Smith with Daniel at age 3 in 1989. Photo by: SPLASH NEWS
What Happened to Daniel?| Anna Nicole Smith
Howard K. Stern, Smith's lawyer and companion, as well as a father figure to Daniel, picked him up and drove him straight to Doctors Hospital. There, in room 201, Daniel fell on his mother and his 2-day-old sister with hugs and "I love yous." For the next few hours, the new family bonded, posing for pictures that show Daniel rocking the baby in his arms. The only interruption came at around 1:15 a.m., when Stern – who had made a food run to a 24-hour mini-mart at a nearby Esso station – returned with chips, soft drinks and chicken strips.

Even after everyone finally went to sleep (the room was furnished with two twin beds and a large armchair), Daniel didn't stop tending to the others, checking on Smith, who was recovering from a c-section, and the baby during the night. At 6:20 a.m. a hospital worker saw Daniel help Smith to the bathroom. He complained to no one in particular that he was tired, reports Alex Goen, CEO of Trimspa, for which Smith is the spokesperson. Finally, at 7:40 a.m., all three adults were seen sleeping.

But that familial peace was shattered at 9:38 a.m., when Smith awoke, prodded her son and discovered he was not breathing. According to Goen, "She screamed, 'Howard, wake up! I don't think Daniel is breathing!' " Stern rushed to Daniel's side, checked his pulse and summoned help. For the next 22 minutes, doctors tried CPR without success. After these attempts stopped, says Michael Scott, Smith's Nassau lawyer, a frantic Smith tried to resume resuscitation efforts – to no avail.