ANNA NICOLE SMITH - 'SIGNIFICANT' EVIDENCE UNCOVERED IN SMITH DEATH PROBE

Police investigating the cause of ANNA NICOLE SMITH's death last month (FEB07) have uncovered "significant" new evidence - causing the coroner to delay releasing his findings. The development comes as Smith's bodyguard MAURICE BRIGHTHAUPT claimed the star's boyfriend and lawyer HOWARD K. STERN was behaving "highly strange" in the hours leading to her death in a Florida hotel room. A police spokesman says, "This is not delayed evidence, this is additional evidence that has come to light during the course of the investigation." Coroner DR JOSHUA PERPER adds, "This was unexpected. But this case has more turns than anything I could have imagined. Smith was found dead in the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel + Casino in Hollywood, Florida on 8 February (07).