Assistant Commissioner of Police Reginald Ferguson said it is now entirely up to the courts to decide if an inquest will be held into Daniel Smith’s tragic death.
The 20-year-old son of American celebrity Anna Nicole Smith died on September 10 at Doctors Hospital while visiting his mother and newborn sister Dannilynn, just three days after the 38-year-old celebrity gave birth to the now one month old baby girl.
Just days after the case broke, former Chief Coroner Linda Virgill announced that a coroner’s inquest would be held today. But, according to Asst Commissioner Ferguson, whether or not there will be a ﾠcoroner’s inquest now lies in ﾠthe hands of Chief Magistrate Roger Gomez.
“We all know that that was preempted,” he said. “It was too ﾠsoon to be setting dates for anything so of course there will not be a coroner’s inquest (today). There are a lot of other things ﾠthat still need to be done. But we (the police) have transferred our files and findings to the chief magistrate and we just have to wait and see what he does.”
The chief coroner has since been relieved of handling the case. In fact, the entire Coroner’s Court system in the country has been dismantled amidst rumours that the high profile case was taking precedence over other court matters. All coroner’s cases will now be shared among the 13 magistrates.
The case garnered much international attention since news first leaked that Daniel had died in The Bahamas.
Days after Daniel’s death, rumours circulated that he might have died from a drug overdose, but representatives from Anna Nicole’s camp vehemently denied the reports and would only say his death was “accidental.”
Local pathologists were performing an initial autopsy, but the grief-stricken mother needed a second opinion and flew in American forensic pathologist Cyril Wecht. Mr Wecht’s findings revealed that high levels of Zoloft and Lexapro, two antidepressants and Methadone, a pain reliever widely used by recovering drug-addicts, were found in Daniel’s system.
His body had been lying in Butler’s Funeral Home and Crematorium for nearly six weeks since his death, and almost three weeks after- his mother and “long-time-friend” Howard K Stern exchanged vows on board a private yacht in Bahamian waters. Daniel’s body was finally laid to rest on Thursday during an one-hour ceremony at the Lake View Cemetery.
But, according to Asst Commissioner Ferguson, the burial does not signify the end of the twisted story. “The case is definitely not closed,” he said. “There are processes still going on; the chief magistrate now has the final say and who knows what’s going to happen once he makes his decision. We can’t say if there even will or will not be a coroner’s inquest as the court is dealing with the matter from now on. The chief magistrate has to look at the case and make that decision.”
Asst Commissioner Ferguson reminded that if there is a coroner’s inquest, the pathologists will have to present their findings to the magistrate and only at that time will the exact cause of Daniel’s death be made public.
Story by IANTHIA SMITH Guardian Staff Reporter
