Daniel Smith Died Of Accidental Overdose
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Like mother, like son...a Bahamian jury decided Monday that Daniel Smith, son of Anna Nicole Smith, died of an accidental overdose:
The seven-member jury, which deliberated for less than two hours, recommended no criminal charges in the September 2006 death of 20-year-old Daniel Smith.The son of the former Playboy playmate died after coming to the Bahamas to meet his new baby sister on Sept. 10, 2006. His mother died early the next year in Florida from an accidental drug overdose at age 39.
Police had said there was no evidence of homicide, and autopsies found that Daniel died from a combination of drugs, including methadone and antidepressants. But Bahamian authorities ordered the inquest amid widespread speculation over the circumstances surrounding his death.
In its ruling, the jury said the cause of death was "nondependent use of drugs," meaning that Daniel Smith was not addicted and was not aware the drugs in his system would kill him.
Anna Nicole's mother, however, is having none of it, and still believes Howard K. Stern had something to do with the death:
Neil McCabe, an attorney for Anna Nicole's mother, Virgie Arthur, said she was disappointed in the ruling because she suspected foul play was involved. Arthur has claimed previously that Anna Nicole's boyfriend and attorney Howard K. Stern played a role in both deaths, but she did not provide evidence."We don't think it makes any sense," McCabe said. "The boy was not a drug user, the judge said so. Why would he all of a sudden take a massive dose of methadone?"
Stern, who has denied giving Daniel any drugs, said outside court that he was not sure whether the jury's decision would bring an end to the case.
"I have no control over them," he said of Arthur and her attorneys.
What a convoluted tale. Larry Birkhead, Anna Nicole's former boyfriend and babydaddy, testified that Daniel struggled with drugs, alcohol, and depression, but Howard said that he was surprised by the toxicology findings and said in his testimony that he'd never seen Daniel take drugs. Continued on the next page
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