Anna Nicole Smith Calls in Celebrity Pathologist
In a case that seemed suspicious from the gitgo, celebrity spokesmodel and pin-up gal, Anna Nicole Smith, is calling in a ringer.
Dr. Cyril Wecht, a controversial figure himself, has been contracted by Anna Nicole to perform a private autopsy on her son. Wecht is best known for his forensic analysis of the John F. Kennedy assassination as well as his consultant work on the Elvis Presley and Laci Perterson cases.
“There’s nothing to comment on,” said Wecht. “I just have to get there and see what’s happening.”
Following the very unfortunate death of Smith’s 20 year old son, Daniel Wayne Smith, the Bahamian coroner’s office called the case “suspicious”. However, no drugs or paraphernalia were found by investigators at the scene. [Also remember that they were not the first to arrive].
From a purely, what-is-most-common viewpoint, there is no doubt that drugs are likely to be involved. This is very similar to so many stories involving young celebs and drug-related deaths. The fisr rule in medical school is that common things happen commonly. StopPagingMe.com is never won to bet on the longshot so what’s more likely:
a) He had some extremely rare cardiac conduction defect resulting in sudden cardiac arrest at rest?
Very, very unlikely. Even syndromes like long QT and Brugada are usually stimulated by some type of trigger involving activity - i.e., they don’t usually kill while sitting in a chair. The whole sitting-in-a-chair thing rings such strong drug alarms. We give this 100-1 odds.
b) There was foul play and he was poisoned, suffocated, or murdered in some pathologically unrecognizable way?
Also pretty unlikely. Forensics has come a long way from the days of simply looking under the fingernails and grossly inspecting for ocular hemorrhages. To kill someone without anybody finding out is exceedingly difficult as serologies have advanced to the point where almost any toxin, endemic to the system (e.g. potassium) or not (e.g. arsenic) can be detected readily - even in the Bahamas. 150-1 odds.
c) Mr.Smith purchased drugs he had not previously used from an unreliable source and experienced respiratory depression from supratherapeutic doses (i.e. overdose) or had a toxic reaction to whatever the dealer adulterated the chemicals with.
Unfortunately, addicts will use wherever they go and dealers are generally not very concerned with their clients’ well-being - especially one who may not be a return customer. Just like in the case of director Ted Demme, the exact cause of death may not be known until several weeks later and it is a shame that this young man’s passing is everyone else’s business.
Whether the serum tox screens are publicized or not, StopPagingM
