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Nancy Grace
Cover Girl Anna Nicole Smith Dead of Unknown Causes
Aired February 08, 2007 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF CHARLIE TIGER, SEMINOLE POLICE DEPARTMENT: At 2:49 this afternoon, we were advised by hospital personnel that Anna Nicole Smith had died. The cause of death will be determined by the medical examiner, the Broward County medical examiner. And the Seminole police department will continue its investigation into this matter.
The nurse that was in the room at 1:38 called the hospital operator, and within two minutes, the operations personnel within the hotel responded to the room. At 1:45, a bodyguard administered CPR to her.
The nurse is the one who discovered her. I don`t know what condition she was in. At 1:45, all I know is that a bodyguard administered CPR to her. I don`t know of any medical conditions she was having. I don`t know that.
VIRGIE ARTHUR, ANNA NICOLE SMITH`S MOTHER: Vickie Lynn, you know I love you. Always have. And be very careful about who you hang around with because you may be next.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NANCY GRACE, HOST: Breaking news tonight. Anna Nicole Smith dead, age 39. A local hotel says EMTs tried their best to keep the celebrity cover girl alive after she`s found unresponsive in her hotel room. Local streets then closed off to rush Smith to the hospital, with paramedics pumping Smith`s chest throughout the ordeal. This all as legal battle looms against Smith. DNA paternity fight, bankruptcy, eviction, ongoing battle over her late husband`s will -- was it just too much for the superstar? And tonight, lawyers are set to appear in court 0830. An emergency hearing now set down to determine who gets custody of Dannielynn, Anna Nicole Smith`s 5-month-old daughter, and the multi-million-dollar empire that comes with the baby of the late Anna Nicole Smith.
Good evening, everybody. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us tonight. The sudden and unexpected death of cover girl Anna Nicole Smith and the legal battle already brewing over her baby.
Let`s go straight out to Evelyn McDonnel. She is with "The Miami Herald." What`s the latest?
EVELYN MCDONNEL, "MIAMI HERALD": Well, the latest is there`s going to be an autopsy in the morning to determine cause of death. And there`s -- right now, a lot of that is just speculation.
GRACE: To David Caplan joining us, deputy in New York, bureau chief with "Star" magazine. What can you tell us about where Anna Nicole Smith`s body is right now?
DAVID CAPLAN, "STAR" MAGAZINE: Right now, her body`s being transferred to the Broward County morgue, and an autopsy will be scheduled tomorrow.
GRACE: And to you, Jean Casarez. The legal battle is already brewing, Anna Nicole Smith hardly cold yet and already lawyers are calling for hearings for tomorrow morning, 8:30.
JEAN CASAREZ, COURT TV: That`s right. Mr. Birkhead, who says he is the father of the baby, is asking for an emergency order for custody of that child. But Nancy, without a paternity test, how can he believe that he will get custody of the little girl?
GRACE: Take a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIGER: At 2:49 this afternoon, we were advised by hospital personnel that Anna Nicole Smith had died. The cause of death will be determined by the medical examiner, the Broward County medical examiner. And the Seminole police department will continue its investigation into this matter.
The nurse that was in the room at 1:38 called the hospital operator, and within two minutes, the operations personnel within the hotel responded to the room. At 1:45, a bodyguard administered CPR to her.
The nurse is the one who discovered her. I don`t know what condition she was in. At 1:45, all I know is that a bodyguard administered CPR to her. I don`t know of any medical conditions she was having. I don`t know that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Back out to Evelyn McDonnel with "The Miami Herald." What happened today?
MCDONNEL: Well, about 1:38, the -- as you just heard, the nurse called the hotel operator. The Seminole tribe runs the casino there. Their police chief came on the scene. She was taken to Memorial Regional Hospital, pronounced dead at 2:49. She was unconscious and unresponsive when the emergency rescue came to the hotel. She checked in on Monday, apparently.
GRACE: Right. Back out to David Caplan, the New York bureau chief of "Star." What were the circumstances around her being there in Hollywood, Florida? And what have you learned about what went down today?
CAPLAN: I mean, quite simply, Anna Nicole was there with Howard for a vacation. She`d been to this hotel before. The hotel says she was a frequent visitor. They needed a break, sort of R&R. Given their lifestyle, not that shocking.
And the interesting thing today, though, is Howard was a little bit MIA around the time of the death. He was at the hospital, of course. You know, he was very upset when word came about her death. But it`s a little unclear right now where he was when the death happened. And you know, maybe he was out, just outside near the hotel because they were there for a vacation, just the two of them. They had their helpers around, but there was no Dannielynn.
GRACE: Do you have any idea exactly where the baby is?
CAPLAN: Right now, we`re hearing the baby is in the Bahamas.
