Daniel Wayne Smith Inquest, Dec 10, 2007

By INDERIA SAUNDERS, Guardian Staff Reporter, inderia@nasguard.com

Only one of eight drugs that an examiner found during an autopsy of Daniel Smith's body was actually prescribed for the 20-year-old at the time of his death, pathologist Govinda Raju told jury members yesterday.

Facing a courtroom of onlookers at Monday's resumed inquest into the death of the late Playboy playmate Anna Nicole Smith's son, Raju said it was his belief that the lethal combination of drugs had been consumed anywhere from four to six hours before his death on September 10, 2006.

According to the pathologist, five of the drugs in Smith's system were prescribed medications and three were most likely given to Smith during the medical intervention to resuscitate him. He said the three most lethal drugs - Methadone, Lexapro and Zoloft - were at significantly high levels, even though only Lexapro was prescribed.

Raju further added that as a result, Smith's respiratory system collapsed and he had a cardiac arrest.

"All of these things happened because of the lethal combination of drugs," he stated clearly to the courtroom. And upon hearing these details, Virgie Arthur, Smith's maternal grandmother, started crying quietly to herself.

Additionally, he testified that a number of abrasions and puncture wounds were found on Smith's body on his left shoulder, right upper chest, back and his upper hip areas. But Raju said there were not any signs of violence to Smith's body.

He pointed out that Smith could have received many of the injuries during the medical staff's hasty attempts to revive him from his unconscious state.

Wayne Munroe, the attorney for Anna Nicole's estate, made a point during his cross examination in asking the pathologist whether the drugs were taken simultaneously or were taken over a period of time and left some traces behind. Raju said the only way to answer that would have been to monitor Smith's ability to carry out his daily activities.

Munroe also asked if the other medications found in Smith's system could have been used for his diagnosed depression or constant back pains, which Munroe claimed Smith had complained of a numerous times. To which Raju answered: "Yes."

Carolyn Nairn, a patient in room 202 on the day of Smith's death, testified that she heard a lot of commotion coming from the room next door to her - Anna Nicole's room 201 - and a female crying and screaming, "My baby boy." Smith died while visiting his mother and newborn sister in Doctors Hospital.