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Nancy Grace

Attorneys Joust Over Anna Nicole Smith`s Remains

Aired February 15, 2007 - 20:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

NANCY GRACE, HOST: Breaking news tonight, emergency hearings on the death of covergirl Anna Nicole Smith. Tonight, inside the court battle over the body as an order goes down for brand-new DNA samples from the covergirl`s remains. Plus, all this as the family and legal executors claim her body, her body still refrigerated under tight security at a Florida morgue, the ME speaking out, trying to explain to lawyers the urgency to embalm Nicole Smith, that embalming under such tight security, the body won`t even go to a funeral home. Instead, embalmers coming there to the medical examiner`s. And who will claim Anna Nicole for burial?
And tonight, we learn Bahamian police close in on Anna Nicole`s seaside mansion, police arriving just hours ago in a patrol car marked "Crime scene unit."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Today is about Miss Arthur and Mr. Stern and their respective claims to bury Anna Nicole Smith.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Miss Arthur seeks to have closure on this aspect of the matter, and she just simply wants to give her daughter a decent burial.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... as the natural mother, that my client has to have the right and ability to bury her daughter in Texas with the rest of her family.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My client is the father of Dannielynn Marshall Stern. My client`s on the birth certificate.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Stern was, at best, Anna Nicole Smith`s boyfriend.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If, in fact, Mr. Stern has no standing to contest the issue of what is to be done with the body, then that entire portion of the proceedings is over with. It must be brought by somebody who has the legal right to do so.

JUDGE LARRY SEIDLIN, FLORIDA DISTRICT COURT: I`m not releasing the body. This body belongs to me now. I`m not releasing the body.

DR. JOSHUA PERPER, BROWARD COUNTY MEDICAL EXAMINER: When he says, The body is mine, basically, what he wants to say is, The body`s under my control or under my jurisdiction.

SEIDLIN: My tone was a little strong yesterday, but this court has jurisdiction over the body.

This court wants to protect the sanctity of Anna Nicole Smith`s body. This court wants to give it the dignity and respect it deserves.

PERPER: From a legal point of view, a body doesn`t belong to anybody except for purposes of funeral disposition or burial.

SEIDLIN: When we bury her, I want it to be forever. I want her -- whatever resting place she receives, she should have peace on earth forever. It all points to one issue. What`s in the best interest of the child, this little baby, this little girl that was born?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: And the beat goes on. I`ve never seen such legal wrangling, even in a serial murder case. Good evening, everybody. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us tonight.

Straight out to Art Harris, investigative reporter there in Miami. I`ve never seen so much legal wrangling over a DNA test. It was like throwing 10 wet cats in a barrel!

ART HARRIS, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: Or live wrestling, Nancy. It was something to behold. And Judge Seidlin had a little bit of a different tone after you scolded him last night. He wanted to make sure that people understood that he was very concerned about the body and wanted to get Anna Nicole embalmed to preserve her beauty, but he was also in search of truth.

So it`s a battle between truth and beauty. If you embalm a body, which is expected to possibly happen tomorrow, then -- if everyone can agree on the court order, then you have a question about a possible death investigation. And the question that`s going to come up tomorrow, my sources tell me, is that the sheriff`s department`s going to come back in and discuss whether an embalmed body can be -- and yield pure evidence, should it be required later.

GRACE: What do you mean, Can an embalmed body yield pure evidence? What do you mean "pure evidence"?

HARRIS: Well, can a body that has been embalmed -- if, for example -- I mean, the medical examiner, of course, has said he`s taken plenty of tissue samples in...

GRACE: Art, Art, Art! What do you mean? Don`t drag Perper into this. What do you mean, Will an embalmed body yield pure evidence? People are embalmed all the time.

HARRIS: Nancy, an embalmed body is not as pure as a body that has not been embalmed. If you have to go back and take samples of tissue and other things, the embalming fluid is going to make it less reliable.

GRACE: OK. Art, you`ve covered a lot of homicide cases. Do you really believe that the ME, the medical examiner, Dr. Joshua Perper, has not taken sufficient tissues and blood?

HARRIS: No, Nancy, I`m being a little more theoretical. He has taken plenty of it. I`ve talked to him. And he has testified under oath that he`s taken enough tissue not just for any potential investigation, death investigation, but for any paternity challenges for dozens of bio-dads for all we know.

But in this case, if you embalm a body and suddenly this gets ratcheted up to a criminal investigation, what happens if you have to exhume it and look somewhere else in the body? Is it going to be as reliable? You can bet that`s going to be challenged in court.

GRACE: Let`s go out to the expert. Joining us tonight, Dr. Joshua Perper. Dr. Perper, I saw you in court today. I listened to everything you had to say. What`s your response to what Art Harris just proposed?

