Florida Officials Investigate In Nassau:
By Quincy Parker -
Nassau, Bahamas:
While the spectacle surrounding the estate and offspring of the late Anna Nicole Smith continues to linger on the dockets of the Bahamas Supreme Court, the investigation into her sudden death has also moved to Nassau, and continued almost unobserved.
Ms. Smith died after she collapsed alone in a room at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida, on February 9. The cause of her death is unknown.
Seminole Police Chief Charlie Tiger was in Nassau on Monday and Tuesday conducting what a Seminole Police Department spokesperson called "a non-criminal investigation into (Ms. Smith’s) death."
It appears that Chief Tiger was first seen in Nassau on Monday night, in the company of a team from the Broward County Medical Examiner’s office and a Bahamian police officer. His office confirmed that he returned to Florida on Tuesday afternoon.
Bahamas Chief Superintendent Hulan Hanna told the Journal this was in fact the case.
"I can confirm that the police chief from the Seminole County (Tribal) Police Department along with some of his colleagues were here in The Bahamas. They have since left. In fact they left [on Tuesday]. The principal [reason] for them coming was to collaborate with the Bahamian police officers in their attempt and as well as our attempts to complete the investigations into the Anna Nicole Smith affair," Mr. Hanna told the Journal.
The senior police officer remained cryptic as to what precisely the officers were investigating, but said that the investigation was wide-ranging.
"The whole thing had to do generally with everything that related to the unfortunate death of the lady and matters surrounding her stay here in The Bahamas and any lead that they thought that we might have been able to help them complete; that is why they came," he added.
"We looked at everything. Everything was on the table, but again, because of certain sensitive aspects of the investigation we would be less than prudent to comment publicly."
Asked specifically about the allegations that Ms. Smith’s California doctor had mailed her methadone, Mr. Hanna confirmed that it is illegal to either import or export that particular drug into or out of The Bahamas.
"Anyone who seeks to send them to this country or to export them from this country has committed a criminal offence, but again, these matters have to be properly and thoroughly investigated," he said.
"Let me say that everything that has come to our attention, that we have concluded is worthy of our investigation, we have looked at everything and we continue to look at everything.
"And so, [as far as] the collaboration, they needed our assistance, and where we needed their assistance we have sought their help and we have been getting that from them."
And officials from the Broward County Medical Examiner’s office – sources say "a doctor associate and an investigator" – were in The Bahamas on Monday to continue their investigation into Ms. Smith’s death. They also apparently left the country Tuesday afternoon.
The Journal understands that the Broward County Medical Examiner’s officials spoke with doctors at Doctors Hospital, where Ms. Smith gave birth to her daughter Dannielynn Hope on September 7, and where her son Daniel died suddenly a few days later while visiting.
It was Daniel Smith’s bizarre sudden death that kicked off the media frenzy that has enveloped Ms. Smith and her estate here in The Bahamas, with suspicions of foul play allayed by assertions from celebrity pathologist Dr. Cyril Wecht.
Dr. Wecht asserted that in his opinion, Daniel Smith’s death was a tragic accident, and in no way did the evidence suggest a homicide or any other foul play.
One insider said the Broward County Medical Examiner’s representatives requested documents from Doctors Hospital as part of their "continuing due diligence," and that the documents were supplied as requested.
A coroner’s inquest into Daniel Smith’s death, which is set for March 27, is expected to go forward as planned.
28/2/07
