ANNA NICOLE SMITH - STERN FEARED SMITH'S SON HAD BEEN POISONED

ANNA NICOLE SMITH's lawyer/companion HOWARD K. STERN was so convinced the death of the tragic actress' son was not drug related, he insisted police check the 20-year-old's food for poison. Speaking in a Bahamas court on Tuesday (18Mar08) - at the ongoing inquest into Daniel Smith's death - an emotional Stern recalled his final conversation with his girlfriend's son hours before he died in September, 2006. And he admitted he was so stunned by the youngster's death, he offered a number of non-drug-related reasons for the tragedy. Stern told the court he's still struggling to come to terms that Smith died from a drug overdose. Stern told the court he gave the police Daniel's food because he thought he might have been poisoned, adding, "I would never, never believe that it had anything to do with drugs. He wasn't that kind of kid."