Anna Nicole Smith, 39, Dead After Collapsing in Hotel

Click here for the latest updates on Anna Nicole Smith's sudden death. After collapsing in her room at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino & Hotel, where she was wrapping up a weeklong vacation, Anna Nicole Smith, 39, was rushed to the hospital on Thursday afternoon, then declared dead at 2:49 pm/ET. "It's as shocking to me as to you guys," Smith's attorney, Ronald Rale, told Reuters. "[Her lawyer and companion] Howard [K. Stern], obviously, is speechless and grieving." On Friday, an autopsy will be performed by the chief Broward County medical examiner, who told the AP that if Smith's death was from natural causes, the findings would likely be announced quickly. He cautioned, however, that definitive results could take weeks. Dr. Cyril Wecht, the toxicologist who performed the autopsy on Smith's son, Daniel (who died last September), gave MSNBC several possibilities for her death, including viral pneumonia, drug-related causes or a genetic heart defect, which also played a factor in Daniel's death. "Drugs could be involved," he offered. "They may not be the total answer, but coupled with a genetic predisposition, methadone" - which was involved, coupled with antidepressants, in Daniel's death, and some say Anna Nicole was "on" during her pregnancy - "is known to produce that kind of a problem in which the heart begins to beat irregularly." Earlier this week, Smith was ordered by a judge to submit her daughter, Dannielynn Hope, for DNA tesing, to resolve a paternity suit pitting Stern (listed on the birth certificate as the father) against photographer Larry Birkhead, whose lawyer has asked that Smith's corpse be swabbed for DNA. Per People, Rale calls the request "the lowest form of behavior I've ever heard of." Tune in to the The TV Guide Channel beginning at 6 pm/ET, Friday, Feb. 9, for live coverage and updates on this developing story. Then watch a TV Guide special, Anna Nicole: An Unfinished Life , debuting Saturday, Feb. 10, 3 pm/ET, which retraces Smith's life and career, from her emergence as a top model to her courtroom battles to her reality TV comeback. Also examined: her tragic last months, her unresolved lawsuits, and her final legacy. Encores will air throughout the weekend. Check local listings.