Bahamas to start inquest into death of Anna Nicole Smith's son

A lethal combination of drugs killed both Anna Nicole Smith and her 20-year-old son. But while authorities in Florida found no criminal wrongdoing in the Playboy Playmate's death, no such determination has yet been made in the young man's case.

The death of Daniel Smith, who overdosed in September while visiting his mother shortly after she gave birth, will be examined by a seven-member jury in a formal inquest scheduled to start Tuesday in the Bahamas, where the former reality TV star had taken up residence.

Chief Magistrate Roger Gomez, who is presiding over the inquest, said he expects the publicity over Anna Nicole's Feb. 8 death and the legal battle over custody of her infant daughter will make picking the jury difficult, since most Bahamians have followed media reports about the tragedies.

"That is a major cause of concern because you would have to have been living in a cave not to have heard about this case," he said. "We are going to have to give the jury a strong warning to put aside anything that they may have heard and just concentrate on the evidence."

Gomez also expressed worry that jurors would face an "irresistible urge" to link the deaths of mother and son.

In September, Dr. Cyril Wecht, a forensic pathologist hired by Smith's family to perform an autopsy on the young man, concluded he died from methadone and two antidepressant drugs interacting in his system.

But the case remains open as far as Bahamian authorities are concerned.

Jurors are expected to hear from dozens of witnesses _ including Wecht and Anna Nicole's lawyer-turned-companion Howard K. Stern _ as they consider whether Daniel's death should be ruled an accident, suicide or perhaps even homicide.

If the jury finds criminal activity played a role, it would be up to the attorney general's office to pursue the case.

Wecht said both deaths highlight the dangers of "people taking multiple drugs about which they know little or nothing about."

On Monday, medical authorities in Florida disclosed that Anna Nicole Smith died of an accidental overdose of a sleeping medication and at least eight other prescription drugs. A lawyer for Stern said the 39-year-old former model took the sleep aid because of grief over her son's death.

Broward County Medical Examiner Joshua Perper said Smith died of "combined drug intoxication" with the sleeping medication chloral hydrate as the major factor. Perper said Smith also had been on several antidepressant and anti-anxiety drugs and was taking methadone for pain.

"What we have is a classic, classic case of acute drug toxicity," Wecht said.

Daniel Smith _ the son of Anna Nicole and Bill Smith who married in 1985 and divorced two years later _ died Sept. 10 while visiting his mother in the Nassau hospital where she had given birth to a daughter, Dannielynn, three days earlier. Wecht said Zoloft, Lexapro and methadone had a lethal "cumulative effect on the central nervous system" that ultimately stopped his heart. It is unknown where he obtained the drugs.

Witnesses at the inquest are also expected to include the staff at Doctors Hospital and Larry Birkhead, who has challenged Stern's paternity and custody of Dannielynn in the Bahamas courts.

The inquest is expected to last up to three to four weeks, Gomez said.