Drug overdose killed Anna Nicole Smith's son

A year and a half after the fact, a jury in the Bahamas has ruled Monday that Daniel Smith, the 20-year-old son of Anna Nicole Smith, died from an accidental drug overdose, the AP reports.

The seven-member jury recommended no criminal charges against anyone for anything after saying the cause was "nondependent use of drugs," meaning he wasn't addicted and didn't know the drugs in his body would kill him. He died on Sept. 10, 2006, after coming to the Bahamas to meet his new baby sister, who was subsequently named Dannielynn Hope after him. Poor mama died early in 2007 from the very same thing.

But that doesn't mean Anna's mom Virgie Arthur isn't going to still try and cash in. She still thinks (like most of us) that her daughter's boyfriend, Howard K. Stern, was somehow responsible.

"We don't think it makes any sense," Arthur's attorney Neil McCabe said. "The boy was not a drug user, the judge said so. Why would he all of a sudden take a massive dose of methadone?"

Maybe he realized what a mess his family was and needed relief. What, too soon?

[Photo: Getty Images]

Did E! steal 'Pop Fiction' from Anna Nicole?

If you watched any of E!’s new Ashton Kutcher-produced Pop Fiction this weekend (which was pretty dull), you should probably thank Anna Nicole Smith. TMZ says the show sounds just like a treatment she pitched more than three years ago for a show called Celebrities Strike Back.

In 2004 Smith and Howard K. Stern met with E! programming executives Jeff Shore and Jay James to try to sell the idea. “...What happens if Anna Nicole Smith and other celebrities turn the tables and capitalize off of the overzealous media?” the pitch reads. “What if the next big supposed scandal is not a scandal at all? What if everything is staged, but the media (and the public) don’t know it? ... Anna Nicole and other celebrity guests take aim at the media and push all the limits.” Does that sound at all familiar?

Stern has already threatened a lawsuit, TMZ says, especially since he’s claiming he met with E! about the project just two months ago, with Larry Birkhead slated to pull the first prank. But E! nixed the whole idea for some reason. Maybe they were too busy calling Ashton.

Trailer trash: Willa Ford is ... 'ANNA NICOLE'

Some people might say Willa Ford's acting is horrible in what will be a horrible movie, but really, have you ever watched any news footage of Anna Nicole Smith? If this is any indication, Ford deserves an Oscar for her Phillip Seymour Hoffman-esque channelling of the Playmate.

Dannielynn's rich, Pearlman's a snitch, Bai Ling's a ...

• An L.A. judge on Tuesday named 18-month-old Dannielynn Hope the sole heir of Anna Nicole Smith’s estate, setting up a trust with Larry Birkhead and Howard K. Stern in charge, the AP reports. That’s like putting two mako sharks in charge of a school of tuna.

• Backstreet Boys and ‘N Sync mastermind Lou Pearlman has agreed to plead guilty in a Thursday hearing to laundering money and making false statements during a bankruptcy proceeding as part of a deal to help investigators in other cases, the AP says. He’ll still be forming his own boy band in prison, though.

• Bai Ling has been charged with petty theft for allegedly taking a pack of batteries and two Star magazines from an LAX shop, avoiding a more serious misdemeanor, Reuters reports. She mistakenly thought she was famous enough to make it into Star (and yes, she’s obviously famous enough for The Juice*).

Bits and pieces not worth a whole item

• A court in Nassau, Bahamas, has finally selected a jury to hear an inquest to determine the cause of death for Anna Nicole Smith’s son, Daniel, the AP reports (it won't start until Nov. 19 because of Tropical Storm Noel). They also hope to determine that yes, the young man is still dead and hasn’t come back as a zombie.

• Coolio will be back on the airwaves next year in his new reality show, Coolio & the Gang, which will follow the rapper as he raises six teens by himself, Reuters says. We’d come up with a punchline, but we’ll simply report it’s slated to air on Oxygen.

• No charges will be filed in the fight between Kid Rock and Tommy Lee at the MTV Video Music Awards, the AP says. Attorneys involved in the case had decided that just being Kid Rock and Tommy Lee was punishment enough.

• Nicole Richie is hopping mad at the New York Post’s Cindy Adams, who reported Richie was spotted smoking a couple times in the Big Apple. The problem? Richie tells TMZ she hasn’t been in NYC for three months.

• Pierce Brosnan is being investigated for allegedly fighting with a photographer last week, wire services say. He must have taken exception to being called the “old” James Bond.

