Posted on 09/14/2006 9:22:01 AM PDT by Semus Dynnen
Anna Nicole 'memory loss' over son's sudden death...
Anna Nicole Smith frantically tried to revive her stricken son and had to be sedated after he died, her attorney said Wednesday. Authorities termed the death "suspicious" and said criminal charges could be filed. Daniel Smith died Sunday while visiting his mother, a reality TV star and former Playboy playmate, in her hospital room three days after she gave birth to a baby girl.
"The devastation and grief over Daniel's sudden death coupled with the sedation has been so extreme that Anna Nicole experienced memory loss of the event," attorney Michael Scott said.
The chief inspector of the Bahamas coroner's office on Wednesday called the death of the 20-year-old Smith "suspicious" and a formal inquiry that could lead to criminal charges was scheduled for next month.
Police also revealed that a third person was in the hospital room at the time of the death.
But Scott said that the third person was another one of Anna Nicole Smith's attorneys, Howard K. Stern.
He said Anna Nicole Smith and Stern continued efforts to revive Smith even after he had been proclaimed dead by staff at Doctors Hospital in Nassau.
"Anna Nicole was so distraught at the loss of Daniel that she refused to leave his side and it was necessary to sedate her in order to check her out of the hospital," Scott read from a prepared statement.
He said she suffered memory loss and that it "was necessary for Howard to tell Anna again that Daniel had passed away," he added.
Authorities said they believe they know what killed Smith but were waiting for a toxicology report to confirm the findings.
Anna Nicole Smith, who went to the U.S. Supreme Court this year to sue for an inheritance, was in seclusion in the Bahamas with family and friends, Scott said. The identity of the newborn girl's father has not been publicly disclosed.
"You would expect any parent who sustained this kind of loss" to seek seclusion, Scott said.
A jury inquest, which will be open to the public, is scheduled to start Oct. 23, and Anna Nicole Smith will be required to attend, coroner Linda P. Virgill said.
"Whenever there is a suspicious death we would have an inquest to determine how the person died," Bradley Neely, chief inspector of the coroner's office, told Associated Press Television News.
The autopsy and toxicology reports will not be made public until the inquest is held, to avoid prejudicing the jury, Virgill said.
Jurors will meet in a courtroom inside a weathered, pink-pastel judicial building in the seaside capital, Nassau. If the inquest, which will be open to the public, determines a crime was committed, the case would be sent to the attorney general's office.
Virgill said there was no sign of physical injury to Smith, who was seen helping make his 38-year-old mother comfortable before he died. Anna Nicole Smith noticed him slumped in a chair Sunday morning and called for help. Hospital staff unsuccessfully tried CPR and other measures to revive him.
Scott dismissed media reports that Anna Nicole Smith's son had antidepressants or other drugs in his system.
"It's sheer speculation. It's irresponsible speculation, may I point out," he told reporters.
Ferguson, the assistant police commissioner, told the AP that no drug paraphernalia or traces of illegal drugs were found on Daniel Smith, in the hospital room or near the room.
Police believe Daniel Smith went directly to Doctors Hospital in Nassau after arriving in the Bahamas by plane, Ferguson said.
Daniel Smith was the son of Anna Nicole and Bill Smith, who married in 1985 and divorced two years later. The son had small roles in her movies "Skyscraper" and "To the Limit." He also appeared on the E! reality series "The Anna Nicole Show."
Anna Nicole Smith married Texas oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall II in when she was 26 and he was 89. He died the following year.
She then feuded with Marshall's son, Pierce Marshall, over her entitlement to the tycoon's estate before he died in June at age 67.
Smith won a $474 million judgment, which was cut to about $89 million, and eventually reduced to zero. In May, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Smith could continue to pursue her claim in federal courts in California, despite a Texas state court ruling that Marshall's youngest son was the sole heir.
ping
I cannot imagine the pain she is enduring. To lose a child after having a baby? Prayers to her.
CORRECTION:
I wonder if it could be something as simple as him taking a heavy dose of Tylenol with a bunch of alcohol in his system. Would that explain him vomiting up blood and dying quickly from maybe LIVER failure?
Hospitals are rife with infection opportunities and a patient who can leave should. They are very unhealthful places.
It might also explain the "You Did This" comments heard in the room.
What you said is possible, or it could be a regular drug overdose.
Maybe he was suicidal and quietly took his mom's stash along with his own and gave himself a heart attack.
No matter how you cut it, what a sad event.
I feel bad for all involved here.
RIP young man.
