Hey, guys

I just read on a livejournal community that the cause of Anna Nicole Smith's death has been ruled as an accidental overdose (due to a combination of sleeping pills and therapeutic drugs she was taking at the time). I'll dig up a source later, but for now I've got to get to school.

DANIA BEACH, Fla. - Former Playboy Playmate Anna Nicole Smith died of an accidental overdose of a sleeping medication and at least eight other prescription drugs, authorities said Monday.


Broward County Medical Examiner Joshua Perper said Smith died of "combined drug intoxication" with the sleeping medication chloral hydrate as the major factor. She had been taking a lengthy list of medications, including methadone for pain and valium, he said.

Chloral hydrate is a sedative used to treat insomnia and alcohol withdrawal, relieve anxiety and ease post-surgery pain. Perper said Smith had been on several antidepressant and antianxiety drugs prior to her death.

"We found nothing to indicate any foul play," said Chief Charlie Tiger of the Seminole police department.

Perper said the detailed autopsy also showed no evidence of disease.

The weeks after her death were filled with public courtroom drama and private whispers about what might have killed her. Officials delayed releasing the autopsy results because of additional evidence, not publicly released.

Perper's initial examination had revealed no serious injuries to her body. Perper said then that prescription drugs, but no illegal drugs, were found in Smith's hotel room, though he wouldn't identify them.

Smith had arrived at the Hard Rock on Feb. 5 and planned to leave four days later aboard a new yacht that her companion Howard K. Stern was arranging to buy. She was seldom seen outside her room during her stay: She was said to be suffering from a stomach flu before she died.

Because her death was so sudden, and because her 20-year-old son Daniel died under suspicious circumstances five months earlier, there has been speculation about possible criminal activity surrounding the deaths. The Seminole Police Department investigated the case because the casino is on tribal land.

An inquest into Daniel's death is scheduled to start Tuesday in the Bahamas, where he died.

Smith grew up in Texas and went from topless dancer to Playboy Playmate of the Year, Guess jeans model and bride of 89-year-old oilman J. Howard Marshall II. She took her fight for Marshall's estimated $500 million fortune as far as the Supreme Court, and the ongoing battle could make her infant daughter, Dannielynn, very wealthy. Stern and two other men have claimed to be the baby's father.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070326/ap_on_en_tv/anna_nicole_smith

FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida (CNN) -- An accidental drug overdose killed former reality TV star and Playboy playmate Anna Nicole Smith, Seminole tribal police Chief Charlie Tiger said Monday.

Tiger said there was no evidence of foul play.

"We are convinced, based on extensive review of the evidence, that this case is an accidental overdose with no other criminal element present," Tiger said Monday.

The medical examiner's office had said on March 7 that the cause of Smith's death had been determined, but it would not be announced for one to two weeks to give police time to finish the investigation.

Broward County Medical Examiner Joshua Perper wanted to make sure none of the investigators' findings change any of his own findings, his office said then.

Perper said Monday that Smith was taking nine different kinds of medication in the days before her death, including a sleeping aid.

Tiger said Monday the case was now closed.

Smith, 39, was pronounced dead February 8 after being found unconscious in her hotel room at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino near Hollywood, Florida.

A preliminary autopsy in February indicated that Smith did not appear to be a victim of foul play.

Smith was buried March 2 in the Bahamas after a court battle over who would have custody of her body and where she would be buried. She was buried next to her son, Daniel, 20, who died in September of what one pathologist said was a lethal combination of methadone and antidepressants.

Since her death, controversy has swirled over the identity of the father of Smith's infant daughter, Dannielynn. Smith's companion, Howard K. Stern, and two other men have claimed paternity.