Anna Nicole tape worse than we thought

There's just too much filth going on with Anna Nicole Smith and Howard K. Stern. Remember that tape of Anna Nicole apparently high as a kite and painted like a clown? You haven't seen the half of it. No, really. We don't even want to write about this, so let Geraldo spell it out. The worst? The 9-year-old pleading with Stern to put down the camera and help her out.

Dannielynn owes $200k?!?

If you think the concept of a lawyer demanding $200,000 worth of legal fees from a 1-year-old baby sounds like the setup to a terrible joke, you obviously haven't been following the Anna Nicole Smith saga. E! Online reports Richard Milstein, who served as guardian ad litem for Dannielynn Hope Marshall Birkhead for about three weeks early this year, has filed papers in Broward County to reclaim $198,493.98 in legal fees. "That's $900 an hour," Howard K. Stern's outraged attorney, Krista Barth, told the Palm Beach Post. "People believe the baby is rich. Couldn't be further from the truth. Mr. Milstein even charged for another lawyer at his firm to go to Anna's funeral." Barth said the bill would drain Dannielynn's trust fund. A hearing on the issue is set for Nov. 8.

(Photo: Associated Press, via Entertainment Tonight)

Cali DOJ serves warrants in Anna Nicole case

Anna Nicole Smith may be dead, but her tale lives on.

The AP reports the California Department of Justice began serving search warrants to people Friday in connection with her death, including Dr. Khristine Eroshevich, who had prescribed all 11 ingredients of the pill cocktail found in Anna’s hotel room after her death.

More than 600 pills, including 450 muscle relaxants, were missing from prescriptions that were no more than five weeks old, according to the documents obtained by the AP through a public records request.

Also served was a warrant to search the home and offices of Dr. Sandeep Kapoor, the doctor who prescribed methadone to Smith right before she died.

California Attorney General Jerry Brown (above) says that the eight warrants were issued because he believed “a serious crime has been committed.” He didn’t go into specifics but insinuated that many of Anna Nicole’s prescriptions were given illegally. It’s a good thing we’ve got something to write about besides Britney Spears ...

[Photo: AP]

Britney shares a 'horror'scope with Anna Nicole

Vanity Fair is sooo cutting edge. The excyclopedia-sized mag’s astrology expert has noticed that Britney Spears shares the same chart with another ill-fated famester, Anna Nicole Smith.

Horoscoper Michael Lutin says Smith (b. Nov. 28) and Spears (b. Dec. 2) are both Sagittarius with Libra rising. That means, of course, that according to the heavens, the two girls are destined to follow the same path, and Lutin implies that path includes drug abuse and death at an early age. “

Instead of laughing at her and making fun of her just the way they did with Anna Nicole, somebody better step in and do something or it is going to be just like Anna Nicole,” Lutin writes. Not to be too callous or anything, but we don’t need a star chart to figure that one out.

Didn't we see this plot in 'Wild Things'?

Larry Birkhead and Howard K. Stern are planning to sue Rita Cosby, the author of Blonde Ambition: The Untold Story Behind Anna Nicole Smith’s Death, because she makes claims many of us assumed in the first place, the AP reports.

Cosby contends there is a videotape of an alleged sexual encounter between the two men and that they made a “secret deal” about ways to manipulate Anna Nicole’s finances and the media to maximize profits.

“I knew going into this that this was going to be challenged by them at every turn because they don’t want the truth to come out,” Cosby said.

Birkhead, the daddy of baby Dannielynn (who turns 1 on Friday), said he plans to sue, even though he hasn’t even read the book.

“This is going to be one of the most expensive lawsuit settlements in book-publishing history,” he said. But it’d make a great chapter of that upcoming TV movie.

[Photo: Getty Images]

Stern blocks tape of Anna's boob job. Thanks!

While we question why it’s even an issue in the first place, a judge has issued a temporary restraining order against the release of a 1994 videotape of Anna Nicole Smith’s breast augmentation surgery. Isn’t it great to see that name again?

The AP reports Howard K. Stern asked for the injunction, to prevent the sale or distribution of the tape, which shows Texas doctor Gerald Wayne Johnson performing the procedure. Johnson is accused of sending the tape to an L.A. memorabilia dealer. Stern claims the tape was made without Smith’s knowledge, but really, who would buy such a thing?

