alfred was found unresponsive by his brother at around 10:30 a.m. in his Kansas City, Missouri, home. Police believe that Jackson died of natural causes and that foul play was not involved.

Jackson was the son of Mattie Baker, Prince’s mother, who went on to marry John L. Nelson, Prince's father.

Prince died more than three years ago: His estate is still unsettled, here's why

The musician died in April 2016 of an accidental opioid overdose at his Paisley Park compound in suburban Minneapolis, leading to years of still-unsettled legal wrangling over his estate. In 2017, a judge confirmed Prince's six siblings to be his rightful heirs, including Nelson and five half-siblings – Jackson, Sharon Nelson, Norrine Nelson, John R. Nelson and Omarr Baker.

Jackson said in a 2016 interview with “Entertainment Tonight” that he had not seen or spoken with Prince for nearly 15 years. He said it was clear even in childhood that Prince was musically gifted.

"My brother was everything in the world to me," Jackson said in the interview. "God bless Prince, God bless the world. He's a legend, he really is."

Jackson was a Vietnam veteran who served in the Air Force and then lived for many years at the St. Cloud, Minnesota, VA Medical Center after being honorably discharged.

Frank Wheaton, who had served as Jackson's lawyer through much of the Prince legal proceedings, called his former client "a genuinely, warm human being. He was almost angelic like."

"Alfred was Prince’s older brother, and he teasingly said all the time that he taught Prince everything he knew," says Wheaton. "Alfred was his number fan.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Alfred Jackson, half-brother and heir to musician Prince, dies at 66