In 1994, Smith married 89-year-old Texas oil magnate Howard Marshall II. He died the next year, and until her death, Smith was involved in a legal battle over the inheritance that included a 2006 U.S. Supreme Court ruling.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v493/Nimrauko/264428Anna-Nicole-Smith-Posterscopy.jpg

I don't get what took them 6 weeks to confirm what was obvious from the get go

waiting for all of the "She was just like Marilyn!!!!!!!11" comments lol...:rolleyes:

Actually, more like Elvis Presley is who I compare her life to.

It takes 4-6 weeks to get the results back from toxicology, that's why it took so long. It is like that with all autopsies when it comes to testing blood for drugs.

It doesn't surprise me. She was addicted to various painkillers and she couldn't admit she had a problem. That is the first thing she needed to do.

I thought the medical examiner said she wasn't on any painkillers. She had methodone in her body, but not in her blood, so that meant she hadn't taken any for a few days.

Hi, I am brand new here, I registered here a long time ago, but haven't been back since. I am sorry for asking this in the wrong place but I was wondering if there is a thread here where I can "introduce" myself? I have looked for a place like that and can't seem to find one. Thanks.
It is so sad about Anna Nicole, I've always felt so bad for her. I cried when Daniel died. I have a tall, thin, blonde son named Daniel too and he is one month older then Daniel Smith was. It was kind of close to home for me when Anna lost her Daniel.

Thanks for the sources, guys :) I suspected it was an overdose all along, so I'm glad we were confirmed about this information.

:( :rip:

I don't get what took them 6 weeks to confirm what was obvious from the get go

I was thinking the same thing... I don't think anyone will be surprised by the findings of the official autopsy... :(

I'm wondering how Anna got all these medications. Perhaps she was working a few different doctors because no reputable doctor would prescribe all those drugs.

Actually, more like Elvis Presley is who I compare her life to.


It just makes me sick when the media compares Anna to Marilyn as if they were so similar just because they were beautiful blonde women who had tragedy in their lives. I dont find it fair that blondes are so often compared to eachother. I could go on and on about how different Anna Nicole Smith is from Marilyn Monroe but I wont lol.

It just makes me sick when the media compares Anna to Marilyn as if they were so similar just because they were beautiful blonde women who had tragedy in their lives. I dont find it fair that blondes are so often compared to eachother. I could go on and on about how different Anna Nicole Smith is from Marilyn Monroe but I wont lol.
IMO I can see it. Both were known for their looks, not their talents, or lack of. Both were also known for their relationships/men they slept with. It's not a far stretch.

It just makes me sick when the media compares Anna to Marilyn as if they were so similar just because they were beautiful blonde women who had tragedy in their lives. I dont find it fair that blondes are so often compared to eachother. I could go on and on about how different Anna Nicole Smith is from Marilyn Monroe but I wont lol.
Anna Nicole herself promoted the comparison of herself and Marilyn Monroe, even dressing up as her (below). They were unlike more than they were alike, but there are comparisons that cannot be denied. Beautiful, larger than life, troubled blonde bombshells who died of an overdose. People compared Marilyn to Jayne Mansfield too. I don't see the big deal. Anna didn't have the acting ability of Marilyn, but there are similarities in their tragic lives.

http://msnbcmedia1.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Slideshows/_production/ss_070208_annanicole/ss_070223_annanicole_tease.vsmall.jpg (javascript:SSOpen('17050822','0');)

They found at least NINE prescription drugs in her system?? Whoa Nellie. No wonder this happened...:(

It just makes me sick when the media compares Anna to Marilyn as if they were so similar just because they were beautiful blonde women who had tragedy in their lives. I dont find it fair that blondes are so often compared to eachother. I could go on and on about how different Anna Nicole Smith is from Marilyn Monroe but I wont lol.


I see it.

http://apnews.excite.com/article/20070326/D8O45K681.html

Smith Died From Accidental Drug Overdose

DANIA BEACH, Fla. (AP) - Anna Nicole Smith accidentally overdosed on at least nine prescription drugs - including a powerful sleep syrup she was known to swig right out of the bottle - after a miserable last few days in which she endured stomach flu, a 105-degree fever, pungent sweating and an infection on her buttocks from repeated injections.