Judge Seidlin to preside over 'The Crying Court'

Although we can’t confirm the reasons why, judge Larry Seidlin, who presided of the Anna Nicole Smith circus and spent nearly 29 years on the bench, will resign next month, a court spokesman told the AP on Tuesday.

A letter to Gov. Charlie Crist says, “it is now time for me to devote more of my daily life to my own young family and to pursue the many opportunities that have been offered to me outside the judicial system and I have disregarded until now.”

Whether that means he’s getting some goofball TV court show after July 31 is anyone’s guess, but he’ll be fine as long as he doesn’t go back to driving cabs.

[Photo: AP]

Birkhead's lawyer wants her share

Are you still recovering from Anna Nicole Smith fatigue? Well too bad, because now the sharks are turning on each other. Debra Opri, former attorney for Larry Birkhead, has sued the winner of the Dannielynn lotto because daddy didn’t pay his legal bills, the AP says.

The suit doesn’t specify a dollar amount, but calls for arbitration to determine how much Larry owes after Opri’s work which was “extensive, entailed hundreds of hours of work” and required her to travel to multiple states and outside the country.

Opri withdrew from Birkhead’s paternity case for some unknown reason in the thick of the battle, and Birkhead told TMZ there were very good reasons she had to go. Yes, Larry, but there were millions of reasons for her to stay on the case, too.

[Photo: Getty Images]

Kid Rock and Anna Nicole would have made a great couple

Maxim shares the most heart-warming story since Paris fired her manager. Kid Rock says he got in a tussle with Anna Nicole Smith at last year’s Kentucky Derby: “I had my son with me, and she strolls in shooting a TV show, so I politely ask her ‘Miss, we’re just trying to have a good time, and you’ve got those [bleeping] cameras rolling. And she was like, ‘[Bleep] you.’ So I was like ‘[Bleep] me? [Bleep] you. You’re a [bleep]ing pig,’ ” he tells the mag. Good example there, daddy.

Then, to smooth things over, Anna apologizes to the child and gives him $300. “I didn’t know about it until we got home ’cause he bought some Nintendo [bleep],” Rock says. “I’m like, ‘Where did you get the money?’ He’s like, ‘That blond girl with the big boobs gave it to me.’ ” And who says polite society is dead? [Getty Images]

Larry and Dannielynn go for a ride in an airplane

In case you're tracking Anna Nicole Smith's family members, baby Dannielynn has left the Bahamas, under the care of daddy Larry Birkhead. The 34-year-old photographer and the baby left Tuesday en route to Louisville, Ky., Access Hollywood reports. Birkhead got permission to take her out of the country just last week, and the trip is full of poignant coincidences. Besides a brief layover in Fort Lauderdale -- close to the Hollywood hotel where Anna Nicole died -- Birkhead was headed back to the Kentucky city where he met the tot's mom at a Kentucky Derby party in 2003. It's like a twisted little family history tour!

Anna Nicole's authorized biography yet to be written

You don't think we'd let Anna Nicole Smith rest just yet, did you? The New York Daily News says a new book in Smith's own words is on its way to shelves, if writer Joyce Wagner has anything to say about it. And boy does she ever.

Wagner's pitch is for a book based on interviews Wagner had with Smith going back to 1996, when the freshly rehabbed bombshell was looking to score a book deal to counter bills accrued after an $830,000 sexual harrassment lawsuit by her former nanny.

On tape, Smith recounted running away from home and being beaten by mama Virgie Arthur upon her return. "She started kicking me with her boot" and "hit me with a nightstick," Smith recalls. Wagner wouldn't go into detail on any sexual abuse, "but this book will explain a lot," she said. Well-played marketing, Joyce!

And as far as octogenarian hubby J. Howard Marshall's bedroom fitness is concerned: "We had sex a lot," Smith told Wagner. "He could not exactly satisfy me, which is to be expected. But he was very satisfied himself. That's really all that mattered to me. He satisfied me in other ways. He cared about me. He never looked down at me."

[Photo: AP]

Anna Nicole gave us more laughs just by being herself

Anna Nicole Smith’s final movie, a sci-fi mess called Illegal Aliens, is so cringe-worthy that even curious fans may not want to bother, the New York Post says. The vehicle’s plot, such as it is, involves a trio of aliens assigned to protect earth from Joanie Laurer, a.k.a. former wrestler Chyna. The hilarious part involves the dialogue Anna’s character must spout, including lines like, “To pee or not to pee. That is the question. I think I’ll pee.” and “Nobody sticks a missile in Lucy’s butt and gets away with it.” Looks like either way, Anna’s acting career was dead.

