14th March
Stern’s Testimony Vital To Upcoming Inquest
By Quincy Parker
The Bahamian courts’ interest in Howard K. Stern’s testimony at the March 26 inquest into the death of Daniel Wayne Smith has spiked in light of his mother Anna Nicole Smith’s sudden death, according to Chief Magistrate Roger Gomez.
Howard K. Stern was the lawyer and companion of the late American celebrity Anna Nicole Smith, who was a permanent resident of The Bahamas.
Daniel died suddenly at Doctors Hospital on September 10, where he was visiting his mother, by then a permanent resident of The Bahamas, and his newborn half-sister Dannielynn Hope Marshall Stern, born three days before his death.
Mr. Gomez, who will be presiding over that inquest, reiterated that Ms. Smith would have been a material witness.
"Her death has caused us to lose the weight of her evidence, but at the same time, it has also increased the interest in the inquest because of the way in which she died. She also died suddenly, her son died very suddenly, so it causes one to wonder what is the cause of their deaths," Mr. Gomez said.
"And so that’ll be one of the things we’ll be looking into at the inquest; to find out exactly what the cause of death was, of her death and of Daniel’s death."
He added that while the primary goal of the inquest will be to discover the legal cause of Daniel’s death, the court will "look with interest at the cause of (Anna Nicole’s) death as well, whenever that is revealed by the US authorities." Her death, he admitted, does shift the focus of the upcoming proceeding.
"It places a greater emphasis, I guess, on the evidence of Mr. Stern because he would have been the only other person present at the time, so it gives a greater spotlight to his evidence."
Mr. Stern was Ms. Smith’s lawyer and companion, whose name is on the birth certificate of her daughter.
The chief magistrate indicated that there was no question that Mr. Stern would be called to testify at the inquest.
He also gave an idea of how wide the scope of witnesses would be. He said anyone who was in the room at the time Daniel died, or that same day, is liable to be called, including hospital staff, police and other first responders, and "any visitors and so forth."
Regarding persistent reports that former Immigration and Labour Minister Shane Gibson is a potential witness in the inquest, Mr. Gomez did not rule it out.
"I don’t know if he is on the witness list as such, but if he was there during that time or anytime around then, he will be called," he said. "Anyone will be called."
The court shares the concern of the general public, Mr. Gomez said, "to see exactly what happened."
Mr. Gomez acknowledged concerns about the exposure of any potential jury to the practically ceaseless coverage of the case, and said the court could only instruct the jury to ignore anything from outside the courtroom, and focus only on the evidence given at the hearing.
http://www.jonesbahamas.com/?c=45&a=11916
And, isn't it true he cannot take the 5th in the Bahamas?