In a detailed autopsy report released Monday, a medical examiner noted the former Playboy playmate refused to go to a hospital three days before her Feb. 8 death. She chose to ride out her illness in a hotel suite littered with pill bottles, soda cans, SlimFast, nicotine gum and an open box of Tamiflu tablets.

Broward County Medical Examiner Dr. Joshua Perper found that in the days leading up to her death, the 39-year-old Smith had been taking large amounts of the seldom-prescribed sedative chloral hydrate, which also contributed to the 1962 overdose death of Smith's idol Marilyn Monroe.

Police found no apparent signs of foul play, and the medical examiner also ruled Smith's death probably was not a suicide because people who take their own lives typically use much more lethal drugs than chloral hydrate.

Rather, he said, Smith might have been simply unaware that the sedative could be fatal in combination with multiple other prescriptions she was taking in normal doses for anxiety, depression and insomnia.

Contributing factors included her weakened condition from a stomach flu and fever brought on by a pus-filled infection on her buttocks from repeated injection of other drugs.

"She may have taken the dosages she was accustomed to but succumbed because she was already weakened," Perper said in his report. "Miss Smith has a long history of prescription drug abuse and self-medicated in the past."

The recommended dose of chloral hydrate is one to two teaspoons prior to bed. Smith often took two tablespoons, and she sometimes drank directly from the bottle, the report said.

A statement issued by lawyers for Howard K. Stern, Smith's companion who was with her before her death, said that Stern and Smith's physician urged her to get emergency treatment but she refused because "she did not want the media frenzy that follows her."

"She refused to go to the hospital because she wanted to avoid media," attorney Lilly Ann Sanchez said in a news release. "Anna called the shots in Anna's life and everyone close to her knows that."

The autopsy report left some unanswered questions such as why it took so long for emergency personnel to be summoned when Smith was discovered unresponsive Feb. 8 in her room at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.

The report found that a private nurse had asked a bodyguard to call 911 around 1 p.m. and had started CPR. The Seminole EMS was called about 1:40 p.m. by a bodyguard and arrived six minutes later. The ambulance reached the hospital at 2:43 p.m., and Smith was pronounced dead shortly thereafter.

Perper said Smith could have been saved had she been hospitalized earlier in the week simply because her drug intake could have been controlled.

"If she would have gone to the hospital she wouldn't have died because she wouldn't have had the opportunity to take the excessive amount of chloral hydrate," he told The Associated Press.

But Perper said the lag in calling 911 on the day of Smith's death probably didn't matter.

"The earlier you come to a hospital the more you have a chance, but there's not a guarantee," he said. "Those are not things with a mathematic precision, but within a reasonable degree of medical certainty, I don't think she had really a realistic chance."

Perper said he believed at least three doctors had prescribed Smith drugs using a number of aliases, but all the medication was meant for her.

Stern lawyer Sanchez said the chloral hydrate was prescribed for Smith by her friend and psychiatrist, Dr. Khristine Eroshevich, who also traveled with her to Florida. Sanchez said the drug was prescribed last year after Smith's 20-year-old son Daniel died in the Bahamas of apparent drug-related causes.

"She was having nightmares. She was having hallucinations. She was unable to sleep," Sanchez said, adding that Eroshevich turned to "an older, tried and true drug" because it was more effective for Smith than newer sleeping medicines.

Perper said Smith also had been on several antidepressant and anti-anxiety drugs and had recently been injecting herself with purported longevity medications, vitamin B-12 and growth hormone.

She felt ill shortly after arriving in Fort Lauderdale from the Bahamas on Feb. 5 on a trip with Stern to buy a new yacht. But that illness was brought under control by antibiotics and an ice bath. She also suffered intense, pungent sweating that soaked the sheets. An assistant medical examiner's report described seeing a table in Smith's hotel room containing cold medicine, sodas cans, SlimFast, nicotine gum and an open box of Tamiflu tablets.

