Did Anna Nicole Smith Choke to Death on Her Own Vomit?

Hollywood, Florida (AC) - - New reports are coming in that the person who found Anna Nicole Smith unconscious is stating that she had her head covered and when her head was uncovered it looked as though she had choked on her own vomit. A witness that was with her before her death stated that Anna Nicole Smith had been taking a "children's sedative" and kept passing out before her death.

As for what will happen to her daughter Danielynn, there is a mere 48-hour window for the DNA to be collected and released by the courts, in order to prove the baby is hers. The paternity suit is going to get really complicated if they are not able to retrieve this DNA in time.

An emergency hearing on DNA in a paternity dispute is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Friday

Right now Stern claims he is the father's baby and signed the birth certificate and Birkhead is merely claiming to be the father. So at this time there is no legal father and the baby is basically being considered an orphan. That leaves Smith's mother as the only person who has legal rights to the baby until the court goes through the proceedings and it is being reported that the Department Of Child Protection in the Bahamas has given her the go ahead to come and retrieve the baby.

It is being reported that the baby is with a family friend in the Bahamas at this time as Smith and Stern had traveled to Florida to look into purchasing a boat for her temporary home in the Bahamas.

Early this afternoon, former model and Reality TV star Anna Nicole Smith was found unconscious in her South Florida Seminole Hard Rock Hotel And Casino hotel room early this afternoon.

Her private nurse who was staying in her room with her at the time found Smith unresponsive. The identity of the nurse and how long she was unconscious before she was found is not being disclosed at this time. It is being reported that Smith had developed a fever last night.

The Police Chief reports that her nurse found Smith in this condition at 1:38, that a bodyguard started performing CPR at 1:45 and that she was pronounced dead at the hospital at 2:49 p.m. EST. However the timeline is a little fuzzy with different reports from different sources. It is being reported that her nurse called the hotel operator, who then called in the fire and rescue department.

Hotel officials stated that emergency responders were seen administrating CPR at the scene and a breathing apparatus was inserted in her throat as she was taken from the hotel.

Local police were reportedly forced to shut down the streets in order to rush her to the Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood, which was three miles away from the hotel where she was found.

Witnesses are stating that when she was being wheeled into the hospital, her body was completely covered and they were told she was dead on arrival.

One witness by the name of Carlos Garcia witnessed the ambulance come in to the hospital emergency area and saw an individual in the back of the ambulance being worked on. Garcia then went inside the hospital waiting room and saw on the news that it was Smith. He then went back outside after hearing it was Anna Nicole Smith and watched as they brought her into the hospital and stated that at that time her whole body was covered including her head.

Smith and her husband arrived at the Hard Rock on Monday and planned to check out tomorrow, said Michael Bloom, Hard Rock spokesman. The couple's infant daughter was not with them, Bloom said. It is being reported that their daughter is in the Bahamas.

The lawyer for Larry Birkhead, Smith's ex-boyfriend who is claiming he is the biological father of the baby, has issued a statement that they are filing an emergency order for custody of Smith's daughter. Anna Nicole has always claimed that her boyfriend/husband, Howard K. Stern is the father of her baby. People close to the case that know the timeline of the relationship and her becoming pregnant believe that Birkhead is most likely the biological father.

The couple had a ceremony performed in the Bahamas, where they exchanged vows, but it is not known at this time if the marriage will be considered a legal entity. This could play a big role in who ultimately gets custody of Smith's daughter.

Anna Nicole Smith was born Vickie Lynn Hogan in Houston, Texas, on Nov. 27, 1968. She held many jobs including waitressing.

Smith has been a fixture in the news for her marriage to an elderly tycoon, for her court battles with his children over her late husband's fortune, for her reality TV show and, most recently, for the untimely death of her son and the paternity lawsuit filed by a man claiming to be the father of her baby.

Daniel Wayne Smith, her son, died at age 20, just 3 days after the birth of Smith's daughter. Pathologist Cyril Wecht said a lethal dose of methadone and antidepressants caused cardiac dysrhythmia, leading to his death. Reports are saying that it was believed that Howard Stern was the one that gave Daniel the methadone.

Smith was involved in a paternity suit regarding the parentage of her daughter, Danielynn, as well as other disputes, including some regarding a house she stayed at in the Bahamas around the time she gave birth. Just yesterday a judge ordered Anna Nicole Smith and her daughter to had DNA testing.

An autopsy may be conducted as early as tomorrow, however it is not known at this time how long the laboratory results will take to come in. It may be awhile before the cause of her death is known.

Rumors are flying that it was anywhere from her up and down weight and her latest weight loss from TrimSpa, to suicide from depression and not getting over her late son's death, to an accidental drug overdose.

Sources: CNN, Fox News, Miami Herald