GRACE: You know, the legal battle is set down now. As you all know, Anna Nicole Smith was set to inherit multi-millions of dollars from her late husband, Howard Marshall. That was still pending litigation. Now all that money, should it go to Anna Nicole Smith`s estate, rests in the form of a 5-month-old baby girl, Dannielynn, Anna Nicole Smith`s little baby girl.
Let`s go straight back to Jean Casarez. We know that the paternity test is pending, but how will they effect that at this juncture?
CASAREZ: That`s right. It`s all in the federal courts in California. Well, if that -- if the money is awarded to Anna Nicole, which would now be awarded to her estate, then her baby girl would get it. But it`s just a baby, and so someone would have to control that money. Most likely, that would be the person who would be the father, determined to be the father.
GRACE: To Mike Brooks, former D.C. cop and former fed with the FBI. It`s our understanding that police are combing through that hotel suite even as we speak. What are they looking for?
MIKE BROOKS, FORMER D.C. POLICE, SERVED ON FBI TERRORISM TASK FORCE: Well, Nancy, I can tell you as a former detective, first thing when you come onto a homicide or a death investigation scene, number one, you look around. You get a size-up. Is there anything, any furniture overturned, any sign of a struggle, anything at all like that?
But the person I`d want to speak to first and foremost would be the one who found her, that nurse. What was the position of the body? How was she dressed? Was there any sign of trauma? Any pills? Anything at all around that looks like, you know, something could have happened in that room?
GRACE: Wa-wa-wa-wa-wait! Mike, don`t just throw it out there, something could have happened in that room. What do you mean by that?
BROOKS: Was there a sign of a struggle? That`s one of the main things. Or were there any drugs, were there any pill bottles lying around, any alcohol, anything at all like that? Then I want to talk to the bodyguard. And then, as an investigator, I`m going to talk to the first responders to see exactly what they did and what kind of medical assistance they gave her. And then I`m going to go ahead -- we`re going to take pictures, photographs, and they`re going to be up there. But as an investigator, you`re going to know kind of right away whether or not this was a possible homicide or not.
GRACE: And let`s unleash the lawyers. Raymond Giudice and Rebecca Rose Woodland joining us tonight. You know, a lot of insurance policies do not allow recovery on suicide or homicide. What about it, Ray?
RAY GIUDICE, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, generally, that`s within the first two years of the policy being issued. I don`t see any evidence that this is a suicide and I don`t see any evidence this is a homicide. I would probably lean towards this being an accidental death of some type of a chemical reaction to either alcohol, prescription medications. My understanding is she was on some pain pills. It seems to be accidental from the evidence we have now.
GRACE: You know, it`s really interesting -- to you, Rebecca Rose Woodland -- that everybody`s so quick to assume that Anna Nicole Smith ODed. Yes, there was a reputation swirling around her that she had used drugs. It`s very ironic that her son, Daniel, died recently from a drug overdose. But why is everyone so willing to accept she died of a drug overdose?
REBECCA ROSE WOODLAND, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I`m not that willing to accept that right away. I think it`s tragic that these deaths came so quickly. And it`s unfortunate. And I`m sure she was very upset over the loss of her child and all the trauma surrounding the new baby and the paternity.
But I think we really have to wait for the investigators, for the homicide detectives to come in, for everyone to come in and investigate. And I think we should also say, Hey, let`s talk to her attorney, who`s also living with her. Let`s get his story. Where was he? He was around when the son passed away in the hotel -- in the hospital room. Now where was he when Anna Nicole Smith passed away? Let`s get some information before we jump to the conclusion that she ODed.
GRACE: OK, wait a minute. Are you trying to implicate her husband, boyfriend, Howard Stern? Is that where you`re headed? Because there`s not one scintilla that a homicide has gone down, one scintilla of evidence.
WOODLAND: No, but I just want to know where he was and what happened, what are the facts leading up to this. Possibly it was a suicide. Possibly it was an overdose. Possibly it was just a medical condition that no one knew about, and she passed away peacefully without any extra drugs in her system. But I think we need to talk to him, too. I think that`s something that`s very important.
GRACE: Well, obviously, the investigation has got to go forward. The autopsy is set for tomorrow morning. And you do bring up a very interesting point. It doesn`t look good for Howard Stern -- not the radio Howard Stern, the lawyer Howard Stern, her long-time companion. He`s been with her for years. They just had a commitment ceremony there in the Bahamas. Don`t know if that`s a legal wedding or not, a legal marriage.
But you`ve got him at the scene when her son, 20-year-old Daniel, died of a drug overdose. You`ve got him in and around the scene when Anna Nicole Smith dies, many people arguing of a drug overdose. He is her constant companion. They just had a quasi-marriage in the Bahamas. He would be set between himself and Dannielynn, the child, to inherit.
