Bahamas News

Bahamian officials yesterday said they were still awaiting the official results of Daniel Smith’s toxicology tests, despite reports out of the US that the son of Anna Nicole Smith had died of a combination of different drugs.

Chief Magistrate Roger Gomez told The Nassau Guardian yesterday that he was aware of an American pathologist’s findings that the combination of two anti-depressant drugs and methadone, a pain reliever, contributed to the death of Mr Smith.

“Yes, I have heard of [Cyril Wecht’s results] but I cannot say anything until we have the reports from our pathologist here in The Bahamas,” said Magistrate Gomez. “I have not received any notification officially as yet.”

The Chief Magistrate emphasised that an inquest date could not be set until Govinda Raju, the local pathologist, announced the toxicology results.

The exact date of when the results could be expected was still unknown because tests could take any length of time, he added.

“Toxicology reports can vary in [the] time they take to be completed,” said Magistrate Gomez. “But I am hoping that it comes in pretty soon [as] I don’t want to speculate until I see these reports for myself.”

In an interview with the Associated Press on Wednesday, Cyril Wecht, a private pathologist hired by Anna Nicole Smith, said that low levels of the three drugs identified by toxicology tests indicated that Daniel Smith actually died of ” a tragic accidental, drug-related death.”

The AP also quotes the well-known pathologist as saying that the drugs Zoloft, Lexapro and methadone had a lethal “cumulative effect on the central nervous system,” which was the ultimate factor in stopping Daniel Smith’s heart.

According to AP, Cyril Wecht described it as a “classical” death resulting from a combination of drugs without an overdose.

The 20-year old died earlier this month while visiting his mother and newborn sister on the maternity ward at Doctors Hospital.