Daniel Wayne Smith – His Death Still A Mystery

Daniel Wayne Smith was born in Mexia, Texas on Jan. 22, 1986 to Billy and Vicki Lynn Smith aka Anna Nicole Smith. He spent the first six years of his life living with his grandmother, Virgie Arthur whom he adored, due to his mother working nights and starting a career that would eventually propel her to stardom.

From all accounts, Daniel was a shy and well mannered boy having the same interests as most boys his age. Living in California, Daniel was a star in his own right. He was the step-son of billionaire J. Howard Marshall. He was a somewhat reluctant cast member in his mother’s E! Entertainment Channel television program, The Anna Nicole Show during the 2002 and 2003 seasons. His shy demeanor and quiet ways endeared him to all who watched the show. He played movie roles in “To the Limit” (1995) and “Skyscraper” (1996). Later he worked as an Associate Producer in the movie, “Illegal Aliens” which was released in 2007.

As Daniel grew older, his mother reported that Daniel was very intelligent and a “straight A Honor Student”. Daniel loved electronics and music and was hardly ever seen without his IPod, reports a close family friend. He loved to play and mastered even the most complex video games. His interest in film making started early after seeing the movie “Jaws”. Daniel loved horror movies like most young men, but as a young boy, they frightened him until the friend explained the movie making process to him. From then on, he was hooked. “He wanted to become a director so that he could make people feel things he was feeling”. Daniel is pictured here on the set of “Illegal Aliens”.

When Daniel’s mother Anna Nicole Smith moved to the Bahamas in 2006, Daniel stayed behind in Studio City, California with family friend and the producer of “To the Limit and “Skyscraper”, Ray Martino. Daniel was attending Los Angeles Valley Community College. Rumors have circulated that Daniel was planning to attend a California state college. However, a horrible tragedy struck that forever changed many lives and continues to invoke controversy to this day.

On September 7th, Daniel’s mother, Anna Nicole Smith, gave birth to a baby girl. Daniel was happy and excited to visit his mother and new baby sister. He flew from California to Nassau Bahamas. He arrived late on September 9th, 2006 at around 11:00 p.m. He posed for pictures with his mother and the baby who at the time was to be named Hannah Rose. He visited with them, played with the baby whom he had instantly fallen in love with so much so he did not want her taken out of the room. He was seen by a nurse at around 6:20 a.m. “attending to his mother’s comfort”.. At 9:38 am, Anna Nicole awoke and saw that Daniel was not breathing. Hospital personnel tried in vain for 22 minutes to revive Daniel. He was pronounced dead at 10:05 a.m. One of the last sentences he reportedly uttered was, “why am I so tired”, according to Howard K. Stern who was the only other person consistently in the hospital room besides Anna Nicole during Daniel’s visit and when he was found unconscious and unresponsive.

The controversy surrounding Daniel’s death continues to this day. Dr. Cyril Wecht was hired by Howard K. Stern to do a private autopsy on Daniel and said the cause of death was “a lethal combination of Methadone, Zoloft and Lexapro”.

Dr. Lee Hern testified at the Bahamian Inquest for Daniel and had a very different opinion. “But for the methadone he (Daniel) would not have died,” said Dr Hern, who said he did not believe the 20-year-old was a habitual user of the drug. Under questioning, Dr Hern, the lab director for the Miami-Dade County medical examiner’s office, said he felt Mr Smith’s death was the result of an “intentional” overdose. However all parties agreed that Daniel’s death was not a suicide. A courtroom witness stated that Daniel would have had to take six to eight 10mg tablets for the levels of methadone found in his body. Dr Hern testified that Daniel was not a habitual drug user and he had never seen anyone take methadone on a recreational basis in that quantity. The Bahamian jury was given few options for a decision and came back with a verdict of “non-dependant drug use”.

Daniel Smith indeed was not a drug abuser. He had hopes and dreams for the future. He was excited about the birth of his sister. The family friend said, “He was a good kid and even at 20 years old, he had a kid’s imagination. He was gaining a reputation of being a special person all on his own, separate from the rep his mom had. People were looking at him as a man in his own right, and not just as the son of Anna Nicole Smith. And Vicki Lynn was so proud of him for that, because that was something he alone was responsible for. She knew Daniel was going to have the burden of her baggage on his shoulders for the rest of his life, but he was already making accomplishments that put him above all that. He was going to be someone important. Anna believed it and we all believed it”.

Anna Nicole Smith who died five months after her son’s tragic and unexpected death, renamed her baby daughter in honor of her son. Dannielynn Hope Marshall Birkhead now resides with her father Larry.

Today is the two year (update, three year) anniversary of Daniel’s death. Although it was reported by major news outlets that his body was being prepped to be taken back to California from the Bahamas, he lies with his mother, in a strange country and in an unmarked grave (update, the grave now has a marker). His last words to the man whom he trusted, Ray Martino, as he boarded a flight to the Bahamas were, “don’t leave me there”.

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