Only one problem, Ray Giudice. There`s no evidence of murder.
GIUDICE: Absolutely not, Nancy. That`s interesting coffee table chat, conspiracy conversation, but there`s not one shred of evidence either in relation to the death of the son, Daniel, or to the tragic death of Anna Nicole today. And I on national television would be very reluctant for anybody else or anybody I represented to Start throwing around allegations about this gentleman on TV.
GRACE: Agree. Take a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Even though you`re concerned about the death of Daniel, I can see that you -- what would you say to her tonight if you could speak to her?
ARTHUR: Vickie Lynn, you know I love you. Always have. And be very careful about who you hang around with because you may be next.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Out to Bethany Marshall, psychoanalyst. That exclusive interview that we had here with Anna Nicole`s mom just a few months ago, following the death of the son, the unexpected death of Daniel, was very, very ironic.
BETHANY MARSHALL, PSYCHOANALYST: Well, yes. And I remember that show because not only did the mother seem to be implicating Howard Stern, but she really then -- you asked her about a theory, and it was really that if he`s left alone with this baby, he stands to come into all this money.
But I have to say, I`m one of those people that jumps to the conclusion that it was partially perhaps an accidental overdose. And the reason is, she used a lot of denial. She did not face her problems until they were slapping her in the face. And this is the kind of person that could continue to escalate in their drug using until, all of a sudden, it`s just too late. But also, if someone wanted to kill her, they could have taken advantage of that drug use and administered more drugs than she could have handled.
GRACE: Back out to you, David Caplan. David, I`m confused. I`ve read a lot of conflicting reports. A, why did she have a nurse traveling with her? And B, was the nurse in the room with her when she collapsed, or did she find her already collapsed?
CAPLAN: You`re definitely right. The reports are murky. Well, first of all, I can say -- Why does she have a nurse? It`s a little unclear right now. However, we do know that for the past week, Anna Nicole Smith had flu-like symptoms, and as well as last night, she had a fever. So for her to have a nurse and medical attention at her side is not unusual, given she was feeling very under the weather recently. And so that`s not surprising.
GRACE: It doesn`t even make sense, David. I`m sorry to disagree with you. When most of us have flu-like symptoms, we pop an aspirin and go to work. We don`t fly a nurse across the country first class to hole up in a luxury hotel with us.
CAPLAN: Exactly. It`s very suspect. But that`s the most right now that investigators are sort of linking, why she had a nurse and she wasn`t feeling well. It`s still very sketchy because she didn`t even have her daughter with her, which maybe, you know, having the daughter around her, she would want a nurse. So we`re still looking into seeing why she would need to have...
GRACE: So where was the nurse when Anna Nicole Smith collapsed?
CAPLAN: Right now, the reports we`re hearing is that the nurse entered the room and that`s when she found Anna Nicole Smith.
GRACE: Found her what, collapsing? Already collapsed? Unconscious?
CAPLAN: She was unconscious. She was unresponsive. That`s when the nurse found her.
GRACE: David Caplan, remember, you`re on cross-examination tonight, OK?
CAPLAN: All right.
GRACE: Let`s go out to the lines. Diane in Florida. Hi, Diane.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy Grace. I just want to say thank you for airing this show.
GRACE: Thank you. What`s your question, dear?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, my question is -- two, actually. Will there be a guardian ad litem? And the second question is -- Anna seemed to resist a paternity test. Is it possible that a third individual is Dannielynn`s father?
GRACE: Well, as a matter of fact, I was just discussing that today with Wolf Blitzer and Larry King. Let`s go to you, Jean Casarez. It`s no secret that Anna Nicole Smith, Diane in Florida is correct, has fought tooth and nail to avoid a paternity test. Is there a fear that Dannielynn is neither Howard Stern`s nor photographer Larry Birkhead`s?
CASAREZ: I think there`s a possibility because we just don`t know. Remember, there was a rumor several months ago that the man that owned the mansion in the Bahamas -- that that was actually the father. But then he came forward and said, No, you know, we`ve had a short affair, but I`ve had a vasectomy so I can`t be the father. But we don`t know.
GRACE: Out to the lines. Rebecca in Texas. Hi, Rebecca.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. I understand there`s going to be a custody battle over the baby.
GRACE: Oh, yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What I don`t understand is who`s going to get and receive custody of Anna Nicole`s body and make the funeral arrangements for her?
GRACE: You know, that`s a really good question. Out to you, Evelyn McDonnel with "The Miami Herald." What have we heard regarding a funeral?
