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U.S. pathologist arrives in Bahamas for autopsy on Anna Nicole Smith's son
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CommentNASSAU, Bahamas -- A pathologist hired on behalf of reality TV star Anna Nicole Smith was arriving in the Bahamas on Saturday to perform a second autopsy on her son, the island chain's head coroner said.
The former Playboy playmate found her 20-year-old son Daniel Wayne Smith unresponsive in her hospital room on Sept. 10, three days after she gave birth to a daughter. She called for help but doctors were unable to revive him.
The former Playboy playmate found her 20-year-old son Daniel Wayne Smith unresponsive in her hospital room on Sept. 10, three days after she gave birth to a daughter. She called for help but doctors were unable to revive him.
An attorney for Smith received authorization to bring in a private examiner from the United States, coroner Linda Virgill said Friday. The autopsy was scheduled for Sunday.
"It is nothing unusual for families to want their own pathologist to confirm or look for something that may have been overlooked" in the autopsy by the coroner's office, Virgill said.
"It is nothing unusual for families to want their own pathologist to confirm or look for something that may have been overlooked" in the autopsy by the coroner's office, Virgill said.
An official autopsy was conducted Tuesday, and a toxicology test to confirm the results is expected to be completed next week. Virgill said none of the results will be released before a jury inquest next month.
Cyril Wecht, a forensic pathologist from Pittsburgh who has consulted in high-profile cases including the deaths of Elvis Presley and JonBenet Ramsey, was hired to conduct the second autopsy, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported on its Web site Saturday.
Cyril Wecht, a forensic pathologist from Pittsburgh who has consulted in high-profile cases including the deaths of Elvis Presley and JonBenet Ramsey, was hired to conduct the second autopsy, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported on its Web site Saturday.
"What he does, he's world-class at," Wecht's attorney, Jerry McDevitt, told the newspaper. "If you want the best, you call Cyril Wecht."
Wecht did not immediately return phone messages left at his home and office by the Associated Press.
Michael Scott, a Bahamian lawyer for Smith, declined to comment on the request for another autopsy at his law office on Friday.
The families of other foreigners who have died while visiting the island chain have requested separate autopsies, Reginald Ferguson, assistant commissioner of the Royal Bahamas Police Force, told the Associated Press.
"This is not a problem," he said. "Numerous persons who found themselves in unusual circumstances in the Bahamas have done this."
Ferguson said that although there were no obvious signs of criminal wrongdoing, it was too early to draw conclusions. "It's a wide open investigation," he said.
The inquest, which could lead to criminal charges, is scheduled to begin Oct. 23. Witnesses including Anna Nicole Smith, hospital staff and others who saw her son were expected to be summoned.
The Bahamas coroner's office has termed Daniel Smith's death "suspicious." Police opened an investigation because the cause of death was not immediately clear, but authorities have said they did not find anything in Anna Nicole Smith's room to suggest a crime had been committed or evidence of drugs.
"It is not a criminal investigation. It is an investigation by the police," Ferguson said. "We don't know if any criminality will arise from it."
Smith, who came to this island chain during her pregnancy to avoid media scrutiny, is free to leave the Bahamas, authorities have said.
Police believe Daniel Smith arrived in the Bahamas on Sept. 9 and went directly to Doctors Hospital, a private facility in downtown Nassau. He spent the night in a room with his mother and one of her attorneys, Howard K. Stern, and was seen tending to his mother and newborn half-sister.
On the morning of Sept. 10, the 38-year-old TV star noticed her son had stopped breathing and called for help. Hospital staff unsuccessfully tried CPR and other measures to revive him.
When police arrived, the body was on one of two beds in a room packed with doctors, other hospital staff, Anna Nicole Smith and Stern, 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 several times on the E! reality series "The Anna Nicole Show."
The identity of the father of Smith's daughter has not been released.
Anna Nicole Smith married Texas oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall II in 1994, 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 Pierce Marshall died in June at age 67.
An initial judgment awarding her US$474 million (euro373 million) was reversed by an appeals court. In May, the Supreme Court ruled that Smith could continue to pursue her claim in federal court in California.
Wecht did not immediately return phone messages left at his home and office by the Associated Press.
Michael Scott, a Bahamian lawyer for Smith, declined to comment on the request for another autopsy at his law office on Friday.
The families of other foreigners who have died while visiting the island chain have requested separate autopsies, Reginald Ferguson, assistant commissioner of the Royal Bahamas Police Force, told the Associated Press.
"This is not a problem," he said. "Numerous persons who found themselves in unusual circumstances in the Bahamas have done this."
Ferguson said that although there were no obvious signs of criminal wrongdoing, it was too early to draw conclusions. "It's a wide open investigation," he said.
The inquest, which could lead to criminal charges, is scheduled to begin Oct. 23. Witnesses including Anna Nicole Smith, hospital staff and others who saw her son were expected to be summoned.
The Bahamas coroner's office has termed Daniel Smith's death "suspicious." Police opened an investigation because the cause of death was not immediately clear, but authorities have said they did not find anything in Anna Nicole Smith's room to suggest a crime had been committed or evidence of drugs.
"It is not a criminal investigation. It is an investigation by the police," Ferguson said. "We don't know if any criminality will arise from it."
Smith, who came to this island chain during her pregnancy to avoid media scrutiny, is free to leave the Bahamas, authorities have said.
Police believe Daniel Smith arrived in the Bahamas on Sept. 9 and went directly to Doctors Hospital, a private facility in downtown Nassau. He spent the night in a room with his mother and one of her attorneys, Howard K. Stern, and was seen tending to his mother and newborn half-sister.
On the morning of Sept. 10, the 38-year-old TV star noticed her son had stopped breathing and called for help. Hospital staff unsuccessfully tried CPR and other measures to revive him.
When police arrived, the body was on one of two beds in a room packed with doctors, other hospital staff, Anna Nicole Smith and Stern, 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 several times on the E! reality series "The Anna Nicole Show."
The identity of the father of Smith's daughter has not been released.
Anna Nicole Smith married Texas oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall II in 1994, 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 Pierce Marshall died in June at age 67.
An initial judgment awarding her US$474 million (euro373 million) was reversed by an appeals court. In May, the Supreme Court ruled that Smith could continue to pursue her claim in federal court in California.
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