EXCLUSIVE: How Tragic Anna Nicole Smith 'Couldn't Handle the Pain' of Son's Drug Overdose Death — Five Months Before Her Passing
Smith was still reeling from the tragic drug overdose death of her 20-year-old son, Daniel, just five months earlier.
March 18 2025, Published 7:00 p.m. ET
Anna Nicole Smith "couldn't handle the pain" of her son Daniel's drug overdose death – which occurred just months before her passing.
RadarOnline.com can reveal just three days after giving birth to her daughter, Dannielynn, now 16, the Texas native's son died at just 20 years old of a drug overdose after visiting his mom and new baby sister at a Bahamas hospital.
Medical examiner Joshua Perper said Smith got doctors and that it was unclear if each knew what the others were prescribing.
Only months before Smith's death, the model was living a mother's worst nightmare.
An insider said: "Daniel was her life and soul. When he died, a part of Anna Nicole died with him."
Heartbroken by the loss of her son Daniel, Smith said in a statement on her official website after his death: "Anna Nicole is absolutely devastated by the loss of her son. He was her pride and joy and an amazing human being."
The 20-year-old was buried 39 days after his death, and in a statement following the private ceremony, Howard K. Stern, the model’s lawyer, said at the time: "Anna Nicole Smith laid her son to rest today. It was the most difficult day of her entire life."
Anna Nicole Smith took flu medication and copious amounts of chloral hydrate the night of her death.
Back in 2006, ABC News reported a private autopsy conducted on Smith’s son revealed details about his tragic death.
The 20-year-old's cause of death was an accidental overdose caused by a combination of methadone and two antidepressant drugs.
At the time, Cyril Wecht, a U.S. pathologist who conducted a private autopsy, said Smith's son had methadone, Zoloft and Lexapro in his system, which produced a lethal "cumulative effect on the central nervous system."
He told The Associated Press: "The fact that we have these drugs and the levels of the drugs overwhelmingly and most logically point to this being a tragic, accidental, drug-related death."
Wecht added: “The fact that we have these drugs and the levels of the drugs overwhelmingly and most logically point to this being a tragic, accidental, drug-related death. No one has suggested anything having to do with drug addiction in this boy [Daniel Wayne Smith].”
Smith faced extreme heartache following her son's death, and only months after – she died from the same cause.
At just 39, the iconic model passed away from a drug overdose in a Florida hotel room in February 2007, and according to sources, the overconsumption was tied to her desperate search to improve sleep.
The autopsy on Smith's body noted bruises and injuries, breast-enhancement scars, and tattoos.
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According to coroner Dr. Joshua Perper, Smith consumed large quantities of the prescription sleep aid chloral hydrate, and when combined with a cocktail of other medications and a severe infection – which led to her death.
The morning after arriving at the Florida hotel, Smith took an ice bath after suffering from a dangerously high fever and flu-like symptoms.
Instead of seeking medical attention, the model took Tamiflu, the powerful antibiotic ciprofloxacin, and copious amounts of chloral hydrate before going to sleep.
Hours later, a private nurse discovered Smith unresponsive in bed, and she instructed hotel security to call paramedics for help.
Smith was taken to Memorial Regional Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