MCDONNEL: That`s a very good question. I`m going to ask my reporters out in the field to see what they can find out right now.
GRACE: You know what? It`s not just you, Evelyn. Not one person this whole day has mentioned a funeral for Anna Nicole Smith. The first person to mention it is Rebecca in Texas. And that should really make us all stop for a moment and look at what we`re analyzing and talking about, the laying to rest of this woman.
Before that ever happens, there`s going to be an autopsy. That autopsy is scheduled for tomorrow morning. Out to Dr. Jonathan Arden, medical examiner. Dr. Arden, I`ve been to a lot of autopsies, and the thought of her having to undergo an autopsy, even in -- you know, is very disturbing to a lot of people. Families never want their loved ones autopsied. Tell us what will happen at the autopsy. And can that autopsy hold answers to DNA tests that may arise? Also, what will it reveal?
DR. JONATHAN ARDEN, MEDICAL EXAMINER: As far as the autopsy`s concerned, Nancy, let me tell you, there are some families who understand the importance and actually don`t resist or are not worried about autopsies. It`s a very tough thing to consider at the moment of grief, when you have a loved one you`ve lost and you don`t want to think about this procedure. But it is a thorough examination that does not disfigure or mutilate the body, and it can hold answers for cause of death, manner of death, DNA, and other things that may have affected her at the time. So it`s really the right way to go at this point.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) rescue crew performing anything on her, trying to save her life?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I didn`t.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why, do you think?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think she was already dead on arrival.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did anyone say that to you?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, they didn`t say that. But you could tell.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIGER: At 2:49 this afternoon, we were advised by hospital personnel that Anna Nicole Smith had died.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You did not see any of the rescue crews performing anything on her, trying to save her life?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I didn`t.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why, do you think?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think she was already dead on arrival.
ARTHUR: Vickie Lynn, you know I love you. Always have. And be very careful about who you hang around with because you may be next.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Anna Nicole Smith, celebrity cover girl, dead at age 39. Thank you for being with us.
Back out to Dr. Jonathan Arden. Doctor, you just mentioned that an autopsy is non-invasive?
ARDEN: It is invasive. What I said is it`s not disfiguring. It is carefully planned as far as a medical procedure to be done in a way that you can reconstruct or close up the body after the work is done, so that you can have an open casket, if that`s your desire, so that you don`t literally mutilate the person. You can get a tremendous amount of information in a medical examination without harming, if you will, or disfiguring or mutilating the person. We`re very, very cautious about that. That`s something that pathologists are very sensitive to, the needs of the families.
GRACE: Out to reporter with "Extra" Jerry Penacoli. Jerry, it`s great to see you tonight. I`m sorry it`s under these circumstances.
JERRY PENACOLI, "EXTRA": Yes, me, too.
GRACE: You have been covering Anna Nicole Smith for a really long time...
PENACOLI: Yes, I have.
GRACE: ... from her Start in the business until she became literally a superstar. And you know what? I know that you two became friends of sorts. I know that. My question to you is this relationship with Howard Stern, the lawyer. How did it go from being lawyer to friend to so-called husband?
PENACOLI: Well, I say this with all due respect. Simply by default, if you will. Anna Nicole Smith has said to me time and time again over the years that I`ve known her professionally and that I`ve interviewed her that she is very lonely. She was seemingly trapped by the very thing that she wanted the most, and that`s fame.
But every time I would interview her, she would Start to well up. She cried many times. And I would ask her why she`s so sad. And she would say, I`m so alone. I`m so lonely. And I said, You`re a beautiful woman. There must be hundreds of guys that want to date you. No. Nobody will ask me out on a date. No one is interested in me in that respect.
And so I think that this professional relationship with Howard K. Stern over the years really developed into a deep friendship and then developed into something more. And when I say by default, I mean over a period of time. You know, she was craving someone to be with and she really wanted a family unit. She loved her son more than life itself. So I know that the last five months had to be incredibly devastating for her after his passing.
GRACE: Do we know where Stern was today?
PENACOLI: You know, that`s the million-dollar question. The other million-dollar question is, Where was the baby? And of course, all the reports are pointing to the Bahamas. But where Howard K. Stern was -- he could have been outside the room. He could have been outside the hotel at the pool. Who knows?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARTHUR: Vickie Lynn, you know I love you. Always have. And be very careful about who you hang around with because you may be next.
TIGER: At 2:49 this afternoon, we were advised by hospital personnel that Anna Nicole Smith had died.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: A sudden and unexpected turn, Anna Nicole Smith dead at 39, the cover girl immersed in legal battles.
With us tonight, a friend of Anna Nicole`s, Bobby Trendy. He started out as her decorator and turned into her friend. When you learned the news today, Bobby, were you shocked?