DR. JOSHUA PERPER, BROWARD COUNTY MEDICAL EXAMINER: Well, I don`t think that`s correct. And the reason is that I`ve participated in probably hundreds, if not thousands, of homicides, and in all those cases, we do the autopsy, we take the appropriate evidence, and we release the body for funeral. And I don`t remember ever that I had to exhume the body for additional evidence.

In addition to that, when we do the autopsy, and we did -- and we received Sunday additional tests, if we had believed there is any ground for any additional retention of the body, we would have asked for that. There is none. We -- again, I am not at liberty this time to release some of our findings because, as I said, this might create a source for rumors and for misunderstanding. But I think we are going on the right way. We have everything under control, and there`s no need for this body not to be released for funeral and for interment.

GRACE: Dr. Perper, what were the main points that you tried to tell the judge today?

PERPER: Well, what I told the judge, and the judge accepted that, was that we have plenty of material for DNA testing. And this was agreed. After that, the attorney which ask for retention of the body for additional DNA evidence relented, and he said, What we would like to have, another swab of the mouth. And I said, That`s not a problem. That`s so minor a procedure, it takes a few seconds, we`ll be ready to do that.

GRACE: You know, Dr. Perper, I also heard that all the lawyers were going to trot down to the medical examiner`s office and follow you down there, and I guess what, wait out in the waiting room while you take an oral -- a buccal swab? And I`ve never heard of anything like that in my life. I think one of the lawyers held back. I think it was Virgie Arthur`s lawyer decided that you could do it all on your own. Did all the lawyers follow you down there?

PERPER: According to the judge`s order, they were not supposed to witness our processing of the additional swabbing, as requested. They came to the medical examiner`s office. There were five lawyers who witness (ph) a consultant which only was a DNA consultant. The consultant looked at the evidence which we had, looked at the chain of evidence which we`ve had.

We took him even in the refrigerator to show him the cage inside the refrigerator, which is double locked and in which the deceased is present and where the evidence is. And he looked inside two of the pieces of evidence, two of the envelopes, which were sealed with evidence tape, and concluded that there is a sufficient number of -- there`s a sufficient number of samples, that the chain of evidence is appropriate, and that the safety of the evidence is assured.

GRACE: Take a listen to what the judge had to say today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUDGE LARRY SEIDLIN, FLORIDA DISTRICT COURT: We have a balancing here. We want to show respect and dignity to the body of Ms. Smith, and then we have competing interests on the other side. There`s issues on the other side. We have to know whose body this -- who belongs -- who has the right to decide where this body goes. Then we have other issues, whether or not there`s a death investigation concerning this body.

I`m not releasing the body. This body belongs to me now. I`m not releasing the body. From what I read, this body`s staying right here. We`ll decide how we -- what condition and what place we put the body. But the body belongs to me now.

My tone was a little strong yesterday, but this court has jurisdiction over the body. And when I meant to make such an emphatic position, I wanted everyone to know we`re going to show respect and dignity to the body. And we`re holding that body, and that body is not going to be moved until this court rules. And we`ve all agreed to that, and that`s what we`re going to do. And I was emphatic, but it made the point, and it brought us all together.

It`s cold, but it won`t decompose so fast. That baby is on a cold, cold storage room. It`s not decaying so fast. I can go over there now and look at it, and I go back in a month and still look at it. So there`s no rush. We`re not rushing. I am not rushing. We`re crossing every T and dotting every I. We`re going to spend a lot of time together. It`s a nice group.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: And they certainly did. They spent the whole day together, and we all watched it together. Back out to you. Dr. Perper, he did say he could go over there anytime and look at the body. Please tell me the judge and others have not viewed this body. Who was that DNA expert?

PERPER: Dr. Burns (ph). He is a well-known toxicol -- expert in DNA, no question about that.

GRACE: Yes, he is. Is he the only one that`s viewed the body inside the refrigerated chamber?

PERPER: Nobody saw the body outside the people who did the autopsy, myself and another associate, and the people who assisted us. Nobody outside the medical examiner`s office had a view of the body, and nobody requested such a view.

GRACE: I`m glad to hear it because, you know, Dr. Perper, the whole autopsy procedure, the medical examiner procedure, while I`ve been in plenty of them, they still remain a mystery to a lot of us laypeople outside your profession. And no one wants to think that a lady can be viewed by complete strangers sitting over there, as the judge just said, on a slab at the medical examiner`s. I`m very relieved to hear you say that. Thank you, Dr. Perper.

Let`s go out to the lines. Nicole in Michigan. Hi, Nicole.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. I love your show.

GRACE: Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You`re welcome. My question to you is, If Howard Stern`s parents have been supporting him since 1995, how is he going to be able to maintain the well-being for him and Dannielynn?