Seminole Tribal Police Chief Charlie Tiger said investigators found nothing unusual on laptop computers belonging to Smith and Stern. Tiger also said nothing came up during an exhaustive review of tapes from hotel security cameras and from interviews with numerous witnesses.

The public airing of the details of Smith's death reflected the way she lived her life.

A high school dropout in Texas, she gained fame as Playboy Playmate of the Year, a model for Guess jeans and later a star in her own reality show. She married 89-year-old oilman J. Howard Marshall II, and after his death took her fight for Marshall's estimated $500 million fortune as far as the Supreme Court. That ongoing battle could make her infant daughter, Dannielynn, very wealthy. Stern and two other men have claimed to be the baby's father.

The medical examiner's report was accompanied by a press release and even a PowerPoint presentation. Among the excruciating details were descriptions of Smith's breast-enhancement scars, her pink hair extensions and numerous tattoos, including one of a Playboy bunny, a Bible intertwined with a heart and shooting flames, and the smiling face of Marilyn Monroe.

We know that each of those nine drugs SEPARATELY were not in high doses, it was the combination of those nine drugs that caused the fatal reaction. Man, I recall having to take maybe at the most, 4 drugs, and it was awful. The effects, etc. were enough to make me sick.

It was mentioned again abt why it took 6 weeks for toxicology results. THAT'S HOW LONG IT TAKES for the results.

With her backpain, the depression of losing her son, the possibility of suffering from Post Partum Depression after giving birth, hormones play a major part on the body of a woman after giving birth, it can really play with a woman emotionally and physically. The simple fact she had a c-section is another factor in what she was going through at that time. That pain is just awful. Imagine having just had a c-section and then dealing with your son's untimely death????? I had a c-section and your body is just going through pain. It is awful. I feel bad for what Anna went through. I feel sad that she went through so much and felt the need to turn to medication and abused it.

At least two doctors need to be held accountable here.

Didn't get further medical treatment because the media would have hounded her. ohno: That's a sad state, folks. The media is so annoying sometimes.

Didn't get further medical treatment because the media would have hounded her. ohno: That's a sad state, folks. The media is so annoying sometimes.
She's dead and they are hounding her. :(

I stated the other day that I figured the reason they didn't go to the hospital was because of the fear of negative publicity. The raging infection she had was caused by an injection in her rear. I can just see the headlines on that. Still, if it was my loved one, I definitely would have called 911. Even if Anna got mad, even with the bad publicity. Anna would be alive today if someone did the right thing. I blame Stern, her so-called husband.

Anna Nicole herself promoted the comparison of herself and Marilyn Monroe, even dressing up as her (below). They were unlike more than they were alike, but there are comparisons that cannot be denied. Beautiful, larger than life, troubled blonde bombshells who died of an overdose. People compared Marilyn to Jayne Mansfield too. I don't see the big deal. Anna didn't have the acting ability of Marilyn, but there are similarities in their tragic lives.

http://msnbcmedia1.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Slideshows/_production/ss_070208_annanicole/ss_070223_annanicole_tease.vsmall.jpg (javascript:SSOpen('17050822','0');)
Marilyn was intelligent and Anna Nicole um...wasnt. We've all seen the Anna Nicole show. Anyone can promote themselves as someone and make comparisons to someone else, that doesn't mean they are just alike. Marilyn had affairs with famous playrights and Presidents, and she truly loved them by all accounts. One of Marilyn's favorite things to do was read, and she had hundreds of classic and modern literature that she had read before her death. She was very passionate about politics and loved political books, infact, she was so into it that the FBI viewed her as a security threat, and even challenged JFK on the morality of nuclear testing. She studied under famous acting teacher Lee Strasberg to try and better her acting because she wanted to be taken as a serious actress, and received awards such as the BAFTA and Golden Globe. Also, which is a comparison the media makes between the two, she did not pose for Playboy; Hugh Hefner bought photos of her she had taken before she was famous and put them in Playboy; I'm sure she did not mind because she believed expression of sexuality was a good thing, but she did not actually pose for the magazine. Honestly, the only thing that is similar between the two is that they were blonde and died tragically and young. I believe Marilyn would not like the comparison between her and Anna Nicole either, it's almost insulting to her memory. We don't even know 100% for sure if they died the same way (overdose). I know this was long, but I'm just saying the media should look at them as individuals and not judge them as being similar because they were blonde and looked somewhat alike. Sadly the media only saw Marilyn as being a dumb blonde because the media doesn't want to portray a blonde, beautiful and glamorous female as possibly being intelligent also :(. Im done. yay.