BOBBY TRENDY, ANNA NICOLE`S FORMER DECORATOR: Nancy, I was so shocked, I couldn`t believe my ears, that someone so lively, so vivacious and so giving was no longer with us.
GRACE: Does it disturb you sometimes, Bobby, the way that this lady is being portrayed?
TRENDY: Yes, because people only see her craziness and her breast baring and all that. But when I was decorating for her and it was quiet time, she was such a giver. She`d always -- Are you hungry? Do you want something to drink? And she was so protective of her son. She worked so hard to do whatever she did to keep her son in private schools and keep a roof over their heads.
Nancy, she fed five mouths in that house. Howard and all of them were just coattail riders. She was the breadwinner of that family.
GRACE: Today what are your thoughts about Anna Nicole?
TRENDY: My thoughts are what a tragic loss, to have this happen to her. She was such a giver, and now she can`t give anymore. Her lively spirit`s no longer with us. She`s a legend. She`s the modern-day Marilyn Monroe.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEX GOEN, CEO TRIMSPA: Celebrities have a difficult life. I mean, Anna Nicole, she can`t really make friends, because friends will very quickly try to take advantage of her.
VIRGIE ARTHUR, ANNA NICOLE`S MOTHER: Anna, be very careful about who you hang around with, because you may be next.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Anna Nicole Smith`s attorney and sources of ours are confirming that Anna Nicole is dead, died here in Hollywood, Florida, today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: It`s very hard to believe that someone so full of life and, frankly, so incredibly beautiful could die just like that. That is the news report out of Florida: Anna Nicole Smith apparently found dead or unconscious in her hotel room, rushed to the hospital, police clearing the streets to get her to the emergency room. She did not make it.
And the question to many today is: Where is long-time companion and husband Howard Stern?
Back out to you, David Caplan, with "Star" magazine. Where`s Stern?
DAVID CAPLAN, "STAR" MAGAZINE: You know, the reports earlier today said he was at the hospital, and he was grieving, and he was obviously in, obviously, an awful state. So he was there.
GRACE: OK. So he was with her on the vacation.
CAPLAN: Yes, absolutely. I mean, we`re hearing reports that he checked in with Anna Nicole on Monday, he was there. And then, fast forward to today, the reports that he was at the hospital when her body was at the hospital.
GRACE: To you, Jean Casarez. We know that, at 8:30 sharp tomorrow morning, an emergency hearing is set down on a court docket over the custody of Dannie Lynn. That`s Anna Nicole Smith`s daughter, five months old. What`s the significance? And why are they rushing in? Anna Nicole hasn`t even been buried yet, for Pete`s sake.
JEAN CASAREZ, COURT TV: Very true. Well, the significance is that Mr. Birkhead has said for months that he is the father of this child, out in Los Angeles, California. Now he wants custody of the child, but without a paternity test you don`t know who the father is. So, Nancy, where is that baby tonight? That`s a critical legal issue, because the paternity has to be determined before the custody can be awarded.
GRACE: Back out to the lawyers, Ray Giudice, Rebecca Rose Woodland. To you, Rebecca. What if the DNA turns up neither one is the dad? Then what happens to the baby and the multimillion dollar price on the baby?
REBECCA WOODLAND, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Let`s hope that there was a will and Anna has properly administered a...
GRACE: Rebecca, Rebecca, Rebecca...
WOODLAND: Yes, Nancy.
GRACE: OK. There`s not going to be any written clarification by Anna Nicole Smith. Please.
WOODLAND: About the baby?
GRACE: Yes. I mean, I doubt she predetermined her death. So...
WOODLAND: Oh, no, no.
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: So if neither one of these are the father, the biological dad, where does the baby go?
WOODLAND: Well, then the state of California -- but the baby`s in the Bahamas -- but if the baby does get brought back to California for that paternity test, the state of California will determine who will take custody of this child, possibly her mom, who is in a different state. They`re going to evaluate the different possibilities.
Let`s hope that the paternity lies in the two men that have been arguing over this child, claiming -- both of them claiming that it is their child. Let`s hope it`s one of them.
GRACE: Ray Giudice, you agree?
RAY GIUDICE, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, mostly, Nancy. The state of California...
GRACE: Mostly. You know, in the law mostly is a loaded word.
GIUDICE: Nancy, what I believe a court is going to do, either in California or in the Bahamas, is appoint a guardian ad litem, someone on behalf of the state or the court system, usually a lawyer, but maybe a social worker or a foster family, to take this child physically...
GRACE: A foster family?
GIUDICE: Yes, certainly. The child has to...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Whoa, whoa. A foster family?
GIUDICE: ... only for protective custody until the paternity is determined.
