Plenty of mystery surrounds the sudden death of Anna Nicole Smith, and it looks like we'll have to wait a little longer for definitive answers."Well, Dr. Quincy! What have you found?"
"So far, I'm pretty sure that she's dead."
"And?"
"That's it. And I'm not 100 percent positive of that."
The coroner in Florida's Broward County Medical Office took the first step toward determining the cause of Smith's death Friday morning, performing an autopsy to figure out what caused the former model and reality star to collapse in her hotel room leading her to be pronounced dead on arrival at a nearby hospital.
Chief medical examiner Dr. Joshua Perper said his initial probe was unable to pinpoint either a cause or manner of death. Perper began his examination of Smith's body at 9 a.m. local time in Fort Lauderdale. He announced during a press conference that the autopsy revelated only "subtle findings" in her heart and gastrointestinal system and that the investigation into her "sudden, unexpected and unexplained" death would take between three and five more weeks to be concluded.
The coroner said he found traces of blood in the 39-year-old's stomach, and a further microscopic examination would be required. He also said that there was "minor trauma" on Smith's back, but he explained that the bruising was the result of Smith tumbling in her hotel bathroom several days before her death.
Officials also ruled out several theories floated to explain Smith's demise.
"Yasss. We'll have to wait for the final autopsy results, but so far we're ruling out explosives and dengue fever."
"Chief?"
"Yes, Sam?"
"Dr. Quincy says not to rule out dengue fever."
Seminole Police Chief Charlie Tiger said that there was no evidence of crime and, despite numerous reports to the contrary, no illegal drugs were found in her room at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. Tiger said that prescription medications were found, but he declined to reveal what the meds were for or whose name was listed on the bottles. CNN reported earlier Friday that Smith was taking medicine to treat flu-like symptoms and that the prescriptions were under the name of her companion, Howard K. Stern.