Anna Nicole Smith and her son Daniel Smith, 13, leave a federal courthouse in Los Angeles, on Oct. 27, 1999. His body was found in the Bahamas Sunday, Sept. 10, 2006. Authorities had not determined what caused the death of the now 20-year-old.(AP Photo/Nick Ut)
Son of Anna Nicole Smith Dies Suddenly
Monday, September 11, 2006 2:24 PM EDT
The Associated Press
By JESSICA ROBERTSON
NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) — The 20-year-old son of Anna Nicole Smith has been found dead in the Bahamas, where the former reality TV star and Playboy playmate gave birth to a baby girl days earlier.
Authorities had not determined what caused the death of Daniel Wayne Smith, whose body was found Sunday morning, said Robin Bonnema, a spokeswoman for Trimspa, the diet products company that has been endorsed by Smith. Bonnema had no other details, and calls to Smith's lawyer, Howard K. Stern of Santa Monica, Calif., were not immediately returned.
Bonnema declined to provide details, saying only that Smith died "in his bed."
A statement on Smith's Web site said the son died suddenly.
"We have yet to learn the cause of death but do not believe that drugs or alcohol were a factor," the statement said. "Anna Nicole is absolutely devastated by the loss of her son. He was her pride and joy and an amazing human being."
Walter Evans, a spokesman for the Royal Bahamian Police Force, would say only that the son of an undisclosed celebrity had been found in a room of the private Doctor's Hospital in Nassau.
Anna Nicole Smith, 38, gave birth to a healthy 6 pound, 9 ounce girl at the hospital on Thursday, her Web site said.
Her son had traveled to the Caribbean country "to share in the joy of his baby sister," the statement said. "Please do not make any press inquiries at this time so that Anna Nicole can grieve in peace."
Smith married Texas oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall II in 1994, when she was 26 and he was 89. He died the following year. Since then, she has feuded with Marshall's son, Pierce Marshall, over her entitlement to the tycoon's estate.
In the long-running dispute, Smith had won a $474 million judgment, which was later cut to about $89 million and eventually reduced to zero. In May, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Smith could continue to pursue the fortune in federal courts in California despite a Texas state court ruling that Marshall's youngest son was the sole heir.
Daniel Smith was the product of Smith's 1985 marriage to Billy Smith. The couple, who met while working together at Jim's Krispy Fried Chicken in Mexia, Texas, divorced in 1987.
The son had small roles in her movies "Skyscraper" and "To the Limit."
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On the Net:
www.annanicole.com/
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