GRACE: Why would it go to a foster family as opposed to the mother, her mother?
GIUDICE: Right now that`s a possibility. But what about until then?
GRACE: Just like you to bring up foster care. I don`t know why you bring up foster care right after -- what?
GIUDICE: Nancy, someone`s going to take care of this baby tomorrow morning, not next week. Tomorrow morning.
GRACE: OK. Granted. But did you know that Virgie Arthur took care of Daniel for many years?
GIUDICE: And that`s wonderful. And if she gets to the Bahamas or to California, those courts may very well appoint her the guardian ad litem and place the child in her custody. But until a court does that, someone`s got to step in, take care of this baby. It`s got needs 24/7, Nancy, and you know that.
GRACE: You know, I would also like to know where exactly the baby is tonight.
GIUDICE: That`s an important question.
GRACE: David Caplan, do we have any idea? I`ve heard the Bahamas; I`ve heard California. I`ve heard maybe there, that the nurse was there to be with the baby, with her in Hollywood, Florida.
CAPLAN: Bahamas right now is the answer to that.
GRACE: You know that?
CAPLAN: Yes.
GRACE: Where in the Bahamas? Who`s she with?
CAPLAN: In Nassau, Bahamas, where Anna Nicole recently bought a new house. And she has, you know, caretakers and so forth that watch over the baby.
GRACE: Out to Bethany Marshall, psychoanalyst. You know, it seems that tragedy and bad fortune followed Anna Nicole Smith. She`s beautiful; she`s talented; she always compared herself to Marilyn Monroe in life. In fact, she was trying to fund a movie where she played Marilyn Monroe.
It`s ironic to me that her husband died, her son died, the husband`s son died, and check out this comparison of Anna Nicole and Marilyn Monroe, and now this untimely death. It just seems that bad fortune has followed her.
BETHANY MARSHALL, PSYCHOANALYST: Well, one of the ways I think about that is that she seemed to have such poor insight into the nature of her problems. Again, she didn`t face problems until her hand was forced legally. And so, you know, the fact that there`s the death of her son, and then a premature death with her, it doesn`t completely surprise me.
The person I`m really worried about is this baby, because this baby is now going to have to reassign the attachment from her to another figure, a caretaker, perhaps Howard Stern. And then, if it reassigns attachment to the mother, and then Larry Birkhead is proven to be the father, you have three or four traumatic separations.
And research suggests that that has an impact on the life of the baby throughout the lifespan. It can predispose it to cancer, diabetes...
GRACE: Even at just five months?
MARSHALL: Especially if there`s a disruption in the first two years of life. And you were talking about Anna Nicole and the whole Marilyn Monroe thing. I`m worried that, in 15, 18, 20 years with this little girl, we`re going to see yet another troubled life play itself out.
GRACE: Out to the lines, Matt in Idaho. Hi, Matt.
CALLER: Oh, good evening, Nancy. How are you?
GRACE: I`m good, dear. What`s your question?
CALLER: Well, kind of a two-parter here. Her son, Daniel, died under such strange circumstances. A, I was wondering what the status of that investigation was. And, b, I don`t know, Nancy, there`s a pile, a mountain of money at stake here. And, boy, if I was a D.A., prosecuting attorney, I would be looking at homicide right away. This stinks too bad.
GRACE: You know what, Matt? There is a lot of money. And I`ve seen murders over money before. I`ve never been able to comprehend it or grasp it, until finally, as a trial lawyer, I realized I didn`t have to understand it. I just had to prove it. But you`re right.
We`re talking, literally, Jean, isn`t it billions of dollars?
CASAREZ: Yes, it is.
GRACE: Billions, with a "b" as in brother?
CASAREZ: Billions of dollars. And another question Matt had was about the death of Daniel, her son. And, Matt, you`re right on the money, because a criminal inquest was set for March 27th in the Bahamas, and that was a legal proceeding there to determine if charges should be filed, criminal charges, in regard to Daniel dying.
GRACE: So where does that stand? How much further do we have to go? What`s going to happen?
CASAREZ: Well, it`s set for March 27th. Now, my guess is, with this death, it may be continued, postponed until later. But word had was Anna Nicole was going to be a witness at the proceeding.
GRACE: And back out to the lawyers, Ray Giudice, Rebecca Rose Woodland. To you, Ray, Anna Nicole had been fighting desperately, tooth and nail, to avoid the paternity test. Who will pick up that battle, if anyone? Or is that a foregone conclusion now, the paternity test will happen?
GIUDICE: Well, I think it will. I think they`re going to need a court order to get it moving along.
GRACE: They`ve already got a court order.