Larry changes Dannilynn's name

After getting a reported $1.7-million check for pics of him and the kid, Larry Birkhead tells Ok! magazine he has officially changed baby Dannielynn’s name. “‘Birkhead’ has been swapped for ‘Stern,’ but I don’t want to change anything else,” he says. “(Dannielynn is) what her mother named her and even though I didn’t get a say, I still want to respect her mother’s wishes.” We’d have thought he’d rename her 'Payday.' Birkhead also praises rival Howard K. Stern for helping out since handing over the kid. “It seems unlikely but he’s been a great help,” Larry says. We smell sitcom!

[Photo: AP]

Willa real star please step up?

<...an Ill Literate post...>

Personally, I'm not sure what I would choose as the high point to date for the Tampa Bay area's own entry into the wannabe Britney / Mandy / Christina / Lindsay / Sanjaya contest, Miss Willa Ford of Ruskin. (That's in southeastern Hillsborough County, FYI.)

Was it when the former Amanda Lee Williford, at first using the stage name Mandah, performed a song that made it onto the soundtrack for Pokemon: The First Movie? Or later, the "Willa Ford" years, of dating such personalities as Nick Carter and Ultimate Fighting Championship behemoth Chuck Liddell? (Points for diversity though, Willa.)

Some would lean toward the decision to record the song A Toast to Men--with a subtitle and chorus that prominently features the "F" word--for an unreleased album she'd planned to title Porn Poetry. Or maybe the posing for Playboy. Or her stretch on Dancing with the Stars. Sure, her sole hit was titled I Wanna Be Bad, but she might have considered not using that as career advice. (And believe me, anyone choosing to participate in celebrity dancing must be desperate.)

Any way you cut it, the young woman was tailor-made for her next role: She's going to play Anna Nicole Smith. It's in an independent movie that reportedly will begin shooting as early as next week.

Sound incredibly sketchy to you? And thus entirely appropriate? Me too. Learn a lil' more here.

[Photo: AP]

Little-known singer plays well-known drugged-out stripper

In other Anna-related news, Variety says Willa Ford will play Smith in an independent movie that begins shooting next week. You may not remember the 26-year-old very well. Her claim to fame (other than being a Playboy model herself) was the single I Wanna Be Bad from her 2001 album, Willa Was Here. She also appeared as a celebrity dancer on Dancing With the Stars last season, which is where you’re more likely to place her. The movie, Anna Nicole, will cover the star-crossed sexpot’s life from age 17 to her death. We think Willa better start eating now to pull this role off. [Photo: AP]

As if you really missed us ... here's some Las Vegas news and more Anna Nicole Smith stuff

We just flew back from Sin City, and boy are our wallets tired ...

It seems there was a whole raft of celebs in Lost Wages while we were there, according to Vegas Confidential:  be-wigged Britney Spears dined at Nobu in the Hard Rock on Monday, Jamie-Lynn Sigler spent the Sunday night premiere of The Sopranos at Love, Brad Garrett walked some contest winner down the aisle at the Little White Wedding Chapel on Saturday, Xzibit was chowing down at N9NE steakhouse at the Palms three nights straight and Michelle Rodriguez was at Forty Deuce at Mandalay Bay.

Unfortunately, while we stopped in at Tabu, Tryst and Pure, the best we could do was spying Carrot Top at the Eiffel Tower Restaurant at Paris on Sunday night. Yay us.

Anywho, the real story happened while we were out. This whole “Larry Birkhead is Dannielynn’s daddy” thing makes us tired. Pretending he thinks of the child as more than a bouncing baby claim on a multimillion-dollar inheritance, Birkhead visited the kid a few hours after Tuesday’s announcement, Entertainment Tonight says. He and some relatives fed the tot apple sauce and changed her diaper, just so Larry can get a taste of what he’s getting into.

No surprise, then, that the AP reports today he said he has no plans to share legal custody, no doubt incensing Anna Nicole Smith’s mama, Virgie Arthur. “It would imply that I’m unfit as a parent, which I’m not,” the L.A. photographer said on the Today show. “I’m looking forward to giving Dannielynn everything that she needs and all the love and support.”