^ There are many things about Marilyn and Anna that are not alike, but there are many similarities. A blind man can see that. They had an FBI file on Marilyn because she was doing the Kennedy brothers. I don't like to talk bad of the dead, but Marilyn was no paragon of virtue, and neither was Anna. They both died of the same drug too, chloral hydrate. That's an amazing coincidence to me. I can see that the comparisons between the women bother you, but the comparisons are made because they're true.

I'm wondering how Anna got all these medications. Perhaps she was working a few different doctors because no reputable doctor would prescribe all those drugs.
During his press conference, the medical examiner said she did get her medications from several different doctors.

^ There are many things about Marilyn and Anna that are not alike, but there are many similarities. A blind man can see that. They had an FBI file on Marilyn because she was doing the Kennedy brothers. I don't like to talk bad off the dead, but Marilyn was no paragon of virtue, and neither was Anna. They both died of the same drug too, chloral hydrate. That's an amazing coincidence to me. I can see that the comparisons between the women bother you, but the comparisons are made because they're true.
It wasn't just because she was doing the Kennedy brothers, though that was a part of it, they had talked about secrets with her and discussed important security policy, which is something that could not get out. Like I said, their possibly dying of similar causes and being blonde with tragedy in their lives does not make for all the comparisons the media tries to make of them. At least the men Marilyn chose to be with were men that shaped politics/culture/art...

You're right, one of her husbands was the famous playwright Arthur Miller (The Crucible, Death of A Salesman). I think it's great that MM loved to learn, read and kept on top of current events.

It wasn't just because she was doing the Kennedy brothers, though that was a part of it, they had talked about secrets with her and discussed important security policy, which is something that could not get out. Like I said, their possibly dying of similar causes and being blonde with tragedy in their lives does not make for all the comparisons the media tries to make of them. At least the men Marilyn chose to be with were men that shaped politics/culture/art...
They both did basically die of the same cause. It's listed on their death certificates, and that's good enough for me. I don't see how the men they slept with has anything to do with the comparisons. We're talking about them, not their bed partners. Marilyn was tossed around like a football in the political field...not exactly something to be proud of. I highly doubt the pillow talk was national security, lol.

Like I stated before, both beautiful blonde bombshells, ample bosoms, tragic lives, drug dependant, drug overdose, etc, etc, etc. That's what people see.

Marilyn was no doubt more talented than Anna and probably smarter, but sorry, Marilyn was no rocket scientist....and Anna wasn't dumb either. She was a lot smarter than people give her credit for. Like Marilyn, it was hard to determine if they were smart because they were bombed out most of the time.

I think it's great that MM loved to learn, read and kept on top of current events.
She was on top of them alright. :lol:

I'm wondering how Anna got all these medications. Perhaps she was working a few different doctors because no reputable doctor would prescribe all those drugs.



Her doctor was on ET and she was saying that she knew that Anna was over using the medication that she gave her. And Mary Hart asked her if she was scared that she was going to lose her medical license and the doctor said no because the public is just trying to find someone to blame for Anna's death.