GIUDICE: Right, but I`m saying to expedite the process. Again, my goal, as a lawyer or as a judge in this, would be to identify the father as quickly as possible so that he can step in, take care of the child, exercise his parental rights. He would be the person in charge of having his wife buried, and move on. And that`s important to me as a judge.
GRACE: It`s Trial 101. Even after someone`s lifetime, their natural life has passed, they`re dead and buried, their estate lives on. The legal battle between Anna Nicole Smith, her former husband, Howard Stern, Larry Birkhead, and now Dannie Lynn, her daughter, will go on after Anna Nicole`s death today at 39.
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VIRGIE ARTHUR, ANNA NICOLE`S MOTHER: Vickie Lynn, you know I love you, always have. And be very careful about who you hang around with, because you may be next.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No matter what our differences may have been, you still have the tragic death of somebody very young, very attractive, off and on very successful, but more importantly you have the death of a mother. And there is a baby that is left without their mother, and that`s always a tragedy.
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GRACE: Cover girl Anna Nicole Smith dead at age 39. Police and EMTs rushing to her hotel. She was found unresponsive. They pumped her chest repeatedly, trying to revive her all the way to the hospital, the streets cleared by police to effect just that. She passed away this afternoon, a little after 2:00, her death announced.
Right now out to Jerry Penacoli with "Extra." He interviewed her for years, and over those years became her friend. What do you think of Howard Stern?
JERRY PENACOLI, REPORTER, "EXTRA": Well, first of all, let me clarify something. You asked where Howard K. Stern is in all of this. And it`s been established that he was in Florida with Anna Nicole.
And the sole purpose of their trip, besides taking a little bit of R&R, having a bit of a vacation, was to purchase a boat. They had decided they wanted to get some sort of a luxury boat of some sort, and that`s why they were in Hollywood, Florida.
GRACE: And their relationship and his attitude toward her, you`ve known her for years, what was it?
PENACOLI: Well, you know, it`s recently changed. And as I said earlier, I think that their relationship was purely professional and purely a businesslike relationship, until recent -- I would say probably the last year and a half or so.
And, again, I say, and I use this term respectfully, it was by default, because Anna Nicole really truly was a very lonely, deep inside, a very lonely woman. And I think that Howard K. Stern was there for her. He was always there for her, for better or for worse. And so the relationship blossomed.
GRACE: You know, it has been said by many that she loved him, but he was in love with her and had been for many, many years. Do you agree with that?
PENACOLI: I don`t have an opinion on that because I have never interviewed Howard K. Stern. I don`t know the man. I know Anna Nicole. I`ve dealt with her personally. I know the type of woman she is. She is an extraordinarily -- she was an extraordinarily vulnerable woman who would be easily impacted and influenced by someone.
GRACE: Oh, really, easily influenced? What do you mean by that?
PENACOLI: Well, she was just a very sensitive, sweet girl. And she wanted success and fame more than life itself.
GRACE: Let`s go out to the lines, Samantha in West Virginia. Hi, Samantha.
CALLER: Hi, Nancy. I just want to say I like your show.
GRACE: Thank you.
CALLER: I have a question. If the nurse was the first one in the room with Anna, how come she didn`t perform CPR like right then?
GRACE: That`s a really good question. And I don`t know that she did not. Out to David Caplan with "Star." What about it, David?
CAPLAN: Yes, that`s an excellent question. That is a mystery. The first thing the nurse did was call the hotel`s front desk. Why she didn`t perform CPR does remain a mystery, and we`d better find out.
GRACE: And, also, why didn`t she just dial 911?
CAPLAN: Excellent question. I thought that myself, to be honest. Why would you go through the hotel and not go right to the source? Another thing the police will be investigating.
GRACE: Yes, let that hotel operator ring 20, 25 times before you get through. You know that happens.
(LAUGHTER)
Out to Sue in Maine. Hi, Sue.
CALLER: Hi, Nancy. Love your show.
GRACE: Thank you, dear.
CALLER: My question is, I watched Headline News earlier, and they were interviewing Mark Steines.
GRACE: Yes.
CALLER: And he said a couple of days ago she had fallen in the bathroom and hit her head and that she got up and she seemed to be OK. And I was wondering if that`s going to be looked into.
GRACE: You know, that`s an excellent question. Out to you, Mike Brooks.
MIKE BROOKS, FORMER D.C. POLICE: Nancy, in fact, I was on the same show right before I was interviewed right after him. And that is something that the investigators are going to take a look at.
And, you know, you never know. You can form a blood clot. There can be other pre-existing medical conditions that that could feed into. I mean, that`s one of the things they`re definitely going to look at.
And one of the other things that`s going to be very important, Nancy, this is a hotel that`s also a casino. What do they have a lot of? Surveillance cameras. Who was going in and out of that room? Where was she last night? Where was she this morning? What were her activities before this nurse found her? That is one thing they`re definitely going to be looking into.
