Anna Nicole Smith autopsy results Monday
(AP)Updated: 2007-03-26 16:29
Anna Nicole Smith holds a photo of her late husband J. Howard Marshall II, as she testifies during a probate trial in Harris County Probate Court in Houston, in this Jan. 29, 2001. (AP Photo/Carlos Antonio Rios, Pool)
MIAMI - The days that followed Anna Nicole Smith's death were filled with public courtroom drama and private whispers about what might have killed the former Playboy Playmate.
On Monday, authorities were expected to add a dose of reality by releasing the results of Smith's autopsy － weeks after she was found unresponsive in a hotel in Hollywood, Fla., on Feb. 8.
Unknown additional evidence from the Seminole Police Department delayed the autopsy's release. The department is investigating the starlet's death because the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, where she was staying, is located on tribal land.
Broward County Medical Examiner Dr. Joshua Perper － who has said he is unaware of any criminal investigation — has also declined to release the autopsy until he reviewed the evidence. No serious injuries were revealed in his initial examination.
Because Smith's death was so sudden and because her 20-year-old son Daniel died under suspicious circumstances five months earlier, speculation about possible criminal activity surrounding the deaths has been intense.
An inquest into Daniel Smith's death is scheduled to start Tuesday.
Perper's initial tests found no evidence, either in Smith's stomach or her bloodstream, that she had taken large amounts of prescription medication. The medical examiner said prescription drugs, but no illegal drugs, were found in Smith's hotel room. He wouldn't identify the drugs.
The initial examination also found signs of inflammation in Smith's heart. Perper said it was "something which looks a little bit unusual" but also noted "may be nothing."
Smith 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 was found dead.
Smith was a Texan who 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 his estimated $500 million fortune as far as the Supreme Court and the ongoing battle could make her daughter Dannielynn very wealthy. Stern and two other men have claimed they are the baby's father.
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