Inquest Into Death Of Anna Nicole Smith’s Son Continues In Bahamas

An inquest into the death of Anna Nicole Smith’s 20-year-old son continued on Wednesday with South Carolina developer G. Ben Thompson testifying.

Thompson, one of her ex-boyfriends, was involved in an ownership dispute over the house in the Bahamas where the reality TV star lived with attorney-turned-boyfriend Howard K. Stern before she died last year from an overdose of prescription drugs.

So far, about 32 witnesses have testified before a seven-member jury, which will formally determine what killed Daniel Smith. The jury can recommend criminal charges if it finds evidence of wrongdoing.

Police have said there is no evidence of homicide in Daniel Smith’s death, and an autopsy found the likely cause was a combination of drugs, including methadone and antidepressants.

Hearings resumed this week after a postponement last month to gain the participation of more witnesses, including Birkhead.
While on the stand, Thompson said Wednesday that Smith’s attorney-turned-boyfriend Howard K. Stern took several photographs of the collapsed body of her late 20-year-old son for profit.
Thompson testified that Stern took about four pictures of Daniel Smith’s body after he died Sept. 10, 2006, while visiting his celebrity mother three days after she gave birth to her daughter in a Bahamian hospital.
Stern said the photographs “might be worth some money one day,” according to Thompson.
“I was totally shocked he was taking pictures of a dead child laying in that bed,” Thompson testified at the inquest while being questioned by an attorney for Anna Nicole’s long-estranged mother, Virgie Arthur.
Stern’s attorney Shaka Serville said Thompson first made the allegations in October 2007 while appearing on a TV show hosted by Geraldo Rivera. Serville accused him of fabricating the statement about Stern as retaliation over the dispute for the $900,000 estate.
Thompson, who briefly dated Anna Nicole, says he advanced her money for the Nassau mansion but she did not honor an agreement to repay the debt. Anna Nicole, who lived there with Stern in the months before her death, claimed the house was a gift.
Serville said that Stern, who is the executor of Anna Nicole’s estate, took the photographs of the young man’s body to prove to her that Daniel was indeed dead. Witnesses have said she was highly distraught after his collapse.
The developer’s son, Gayther Thompson, also testified Wednesday. He alleged that Stern appeared to dispose of two white pills that he had found in Daniel’s clothes after his collapse in the hospital room.
Testimony in the inquest is adjourned until March 17, while court officials seek testimony from witnesses including Anna Nicole’s ex-boyfriend Larry Birkhead, the father of the late Playboy Playmate’s 1-year-old daughter.
Birkhead may appear at court sessions in March, said Neil Braithwaite, senior counsel in the attorney general’s office.

Illness has kept Birkhead from traveling to the Bahamas, a government lawyer said Wednesday.