GRACE: And who was in and out of that room before the nurse found her? The questions are endless, Mike Brooks. Where do you start with the questioning?
BROOKS: As I said, you start with the nurse. And, you know, how did she find her? And I can tell you right now, Nancy, that the investigators probably have a pretty good idea of where this investigation`s going to go.
If they don`t, then they`re going to have to rely on the autopsy and a toxicology screening. That will tell a lot, if there wasn`t any other evidence in that room. But as we heard earlier, they`re still in that room tonight, and they`re going to stay there until they have everything covered that they think they need. They`ll vacuum that place, if they need to, but they`re going to make sure they don`t leave any stone unturned in that particular room.
GRACE: Back to you, Dr. Jonathan Arden, joining us out of D.C., medical examiner. Dr. Arden, I want to go through what we will learn from the autopsy. What is everything we will learn in this case from the autopsy?
JONATHAN ARDEN, MEDICAL EXAMINER, FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST: The autopsy`s a thorough medical examination of the body, top to bottom, inside and out, including, as Mike just said, the toxicology, the laboratory`s analysis of the specimens, to look for drugs and medications, poisons, that kind of thing.
We should be looking for diseases, whether they`re pre-existing or new diseases. That includes cancer, infectious diseases, congenital conditions. We should be looking for any kind of poisoning or toxicity. We should be looking for any kind of infectious process going on.
We should be looking for, in conjunction with the investigation, whether we think this is maybe a suicide, a homicide, an accident, natural. It`s the big picture, soup to nuts, medically, what was wrong with her, what was affecting her, and whether or not it killed her.
GRACE: I recall reading many, many autopsies and going to them. And you would see the weight of the brain, the weight of the heart. The organs are taken out and weighed, analyzed, tissue taken from each one. The entire body is searched for bruises, hematomas, breaks, fractures, scratches on the body, any discoloration, the weight of the body. In women, the entire uterus is looked at. All your internal organs are looked at, examined, weighed. It is an extensive search of the body.
To you, Jean Casarez. Legal forecast?
CASAREZ: Well, custody. That`s the main issue. Larry Birkhead in California is going to claim custody, based on that order for paternity test that he wants. Howard K. Stern is going to say, "The child was born in the Bahamas. The birth certificate is in the Bahamas, and my name is the father on that birth certificate."
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GRACE: Tonight, the sudden and unexpected death of 39-year-old cover girl Anna Nicole Smith. And now, literally, the billion-dollar question: Who is the father of her five-month-old little girl, Dannie Lynn? But before we do legal battle on that, the life and death of Anna Nicole.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Smith first came to public attention in her early 20s as a "Playboy" model. By that time, she was already a divorcee and the mother of a son, Daniel. A contract as a Guess Jeans model brought her further attention. Her voluptuous figure and sparkling smile also brought her the attention of billionaire Texas oilman J. Howard Marshall.
They married in 1994, when Smith was 26 and Marshall was 89. Fourteen months later, he was dead. A court battle ensued between Smith and Marshall`s son, Pierce, over the $1.6 billion estate. In 2000, Smith was granted $449 million from the estate, but that judgment was later overturned.
Smith`s fortunes later improved with the debut of a reality show on the E! network. Her unorthodox behavior and reputation for disarming candor turned her into a TV star, with 4 million viewers catching the show`s premiere.
The last year of Smith`s life was full of legal drama and personal turmoil. On September 7, 2006, she gave birth in the Bahamas to a daughter, Dannie Lynn. But three days later, her 20-year-old son, Daniel, died mysteriously while visiting Smith in her hospital room. A pathologist later ruled he died as a result of a lethal mix of antidepressants and methadone.
With Smith mourning the loss of her son, the question of who had fathered her newborn quickly became a legal issue. Smith and her lawyer and companion, Howard K. Stern, announced he was the father. But Smith`s former boyfriend, Larry Birkhead, also claimed paternity. At the time of her death, Smith was under court order to have her baby tested to determine the father`s identity.
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GRACE: We stop our legal discussion to remember Marine Master Sergeant Brian McAnulty, 39, Vicksburg, Mississippi, killed, Iraq. Career Marine, he`d served in Saudi Arabia and Haiti. He was awarded the National Defense Service Medal and a Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal. He loved soccer, traveling the world, learning languages and cultures. His fellow Marines say he was loyal, patriotic, and brave. He leaves behind parents Robert and Frances, a brother and two nieces, Cora and Lily. Brian McAnulty, American hero.
Thank you for being with us tonight. NANCY GRACE signing off. Goodbye, friend.
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