No Anna Nicole Smith Funeral Before Tuesday
Anna Nicole Smith’s funeral will not take place before Tuesday, the court-appointed attorney for the starlet’s baby daughter said Saturday.
Richard C. Milstein said in a statement he was working as quickly as possible on the funeral details for the former Playboy centerfold, who died in a Florida hotel Feb. 8 at age 39.
Circuit Judge Larry Seidlin ruled Thursday to let Milstein decide where to bury Smith. Milstein agreed with Smith’s longtime companion, Howard K. Stern, to bury her in the Bahamas next to her son.
Smith’s mother, Virgie Arthur, filed an emergency motion Friday asking Seidlin to reconsider his decision. It was not immediately known when Seidlin would rule on the emergency motion.
Arthur, who wants to bury her daughter near her home in Texas, will likely appeal in West Palm Beach if Seidlin refuses her emergency stay.
A medical examiner has yet to determine the cause of Smith’s death.
It also was unclear Saturday when another Florida judge would rule on whether he has jurisdiction in the paternity dispute over 5-month-old Dannielynn. She was born and lives in the Bahamas with Stern. He was Smith’s boyfriend and the father listed on the baby’s birth certificate.
Stern, Los Angeles-based photographer Larry Birkhead and Frederic von Anhalt, the husband of actress Zsa Zsa Gabor, all claim to be the infant’s father.
A private hearing in the Bahamas to determine the girl’s guardianship was expected to resume Monday between Stern and Arthur. The judge in that case has barred Stern from taking the girl out of the Bahamas until a custody ruling.
Debra Opri, Birkhead’s attorney, has said that Arthur and Birkhead were united in their desire to see Smith buried quickly.
