Smith Gives Birth to Daughter, Mourns Son's Death

Zap2It.com | September 11, 2006

Anna Nicole Smith

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Son's body was found sitting in chair in mom's hospital room

Anna Nicole Smith has gained and lost a child in the space of only a few days.

The former Playboy playmate gave birth to a baby girl last Thursday (Sept. 7) in the Bahamas, three days before her 20-year-old son was found dead in a hospital on Sunday morning, report news sources.

The following was posted on her official website: "On September 7th Anna Nicole gave birth to a healthy 6 pound, 9 ounce baby girl. Her son Daniel was in the Bahamas with her to share in the joy of his baby sister when he passed away suddenly on the morning of September 10th. We have yet to learn the cause of death but do not believe that drugs or alcohol were a factor.

"Anna Nicole is absolutely devastated by the loss of her son. He was her pride and joy and an amazing human being."

The authorities are investigating what happened to Daniel Wayne Smith, who was found sitting upright in a chair with his eyes closed in his mother's room.

"It would appear from our report that the mother had gotten up, saw him in the chair and he appeared to be sound asleep," said Reginald Ferguson, assistant commissioner of the Royal Bahamas Police Force. "She tried to wake him up, he was unresponsive and she sounded the alarm. … Doctors were called to check him and he was subsequently pronounced dead."

The young man was often seen on his mother's reality series, "The Anna Nicole Show," on E! and had small parts in his mom's video releases "To the Limit" and "Skyscraper."

Daniel is Smith's son from her first marriage to Billy Smith whom she met while they were both working at Jim's Krispy Fried Chicken in Mexia, Texas. She didn't have a child by her second husband, the late Texas oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall II, but a recent Supreme Court ruling last month allowed her to pursue his fortune, which was being disputed by Marshall's son, Pierce Marshall, who recently passed away.

Smith, 38, hasn't released the name of her daughter or who the father is.

Update: The coroner's office has called Daniel Smith's death "suspicious." A formal inquest is scheduled for the week of Oct. 23 in order to determine if a crime took place. The toxicology report has been completed, but results won't be released until after the inquest.