Her doctor was on ET and she was saying that she knew that Anna was over using the medication that she gave her. And Mary Hart asked her if she was scared that she was going to lose her medical license and the doctor said no because the public is just trying to find someone to blame for Anna's death.
Many doctors have lost their licenses because of patient deaths or even overdoses when the person survived. I don't think it's a matter of trying to blame someone for Anna's death. It's more a question of the doctor knowingly and improperly prescribing medication to a person who is abusing them. That can cost a doctor their license. I think that doctor was crazy to make that statement on tv, lol.

Ok, I guess nobody wants to answer this new person's question. Thanks anyway. Sorry for bothering you.

Ok, I guess nobody wants to answer this new person's question. Thanks anyway. Sorry for bothering you.


You can just make a thread introducing yourself.

Thanks!

Thanks!

Your Welcome

They both did basically die of the same cause. It's listed on their death certificates, and that's good enough for me. I don't see how the men they slept with has anything to do with the comparisons. We're talking about them, not their bed partners. Marilyn was tossed around like a football in the political field...not exactly something to be proud of. I highly doubt the pillow talk was national security, lol.

Like I stated before, both beautiful blonde bombshells, ample bosoms, tragic lives, drug dependant, drug overdose, etc, etc, etc. That's what people see.

Marilyn was no doubt more talented than Anna and probably smarter, but sorry, Marilyn was no rocket scientist....and Anna wasn't dumb either. She was a lot smarter than people give her credit for. Like Marilyn, it was hard to determine if they were smart because they were bombed out most of the time.
Well if we're talking about them and their lives, the men they were with is a part of them. The national security discussions were not just pillow talk, they were actually discussed. Is RFK screaming out stuff on nuclear testing during sex? no, I doubt it. A person who loves and enjoys reading, politics, supports social change, studies under famous acting coaches in order to better her mind, and was extremely progressive thinking before her time definitely makes that person different from a person who can barely speak. I wouldn't want to be compared to Anna just because we both were blonde and had bad things happen in our life if I'm nothing like her. Unfortunately looks is all people see when they see a beautiful blonde female; I wish sometimes people and the media did not stereotype all blondes as ditzes and whores with no mind to make up on our own...Marilyn obviously cared about her image, like everyone should, but she also wanted people to judge her for more than just looks, and all the comparisons I see are based on looks...and they may have died the same, there are always new things coming out about Marilyn's death, that it was not suicidal, but yeah...

She was on top of them alright. :lol:
OUCH, Janice!! :lol: I honestly didn't mean it that way. :lol:

OUCH, Janice!! :lol: I honestly didn't mean it that way. :lol:
I know. I just couldn't resist. :lol:

The blame for her death rests squarely on her and her enablers. The inquest for Daniel's death has started or is getting ready to start. It's going to be interesting to find out where he got his hands on that Methadone. All together now. Howard K. Stern.

The blame for her death rests squarely on her and her enablers. The inquest for Daniel's death has started or is getting ready to start. It's going to be interesting to find out where he got his hands on that Methadone. All together now. Howard K. Stern.


He probably got it from his mom stash.

The blame for her death rests squarely on her and her enablers. The inquest for Daniel's death has started or is getting ready to start. It's going to be interesting to find out where he got his hands on that Methadone. All together now. Howard K. Stern.
It sure does. I stated that before. Anna did what Anna wanted and those around her are enablers. Anyone who is addicted to drugs and/or alcohol and has family or friends who help them get drugs, take them to get drugs, give them a drink, have a "bad crowd" around them, is an enabler.

Which is why I compare Anna to Elvis, rather than Marilyn Monroe. Elvis did what Elvis wanted. If he ordered someone to do something, they did it, no questions asked. Anna was not dumb, she may have given that impression, she may not have been a Harvard graduate, but she knew that publicity was good publicity no matter the circumstances. She knew what she was doing by marrying a billionaire. She did great in her career before drugs became an issue.