I think the third person may have given some of his prescription meds to the kid and the kid had a bad reaction.
yes I doubt also that he would be carded.
I think the "You caused this" statement is what brought on the inquest, it could be they found prescription drugs only in him and maybe some alcohol. Bahamas LE is now down playing it, as it being normal due to his age and sudden death.
He could probably handle torts. An intellectual property class is where the head spinning would start.
I hope you are wrong. I don't assume that this had any thing to do with his or her money, unless he was murdered for it for some reason. But my heart goes out to Anna Nicole regardless. Losing her son must be heartbreaking for her. She is one messed up soul yes, but she is still a human being.
she has acheived legal resident status in the Bahamas by buying a house there valued over a certain $$$ amount. the new baby has legal status there as a result of the birth.
she can now use the Bahamas as a shelter against lawsuits, as well as custody claims from the father.
sw
A few more pieces of news from Thu afternoon:
" ... Lawyer: Anna Nicole Smith Supports Probe
NASSAU, Bahamas - Anna Nicole Smith supports a formal inquest to determine how her 20-year-old son died while visiting her in the hospital, an attorney for the former Playboy playmate and reality TV star said Thursday.
"She fully wants this process to take place and she wishes the public to not jump to conclusions and to wait for the conclusion of the proceedings," said Michael Scott, one of Smith's attorneys.
....
Smith was unable to grant interviews, Scott said.
"She's resting. She's obviously devastated," he said. "It's going to take a long time to heal. She's in seclusion and she wants some privacy."
....
When police arrived, they found Daniel Smith on a bed in his mother's room. Anna Nicole Smith, Stern, several doctors and other health professionals were in the room when police arrived, said Reginald Ferguson, assistant commissioner for the Royal Bahamas Police Force.
"There was nothing unusual noticed about the condition of the room," Ferguson said at a press conference in police headquarters on Thursday afternoon. Police declined to provide further details about the investigation. ..."
>>>Notice he was moved to the bed from the chair, evidently sometime during the resuscitation efforts by the medical staff - just in case this comes up later, at the inquest.
More new snippets from various sources:
" ... Daniel, who was visiting his mother and newborn sister at Doctors Hospital in the Bahamian capital of Nassau, was seen moving around his mother's room at 6.30am on Sunday (local time), Ferguson said. An hour later, the three adults were observed asleep in the room.
Someone sounded an alarm that summoned medical staff to the room at 9.38am (local time) and the doctors and nurses tried for 23 minutes to resuscitate Daniel, but it was clear he was beyond help, Ferguson said. He was found dead in a chair at his mother's bedside. ..."
~~~~~
" ... Daniel died at his mother's hospital bedside in the Bahamas, three days after she gave birth to daughter Hannah Rose. The cause of death is unknown. ... "
~~~~~
" ... ANNA NICOLE'S MUM BEGS FOR FUNERAL REUNION
ANNA NICOLE SMITH's estranged mother has gone public with her plea to attend her grandson's funeral after she was cut out of his life by the actress/model. VIRGIE ARTHUR appeared on US TV news show THE INSIDER last night (14SEP06), and begged her daughter not to turn her away from saying a fond farewell to her grandson DANIEL, who died in the Bahamas on Sunday (10SEP06).
Arthur, who claims to have brought Daniel up for the first six years of his life while his mother looked for work, said she was cut out of the boy's life when her daughter found success as a model and moved from Texas to Los Angeles.
She said, "I wasn't allowed to see him and I wasn't allowed to visit and he wasn't allowed to call." Arthur insists she still doesn't know why she was cut from her grandson's life and she's devastated by the his mysterious death because she was holding out hope of seeing him again.
She added, "I sure thought when he got old enough he'd come back to Texas." In a tearful TV message to Anna Nicole, her mother said, "I love you very much and I'm so sorry about Daniel but we're here for you if you need us. ..."
~~~~
Previous FR threads on this topic, plus a transcript of LKL show the other night:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1700788/posts
Charges possible in death of Anna Nicole Smith's son; coroner awaits report
AP ^ | September 13, 2006 | JESSICA ROBERTSON
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1700696/posts
Doctors Tried to Save Anna Nicole Smith's Son for 22 Minutes
Fox News ^ | September 12, 2006 | Associated Press
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1700152/posts
Celebrity's son's death mystery (Anna Nicole)
The Nassau Guardian ^ | Sept. 12, 2006 | IANTHIA SMITH & INDERIA SAUNDERS
http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0609/12/lkl.01.html
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