NASSAU, Bahamas — A coroner's inquest into the death of Anna Nicole Smith's son was delayed Tuesday after lawyers made a last-minute request for more time to discuss issues related to jury selection.

A Bahamian prosecutor told reporters that the hearing to determine if anyone was criminally responsible for the death of Daniel Wayne Smith would be closed to the public until Thursday while attorneys met behind closed doors.

"I cannot speak about what took place in the absence of the jury or the press," said Bernard Turner, director of public prosecution for the attorney general of the Bahamas. "The matter will not likely be resumed before Thursday."

On Tuesday morning, lawyers, potential jurors, witnesses and the media assembled before Bahamian Chief Magistrate Roger Gomez in a modest, white-walled courtroom to hear testimony surrounding the circumstances of Daniel Smith's death on Sept. 10, 2006.

Smith, 20, died unexpectedly in a Bahamas hospital while visiting his mother and newborn sister. The results of the official government autopsy are expected to be revealed during the inquest, but a private autopsy concluded that Daniel Smith died from a combination of antidepressants and m ethadone.

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Anna Nicole Smith's former boyfriend, Larry Birkhead, also made a brief appearance at the Coroner's Court in downtown Nassau, expecting to testify.

"This is a big puzzle, and we've got to put together all the pieces," said Birkhead, who is involved in a separate proceeding to obtain custody of Smith's newborn daughter, Dannielynn. "Maybe one little clue I say might help out."

Instead, Birkhead and other witnesses were sent away so that lawyers could meet behind closed doors to discuss jury selection. In a surprise request, a lawyer for Howard K. Stern, Smith's companion, asked to modify the way jurors were selected for the inquest.

The seven jurors in a coroner's inquest are typically chosen at random from voter's registration records. Their task is to recommend charges if a death is deemed "suspicious" by the attorney general's office.

In addressing matters related to jury selection, Stern's attorney, Wayne Munroe, cited case law from the inquest into Princess Diana's death, in which a judge was originally chosen to preside over the proceedings. That decision, however, has been appealed to the British High Court.