GRACE: Nicole, where did you hear that his parents have supported him since 1995?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Actually, it was on E entertainment news.

GRACE: OK. You know, I don`t know anything about him being supported by his parents since 1995. Let`s go out to a friend of Anna Nicole Smith. This is Alex Goen. He is the CEO of Trimspa and a long-time friend of Anna Nicole Smith. What about it? Is Nicole right? Didn`t he have a job before he became her lawyer, Alex?

ALEX GOEN, TRIMSPA CEO, FRIEND OF ANNA NICOLE SMITH`S: I believe he was a lawyer for a number of years prior to becoming Anna Nicole`s attorney. And clearly, he became very devoted to Anna. As far as what he does now, I don`t think he`s really thinking about his future. He`s thinking about burying Anna, and then after that, taking care of Dannielynn.

GRACE: Yes, I`ve never heard that his parents supported him. Now, you said he`s a lawyer. He was a lawyer for many years, Alex. But having known a lot of lawyers, that still does not preclude the fact that his parents were supporting him. But didn`t she meet him at a law firm or at some legal proceedings? He had a practice going at the time they met, didn`t he?

GOEN: I believe Anna hired him initially.

GRACE: OK. All right. Let`s go back out to Esther in California. Hi, Esther.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. How are you?

GRACE: I`m good, dear. What`s your question?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I just want to know, as a mother of two estranged daughters -- and I love them so much -- I would not allow myself to be the cause of them still remaining not to be buried. Why couldn`t Virgie Arthur just say, I`m stepping out of the way, bury my child, I love her?

GRACE: You know, that`s an excellent question. Let`s unchain the lawyers. Joining us tonight, Penny Douglas Furr and Richard Herman. Penny, what about it?

PENNY DOUGLAS FURR, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, Nancy, I think this judge, first of all, should look at what Anna Nicole wanted. Her wishes should be paramount. And I don`t believe there`s anything that we know of at this point in writing...

GRACE: Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Penny and Richard, there`s a recent case there in Florida, Cohen v. Cohen, where it says you should try to determine the wishes of the decedent. And it`s a fairly recent case. Will that control, Penny?

FURR: Well, it`s not necessarily controlling, but it`s certainly something he would have to take into consideration. And the most recent action of Miss Smith was when her son died. And I believe everyone`s in agreement that she worshiped and adored her son. She buried him in the Bahamas, and at that time, she bought a plot for herself in the Bahamas. And I cannot imagine she would have purchased a plot for herself if she didn`t wish to be buried there.

GRACE: And interesting. Out to you, to Matt Meagher, joining us from the Bahamas. He`s with "Inside Edition." Thank you for being with us again tonight, Matt. Isn`t it true that Anna Nicole purchased -- you and I discussed this -- the two plots, one Daniel is buried in. And my information is that each plot can hold two people. Isn`t that true? It`s clearly, for her.

MATT MEAGHER, "INSIDE EDITION": It could be. It`s on a hill. You may stack them. I didn`t see three spots around there, so you would have to stack them.

I want to jump in on something that one of your callers said about Anna -- Howard K. Stern not having a job since, you know, his parents have been supporting him. I read the petition today filed here in court by Jamal Davis on behalf of Anna Nicole`s mother. The biggest argument she`s making is that he`s unemployed and only makes money by selling pictures of her dead daughter and her granddaughter and by getting paid for interviews.

And I just thought that was ironic in view of your caller, is that that`s the main thing in their petition. And as you know, that petition has resulted in an order being issued that the child cannot leave the island until the custody matter has been solved.

GRACE: The video that we were just showing you is, in fact, the plot that Matt Meagher was discussing. That is a shot of Daniel`s grave, still unmarked. But not to suggest there`s anything wrong with that. If the grave had been marked, Art Harris, you know it would have been stampeded by people.

HARRIS: That`s true, Nancy. And as a matter of fact, I`ve got receipts for the two plots right here -- they were attached to a filing by Howard Stern`s lawyers -- that he paid for to bury Anna Nicole next to her son.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEIDLIN: I`m not releasing the body. This body belongs to me now. I`m not releasing the body. I can go over there now and look at it, and I can go back in a month and still look at it.

My tone was a little strong yesterday, but I wanted everyone to know we`re going to show respect and dignity to the body. And we`re holding that body, and that body is not going to be moved until this court rules.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Today was a long day of legal wrangling in a Florida courtroom. There you see the judge, Judge Seidlin, trying to make sense of it all, a lot of competing lawyers, all with their own interests. It all boils down to one of these. It`s called a buccal swab. And it looks like a really long Q-tip. This is what is used to do all types of scientific DNA tests. In this case, a buccal swab is simply put in the mouth. It`s like a long Q-tip. And you take saliva.

