Anna Nicole Smith's adult son dies

NASSAU, Bahamas - Anna Nicole Smith's 20-year-old son died suddenly at her bedside in a Bahamian hospital where the former Playboy Playmate was recovering from the birth of a daughter, police said today.

Daniel Smith was found sitting upright in a chair in his mother's room at the private Doctors Hospital in the Bahamian capital of Nassau early on Sunday and could not be revived, police said. There were no signs of trauma on his body and no sign of a struggle in the room, police said.

Daniel had flown to Nassau on Saturday to see his 38-year-old mother, who had checked into the hospital under an assumed name and delivered a healthy baby girl by Caesarean section on Thursday.

An autopsy was being performed at nearby Prince Margaret Hospital, according to assistant police commissioner Reginald Ferguson. He said police had not ruled out any cause of death and were still awaiting the pathologist's report.

"It would not be wise for police to try and come to a conclusion before we have a proper investigation," Ferguson said.

Smith's lawyer, Howard K. Stern, said he did not believe drugs or alcohol were a factor.

"Anna Nicole is absolutely devastated by the loss of her son. He was her pride and joy and an amazing human being," Stern said in a news release.

Reached by phone, Stern declined to give any details about Daniel's death. Daniel appeared in "The Anna Nicole Show," a reality TV series that aired on the E! cable channel.

The identity of the newborn's father was not disclosed. The baby was in another part of the hospital when Daniel was found dead, investigators said.

Since being named Playboy's Playmate of the Year in 1993, the former Vicki Lynn Hogan from Mexia, Texas, has never been far from the public spotlight. In 1994, she married wheelchair-bound oil tycoon J. Marshall Howard, 89, after meeting him at a strip club.

His death, after 14 months of marriage, triggered a legal battle over his estate between Smith and his son, E. Pierce Marshall. Earlier this year, she won a US Supreme Court decision giving her another chance to collect millions of dollars. Pierce Marshall died in June at age 67.

- REUTERS