Finally we can all rest, it has been determined that Anna Nicole Smith died of an accidental drug overdose with traces of nine prescription drugs in her blood, including anti-depressants and sedatives, Florida officials said on Monday.
"We found nothing to indicate any foul play," said Seminole Police Chief Charlie Tiger.
The death of the billionaire's widow at a Florida casino-hotel on February 8 triggered a media frenzy and bitter legal feud over her remains and the custody of her 6-month-old daughter, Dannielynn, who could one day inherit millions.
There was no evidence of illegal drugs in her body, said Broward County Medical Examiner Joshua Perper, who gave a detailed account of the events leading up to her death that included her temperature at various times and the medication she took.
Perper said Smith suffered severe depression after the death of her 20-year-old son, Daniel, who died of a drug overdose in the Bahamas hospital after Dannielynn was born.
Nine prescription drugs including anti-depressants, anti-anxiety drugs and the sedative chloral hydrate were found in Anna Nicole's blood, Perper said.
"We are convinced, based on an extensive view of the evidence, that this case is an accidental overdose with no other criminal elements present," said Tiger said.
On the day of her arrival in Florida on February 5, she complained of chills and was later found to be running a fever at 105 degrees Fahrenheit (40.5 Celsius) caused by the perforation in an abscess in her left buttock, he said.
"It is our determination that the cause of death is combined drug toxicity as a result of chloral hydrate and a therapeutic concentration of other medications," said Perper.
"A bacterial infection, a viral intestinal infection and possibly flu were contributory causes of death .... We did not find any evidence of homicide," he said.
Smith, a voluptuous platinum blonde who idolized screen legend Marilyn Monroe, gained fame as Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Year in 1993 and as a model for Guess? jeans.
She was buried in the Bahamas on March 2 after a colorful funeral whose guests included her longtime companion and lawyer Howard K. Stern, who is listed as Dannielynn's father, and Los Angeles photographer Larry Birkhead, who also claims paternity.
At least one other man also claimed to be the father of Dannielynn. The results of a DNA swab of the child have been placed under seal by a judge in the Bahamas, pending an appeal against the DNA test by Stern.
In 1994, she married oil billionaire J. Howard Marshall, when she was 26 and he was 89. Marshall, who was worth $1.6 billion, died 14 months later and Smith spent much of the following decade battling his family over the estate. Marshall's family called her a gold digger.
