Anna Nicole Smith's Son Daniel Killed by Deadly Cocktail of Psychiatric Drugs.

From this ABC News Report. For more information see also our earlier reports on the psychiatrist of Anna Nicole Smith, Dr. Khristine Eroshevich, who is currently being investigated by authorities for a number of suspicious matters in connection with the death of Anna Nicole Smith.

Testimony this week on the death of Daniel Smith, the 20-year-old son of late Playboy playmate Anna Nicole Smith, suggests that he met his demise in much the same way as his mother — a toxic mix of prescription drugs.

Bahamian doctor Govinda Raju — who performed the official autopsy on Daniel Smith's body after he died Sept. 10, 2006 — testified Monday that a combination of three drugs found in the man's system were the likely cause of death, according to Associated Press reports.

[...] Cyril Wecht, the forensic pathologist hired by the Smith family to perform a second autopsy, says there is little doubt that Daniel Smith's death was due to a combination of three drugs, rather than methadone.

"He had died as a result of three drugs — methadone, along with the antidepressants Lexapro and Zoloft," he said. "I would say that they were all at high therapeutic levels, and none on its own was at a lethal level."

"The three of these together can result in death, unquestionably. It is a classical situation that we see so often known as acute combined drug toxicity."

[...]

Wecht says that the addition of the two antidepressants would have led to a profound sedation — one that would only worsen in the next few hours in which the drugs would take full effect.

"Together, it's a central nervous system depressant," Wecht said. "All three of these drugs act to depress the brain, and by doing so indirectly result in the depression of cardiac and respiratory function."

In the initial stages of drug poisoning, Wecht says, Daniel Smith would first have become somewhat drowsy. This symptom would likely have progressed into a state of stupor, followed by unconsciousness.

The final steps in this deadly cascade are respiratory arrest, cardiac arrest and finally cardiac standstill.