Daniel Smith Remembered
While an investigation into the sudden death of Daniel Smith continues, a group of the young man's family and friends gathered in his Texas hometown this weekend for a memorial service.
Missing from the service, however, were both Daniel's body and Anna Nicole Smith, both still in the Bahamas.
That didn't stop nearly 50 mourners, including Daniel's father, Billy Smith, from turning out Saturday at hourlong service at the First Baptist Church in the town of Mexia, according to the Waco Tribune-Herald.
Many of the mourners in attendance hadn't seen or spoken to Daniel or Anna Nicole in years, but, the Tribune-Herald reports that cousins and friends of the 20-year-old "Danny" remembered him as a boy who enjoyed catching frogs and playing with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles toys and, upon moving with his mother to Los Angeles, a boy who seemed like the perfect son.
"Daniel was sweet, sensitive, respectful," Jackie Hatten, a woman who claimed to be one of Anna Nicole's best friends, said of Daniel during the service, according to the Tribune-Herald. "He never cursed, never wanted to drink, never wanted to do drugs. He never even smoked a cigarette.
"He was just a joyful kid. It's amazing, they say the good die young...It's so sad."
In keeping with a young Daniel's tastes, full-size cutouts of the four Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles lined the front of the church and a relative opened the service by singing a song she wrote for Daniel upon learning of his death.
According to the Tribune-Herald, Daniel's great-grandfather, Gus Moser, delivered the eulogy, admitting that he never really got the chance to get to know the boy, but nonetheless spoke about salvation and their reunion one day.
Billy Smith did not speak at the service. The Herald-Tribune described him as being surrounded by family and "grief-stricken."
After the service, he spoke to reporters outside his home, saying he hadn't seen his son since the boy was two years old and that he learned about Daniel's death "when my brother read it on the computer."
"He was a good baby, well-loved," Billy Smith said, adding that he bore "no hard feelings" against his ex-wife.
Billy Smith married Anna Nicole in 1985, when he was just 16 and she was 17. Daniel was born a year later, in 1986, and the duo divorced the following year.
On Sept. 10, Daniel was found dead in his mother's hotel room in Nassau, just three days after she had given birth to a daughter, Dannielynn Hope. The death was deemed "suspicious" and "unnatural" by the local coroner.
Dr. Cyril Wecht, a private pathologist hired by Anna Nicole to determine the cause of her son's death, announced late last month that the boy died of a lethal combination of methadone and the antidepressants Zoloft and Lexapro.
The announcement was quickly trumped when her lawyer and E! reality show sidekick Howard K. Stern's proclaimed that he was the father of Smith's newborn daughter, which has since been challenged by photographer Larry Birkhead, who has requested that Smith and her daughter submit to paternity testing. Stern and Smith later held a commitment ceremony, which they suggest is a dry run for an upcoming marriage.
Smith had begun preparing to have Daniel's body sent to California for a funeral, but those plans have been put on hold and her reps have suggested that the boy may instead be interred in the Bahamas. Anna Nicole became a resident there shortly before the birth of Dannielynn Hope.
Meanwhile, Hatten told the Waco Tribune-Herald she's planning on flying down to the Bahamas to be with her friend next week.
"From what I understand, her state is not good," she said. "I know how I feel, so I can only imagine how she feels. That's her pride and joy, he meant everything to her."
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