A private medical examiner who performed an autopsy on Anna Nicole Smith’s son in the Bahamas said that she hasn’t paid him, but he didn’t anticipate having to file any legal action to get the compensation.
Cyril Wecht said he had been in contact with various Bahamian attorneys representing both Anna Nicole Smith and her companion, Howard K. Stern.
“I do expect it to be resolved in short order. This is not going to be something we’re dealing with years down the road,” he told The Associated Press by telephone on Saturday.
Daniel Smith, 20, died while visiting his mother in a Nassau hospital after the 38-year-old former Playboy Playmate gave birth to a girl. Wecht said he died from a combination of methadone and antidepressants. Results of an official autopsy and a police investigation have not been released.
Wecht said he submitted invoices for payment shortly after he performed the autopsy on Sept. 17. Since then, he said he has been discussing the issue with Anna Nicole’s former attorneys and her current lawyers.
Wecht, a forensic pathologist from Pittsburgh who gained fame as a consultant on celebrity cases including Elvis Presley’s death, declined to say how much he had charged or to elaborate on his talks with the lawyers.