That doesn’t mean the grandma can’t visit, though. “... I have no problem with anyone that has good intentions being allowed to visit the baby and see the baby and be a part of the baby’s life,” Birkhead said. That no doubt includes all those lawyers who will put Birkhead in charge of any trust the possible heir to the J. Howard Marshall II fortune may be assigned. [Photo: AP]

More drugs than a Baltimore street corner

The AP reports all 11 prescription drugs found in Anna Nicole Smith’s hotel room were prescribed by the same doctor, according to the medical examiner’s office. More than 600 pills were missing from those prescription at the time of her death, but it was unclear if she took them all. Eight of the prescriptions were in the name of Howard K. Stern, two were for Alex Katz (it’s unclear if that’s an alias or an acquaintance of Smith’s) and one was for her friend and psychiatrist, Dr. Khristine Eroshevich — who had authorized all of the medications found at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. Anna might as well have had CVS stamped on her forehead.

Stern drops DNA protest, probably busy packing his bags

Anna Nicole Smith’s partner Howard K. Stern dropped his bid Monday to block the release of DNA test results that could reveal the father of baby Dannielynn when it appeared a Bahamas court was going to reject his appeal, the AP reports. All three judges on the Court of Appeal noted that Stern had filed his challenge too late and should have raised his objections before the Supreme Court ordered DNA testing in the paternity challenge filed by Larry Birkhead. Stern was probably too busy moving money into Swiss bank accounts. A hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, and the baby’s March 21 DNA test results have yet to be revealed. [Photo: AP]

10

The number of drugs that a medical examiner found in the body of Anna Nicole Smith during an autopsy. The drugs were:
• Avitan (lorazepam): anti-anxiety medication
• Cipro (ciprofloxacin): antibiotic
• Klonopin (clonazepam): anti-seizure medicine also used to treat anxiety
• Methadone: strong painkiller, often used to suppress withdrawal from heroin
• Noctec (chloral hydrate): sedative and sleeping medication
• Robaxin (methocarbamol): muscle relaxant
• Soma (meprobamate): muscle relaxant
• Topamax (topiramate): anti-seizure medication also used to treat migraines
• Tylenol (acetaminophen): pain reliever
• Valium (diazepam): anti-anxiety medication, also used as a sedative and to treat seizures
The medical examiner said she had also taken these substances around the time of her death:
• Benadryl (diphenhydramine): antihistamine
• Human growth hormone: touted as a muscle-building, weight-reducing agent
• Nicorette (nicotine polacrilex): used to quit smoking
• Tamiflu (oseltamivir phosphate): anti-viral medicine
• Vitamin B12: helps formation of red blood cells
— Associated Press

Funny how you don't hear anyone saying "How could this happen?" now.

And yes, she's still dead

<...an Ill Literate post...>

Leave it to The Onion to bail me out on a busy Tuesday afternoon. Just in case you haven't gotten enough Anna Nicole...

Anna Nicole Smith Finally Reaches Target Weight

NASSAU, BAHAMAS—Some weight-loss experts do not find Smith's achievement inspirational, claiming that such drastic dieting can lead to a dangerous loss of muscle mass.

Anna Nicole is still dead

Okay, you probably knew that. But you also probably already know this:

According to the New York Times, autopsy results show Ms. Smith died from an accidental drug overdose, Broward County officials said this morning. No criminal activity was involved; no charges will be filed.

The Times reports:

Chief Charlie Tiger of the Seminole Police Department, which had jurisdiction in the case, said there was “no evidence of illegal drugs” and “no foul play” in the case, which has been closed.

Dr. Joshua Perper, the medical examiner, said Ms. Smith was taking a variety of drugs including methadone for back pain, antidepressants and others, some by injection. He said traces of nine different prescription drugs were found in her blood.

Read more here.

...Anyway, that blows my theory, which is that she died of a tiger attack. What was yours? [Photo: AP]

Clear your day planners

The moment we’ve all been waiting for arrives Monday: The medical examiner for Broward County, Dr. Joshua Perper, and Seminole Police Chief Charlie Tiger said they will hold a joint news conference to discuss the cause of death for one Anna Nicole Smith, the AP reports. The results are coming more than six weeks after the former Playmate’s death in Hollywood. Initial reports showed no drug overdose or major injuries, but Perper said he delayed the release after police gave him additional (and as yet unspoken) evidence. Star and the National Enquirer are saying she overdosed on a potent sleep aid and had a terrible blood infection, so grab your popcorn, kiddies (and check blogs.tampabay.com/juice for updates)!
[Photo: AP]