Anna Nicole Smith's son had 7 different drugs in his body

[teforde23]

Anna Nicole Smith's son may have had up to seven different drugs in his system at the time of his death, Court TV has learned.

Daniel Smith, 20, died Sept. 10 in the Bahamian hospital where his mother had given birth four days earlier. Both a private autopsy as well as an autopsy ordered by Bahamas officials had indicated the young man died as a result of a fatal mixture of three prescription drugs.

But Court TV correspondent Michel Bryant has learned from a source connected to the official investigation that there was also evidence of four additional drugs, causing a lethal combination.

Toxicology reports now being reviewed by Bahamian law enforcement showed the drugs to be eight times the lethal dose, although the results of this review have not been released, Bryant's source said.

The 38-year-old former Playmate commissioned a private autopsy from American forensic pathologist Cyril Wecht, who found antidepressants Zoloft and Lexapro, as well as methadone. Though methadone is commonly used by recovering drug addicts, it is also prescribed as a pain reliever.
Though authorities connected with the investigation have yet to release the name of the purported additional drugs, Wecht claimed he knew of four other substances in Smith's body. He said he, too, discovered them in his analysis, but said that none of them were "of a potentially lethal nature."
In an interview with Court TV's Catherine Crier, Wecht said Wednesday that the substances in question included Benadryl, an antihistamine sold over the counter; pseudoephedrine, an over-the-counter decongestant commonly sold under the brand name Sudafed; and a small amount of Ambien, a prescription sleep medication.

Wecht said there were trace amounts of a fourth substance. He refused to identify the substance, but said it was "nothing horrible — no venereal disease or leprosy."
Wecht stood by his earlier findings that the combination of Zoloft, methadone and Lexapro caused Smith to suffer cardiac arrhythmia.

"I have no question at all about the cause of death," he said.

The Royal Bahamas Police Force had previously said its findings mirrored those of the private autopsy.

Wecht has performed analysis in many high-profile cases, such as those of JonBenet Ramsey, Jayson Williams and Amadou Diallo. He was indicted by a federal grand jury in January on charges that he misused his position as medical examiner of Allegheny County, Pa., for private gain. The 84-count indictment alleged he traded unclaimed cadavers for lab space for his private practice. He is awaiting trial.

http://www.courttv.com/people/anna-n...10106_ctv.html

[suede]

Any chance he wanted to die?

[Cate]

Isn't cold medicine what tipped the scales on the combo River Phoenix took before death, too?

[Bellatheball]

^^ Um, no, I think that was heroin.

[Cate]

Ok, I feel stupid now. I thought he had done cocaine, heroin, and then also had cold medicine in his system, but I looked it up, and there was no cold medicine!

[bite me spidey]

I'm so confused now, but does it even matter at this point?

[A*O]

It matters because this young man probably obtained some/all of those drugs from his junkie mother (or her dealers) and whose bathroom cabinet is probably an Alladin's Cave of every kind of substance you can imagine. And she knows it - hence the MASSIVE grieving/guilt trip she's currently suffering.

[teforde23]

I saw this on Court tv yesterday and they said that it was either a homicide or suicide.

[Mel1973]

Originally Posted by teforde23

I saw this on Court tv yesterday and they said that it was either a homicide or suicide.

We KNEW it all along, didn't we? What a tragedy for the kid, though.

[LynnieD]

Homicide?? I don't know.....

Thinking it was accidental. Think he probably wasn't feeling well and took some cold meds or something and it just overwhelmed his system. Obviously I am no expert, but seems the most likely to me.

[sweetrebel]

I agree, Lynnie.
I would like to think that IF the kid wanted to kill himself he wouldn't have done it in his mother's room. If they were as close as reported, I don't think he would have put her through that.
As far as the other things in his system, benadryl and pseudoephedrine aren't drug drugs. They are sold over the counter. Since the ME wouldn't say the other substance, it's hard to say about it.
I don't think his death will be ruled anything other than accidental...but that's just my opinion.

[Bellatheball]

Originally Posted by Cate

Ok, I feel stupid now. I thought he had done cocaine, heroin, and then also had cold medicine in his system, but I looked it up, and there was no cold medicine!

Cate, sorry! That was my attempt at being funny. It apparently backfired.

[card]

Did anyone see clips of AnnaNicole's interview this morning? It was on the Today show, parts of it. That poor woman, it's heartbreaking to see her sobbing and grieving. I'm with Lynnie, it had to be accidental. There was such a strong bond between them, that kid wouldn't have committed suicide in his mom's room. And Howard may be sneaky and whatnot but I don't think he'd wish this on Anna and kill Daniel. Daniel was her life. That unconditional love betweeen mother & son. Maybe Daniel was feeling crummy from the flight and time differences, etc, and just self medicated, accidentally overdosing.

[Charmed Hour]

Originally Posted by sweetrebel

I agree, Lynnie.
As far as the other things in his system, benadryl and pseudoephedrine aren't drug drugs. They are sold over the counter.

Aren't those o/c drugs used when making Meth? For the medical people, soes Meth show up as Meth or the components that make up Meth, ie pseudoephedrine?

[sweetrebel]

They are used in making meth, but there many other things used as well.
No, they wouldn't show up as meth because they aren't meth-they are cold medicine.
Say you took a drug test for work and had taken some OTC meds for a cold or sinus problem. You wouldn't test positive for amphetamines, even though they are used in the manufacture of methamphetamines....