Anna Nicole Smith's mother to struggle for justice

A Nassau court gathered potential jury members to hear the case of 20-year-old Daniel Smith's death. His grandmother, Anna Nicole Smith's mother, hopes an inquest into the death of her grandson will lead to justice.

Photo: Anna Nicole Smith's mother to struggle for justice

Virgie Arthur, who flew to the Bahamas for the long-delayed proceedings, has suggested foul play contributed to Daniel Smith's death last year from a combination of drugs, including methadone and antidepressants.

"I hope this starts the process of justice," Arthur told reporters as she entered the courthouse.

The Bahamian Coroner's Court needs a seven-member jury to explore whether the death of the former Playboy playmate's son was accidental, suicide or perhaps even a homicide. More than a dozen potential jurors arrived Tuesday, but it was unclear when jury selection might begin.

Authorities did not allow journalists into the courtroom, citing a lack of space in the same room that accommodated much larger groups of reporters during earlier sessions.

Daniel Smith died Sept. 10, 2006, as he visited his mother three days after she gave birth in a Nassau hospital to her daughter, Dannielynn.

Anna Nicole Smith died in Florida on Feb. 8 at age 39 from an accidental overdose of prescription drugs, including the painkiller methadone and a powerful sleep aid.

In February, Arthur claimed in a television interview that Smith's boyfriend-turned-attorney Howard K. Stern played a role in both deaths, but she did not provide evidence.

Stern has feuded with Arthur over issues including the grandmother's access to Dannielynn and the burial location for Anna Nicole Smith. As the executor of the late reality TV star's will, he filed papers last month to make Dannielynn the sole beneficiary of Smith's estate, which stands to inherit millions from the oil fortune of her late husband J. Howard Marshall II.

The inquest had been delayed by a challenge from Stern's legal team, which wants jurors to take a questionnaire to test for possible bias. Stern did not attend the session Tuesday.

An attorney for Arthur, Neil McCabe, said he hopes the probe will clarify whether anyone bears responsibility for Daniel's death.

"We have our own ideas and our own suspicions. We just hope the inquest will get to the bottom of this," McCabe said.

Stern, who came to the Bahamas with Smith last year, has been living in the waterfront home they shared and initially claimed he was the father of her infant daughter. He gave up custody last spring after DNA tests proved Smith's ex-boyfriend Larry Birkhead is the father.