Jury Rules Daniel Smith's Death a Drug Overdose
March 31, 2008

After a long wait surrounding the death of Daniel Smith, 20, the deceased son of the late Anne Nicole Smith, an inquest jury in the Bahamas has officially ruled that Daniel Smith died of an accidental drug overdose. The verdict came after Coroner William Campbell instructed the jury to choose between only one of three options available to them - a drug overdose, an accident, or an open verdict. After just over an hour, the seven person jury came back with a unanimous verdict in favor of death by drug overdose, which, according to Reuters, raised the ire of Daniel's grandmother and mother of the late Anna Nicole, Virgie Arthur, who was said to be disgruntled with the verdict since the process and options excluded the possibility of a homicide.

Anna Nicole Smith's son died just days after the former Playboy Playmate and reality TV star gave birth to baby DannieLynn. According to reports, Daniel had just visited his mother and baby sister hours before he passed away and Anna Nicole actually found the younger Smith's body in the maternity ward, as reported earlier by The New York Daily News. The paper reported that Daniel Smith was seated in a chair in his mother's maternity ward room in Doctors' Hospital in Nassau when Anna Nicole Smith realized that she couldn't wake him. It was revealed in September of 2006 that the death of Daniel Smith was not seen as suspicious, according to police.

The same month, Daniel Smith's father appeared on Extra and spoke about the shocking death of his son. Billy Smith had not seen Daniel Smith since he was two years old, but was still shocked to hear about his son's untimely passing. He told Extra, "It's so sad. I hated that it happened. He was so young. I'm sort of in shock right now."

At the time, a posting on Anna Nicole Smith's website, AnnaNicole.com, reflected the tragic contrast of joy and pain felt by Anna Nicole, with a sentiment of hope that Daniel didn't die from a drug overdose, which any mother would hope for , "On September 7th Anna Nicole gave birth to a healthy 6 pound, 9 ounce baby girl. Her son Daniel was in the Bahamas with her to share in the joy of his baby sister when he passed away suddenly on the morning of September 10th. We have yet to learn the cause of death but do not believe that drugs or alcohol were a factor. Anna Nicole is absolutely devastated by the loss of her son. He was her pride and joy and an amazing human being. Please do not make any press inquiries at this time so that Anna Nicole can grieve in peace."

As Reuters reports further, "Two autopsies concluded that he died from a 'cocktail' of prescription drugs, including methadone."

Daniel Smith was the son of Anna Nicole and Bill Smith, who were married in 1985 when Anna Nicole was 16 years old. Following the split, Anna Nicole Smith married 89 year old oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall II in 1994. The marriage and death of Marshall led to a bitter battle between Marshall's son, Pierce Marshall, and Anna Nicole over the estate of the late Howard Marshall. In recent years, Anna Nicole’s former lawyer and longtime confidant, Howard K. Stern, announced on national TV that he was the father of baby DannieLynn and both Anna Nicole and Stern later participated in a commitment ceremony that many mistook for a wedding. However, before the birth of DannieLynn, former Anna Nicole flame and photographer, Larry Birkhead, announced that he was the father of the child, sparking a long and drawn out paternity test and custody battle that Birkhead eventually won on both fronts.