There was no foul play in the death of the (in)famous Anna Nicole Smith, model, actress and mother of two – she died of an accidental overdose.
Florida justice officials announced Monday that Anna Nicole’s death came by way of an accidental drug overdose, a fatal concoction of medication she was taking for depression, weight loss, anti-aging and for insomnia.
The Broward County Medical Examiner Dr Joshua Perper described a mixture of nine prescription drugs in her blood, including anti-depressants and sedatives. In the last days of her life, she was also taking high power antibiotics to fight a high fever she developed after her arrival at a resort on the Seminole Indian reservation from her home in the Bahamas, Perper said.
“We found nothing to indicate any foul play,” said Seminole Police Chief Charlie Tiger during a press conference. “We are convinced, based on an extensive view of the evidence, that this case is an accidental overdose with no other criminal elements present,” Tiger said.
According to Perper, Anna had been suffering from severe depression since her son Daniel’s death. The 20-year-old died of a drug overdose in the Bahamas hospital after Dannielynn was born.
Anna arrived in Florida on February 5 and was soon found to be running a fever at 105 degrees Fahrenheit (40.5 Celsius). The fever was caused by an infection in her left buttock, due to repeated injections.
“A bacterial infection, a viral intestinal infection and possibly flu were contributory causes of death .... We did not find any evidence of homicide,” Perper said.
Along with the infectious fever and stomach flu, Anna was suffering from depression and anxiety. She treated her insomnia with large amounts of chloral hydrate, a powerful sedative that in combination with the other drugs proved fatal.
“It is our determination that the cause of death is combined drug toxicity as a result of chloral hydrate and a therapeutic concentration of other medications,” said Perper.
The 39-year-old Playboy model gave birth to little Dannielynn in September 2006. Three days later her son Daniel died in the same Nassau hospital that she had given birth to her daughter in.
The Texas native became world famous in 1993, when she was Playboy’s Playmate of the Year. In 1994, she married oil billionaire J. Howard Marshall, when she was 26 and he was 89. Marshall, who was worth $1.6 billion, died 14 months later.
Her little girl inherits the money. There are at least two men claiming to be Dannielynn’s father: longtime companion and lawyer Howard K. Stern and photographer Larry Birkhead.
Anna Nicole Smith was buried in the Bahamas on March 2. She died on February 8 at a Florida casino-hotel.