Anna Nicole death ruled accidental

Source: The Toronto Star (http://www.thestar.com/artsentertain...rticle/196039)

Mar 26, 2007 11:35 AM (Matt Sedensky from Associated Press)

DANIA BEACH, Fla. – Former Playboy Playmate Anna Nicole Smith died of an accidental overdose of a sleeping medication and at least eight other prescription drugs, authorities said Monday.

Broward County Medical Examiner Joshua Perper said Smith died of ``combined drug intoxication" with the sleeping medication chloral hydrate as the major factor. She had been taking a lengthy list of medications, including methadone for pain and valium, he said.

Chloral hydrate is a sedative used to treat insomnia and alcohol withdrawal, relieve anxiety and ease post-surgery pain. Perper said Smith had been on several antidepressant and antianxiety drugs prior to her death.

"We found nothing to indicate any foul play," said Chief Charlie Tiger of the Seminole police department.

Perper said the detailed autopsy also showed no evidence of disease.

The weeks after her death were filled with public courtroom drama and private whispers about what might have killed her. Officials delayed releasing the autopsy results because of additional evidence, not publicly released.

Perper's initial examination had revealed no serious injuries to her body. Perper said then that prescription drugs, but no illegal drugs, were found in Smith's hotel room, though he wouldn't identify them.

Smith had arrived at the Hard Rock on Feb. 5 and planned to leave four days later aboard a new yacht that her companion Howard K. Stern was arranging to buy. She was seldom seen outside her room during her stay: She was said to be suffering from a stomach flu before she died.

Because her death was so sudden, and because her 20-year-old son Daniel died under suspicious circumstances five months earlier, there has been speculation about possible criminal activity surrounding the deaths. The Seminole Police Department investigated the case because the casino is on tribal land.

An inquest into Daniel's death is scheduled to start Tuesday in the Bahamas, where he died.

Smith grew up in Texas and went from topless dancer to Playboy Playmate of the Year, Guess jeans model and bride of 89-year-old oilman J. Howard Marshall II. She took her fight for Marshall's estimated $500 million fortune as far as the Supreme Court, and the ongoing battle could make her infant daughter, Dannielynn, very wealthy. Stern and two other men have claimed to be the baby's father.