Back out to Dr. Joshua Perper. He`s a renowned forensic pathologist. He performed the autopsy, along with a team, on Anna Nicole Smith, highly respected in his field. Dr. Perper, you made it -- I think it`s very clear. Another DNA sample was not needed, but in fact, you took one, correct?

PERPER: Correct.

GRACE: When did you take it?

PERPER: This afternoon.

GRACE: Had you already taken it at the time the judge wanted it?

PERPER: That`s correct. We complied with the order of the judge and we took it. And as I said, it doesn`t hurt anyone and it was a minor proceeding. And I didn`t see any reason not to do that in order to resolve this kind of legal choreography.

GRACE: Did you do it yourself?

PERPER: My associate pathologist who participated in the autopsy did, and I supervised it.

GRACE: OK, so you were there when it happened?

PERPER: Correct.

GRACE: OK. Good to know. Doctor, the internal organs of Anna Nicole Smith, specifically the heart and the brain, where are they?

PERPER: Those were retained by us for purposes of examination. The heart is retained for examination and for additional testing by a cardiac pathologist, and the brain has to be fixed in a fixative fluid for about 10 days prior to the examination by a neuropathologist.

GRACE: Doctor, when the person is buried, they`re embalmed and buried, do the internal organs go back into the body?

PERPER: Yes, with the exception of the one which we retain. And if the family requires to have those body returned for burial after completion of our testing, we will certainly comply with this request.

GRACE: OK. And Dr. Perper, I know from reading so many autopsy reports that you look at every internal organ, it is weighed, it is held in your hand. Do those organs, such as the kidney and the liver, do they go back into the body?

PERPER: Correct.

GRACE: OK.

PERPER: Except for small pieces which are taken for microscopic examination.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They want to trash my client in an attempt at some kind of an emotional appeal. My client is the woman`s mother. She wants to take her home to Texas to be buried with the rest of the family. The law says she can, and that`s what we`re here on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: That is Steven Tunstall (ph), the lawyer for Virgie Arthur, the mother of Anna Nicole Smith.

Out to the lines. Marilyn in Ohio. Hi, Marilyn.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy.

GRACE: How are you, dear?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I`m fine. Thank you. And yourself?

GRACE: Hanging in there. What`s your question tonight?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My problem is, the other night, there was something mentioned about underfeeding that baby to keep it sexy.

GRACE: Yes, I heard the same thing. I don`t know if I believe that, Marilyn. That was from a nanny that had been fired. It was stated I think a couple -- well, it couldn`t have been a couple years ago because the baby`s only 5 months.

Out to you, Matt Meagher. What was that statement regarding underfeeding the child?

MEAGHER: It was an affidavit taken in December, and it was -- you`re right, it was by a nanny who had been terminated by Anna Nicole, and it`s some very serious allegations. However, that affidavit is not attached to any court case. It was taken by a lawyer here in Nassau.

GRACE: For what?

MEAGHER: Well, I think there`s going to be a possible lawsuit. The nanny feels she was wrongly terminated and unloaded on Anna Nicole in the affidavit. The affidavit ends up on...

GRACE: To you, Richard Herman. Would that survive the death of Anna Nicole Smith?

RICHARD HERMAN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, it would. Her estate would have to be responsible, if she were, in fact, wrongfully terminated.

But Nancy, this court was an absolute disgrace today. The judge has to read up on some books and know how to be a surrogate, and the lawyers have to afford him some respect.

GRACE: Let me guess. You think you could do a better job, right, Richard?

HERMAN: Absolutely.

GRACE: Yes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can just say the word objection.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I`d like to state what it is.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. I don`t need to hear it. Let me turn to this lawyer now. Your objection`s so noted. It`s noted.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s my objection to your appointment of Mr. Millstein (ph)...

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... nor is there is any issue about the appointment of an ad litem for the child.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You object...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I object, as well, your honor.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And my lawyers here?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are happy with it, your honor. That is a brilliant suggestion.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Your honor...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For the compliment.

(CROSSTALK)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Glad to hear I was there in spirit today during those hearings. I`ve got an answer to one of our callers regarding whether Howard K. Stern had a job outside of being with Anna Nicole Smith. According to Howard K. Stern`s sister, who stated on the air yesterday, she stated Howard K. Stern worked on consignment in 1995.

She stated his parents were supporting him. This is Stern`s sister. He would get a percentage of the case once the Marshall case was solved, that according to Howard K. Stern`s own sister. So the caller actually had a shred of truth to what she said.

And also, to you, Dr. Perper, a lot of viewers e-mailing and calling in. They want to know how you were able to get an oral swab from a refrigerated or frozen body.

DR. JOSHUA PERPER, BROWARD COUNTY MEDICAL EXAMINER: Well, the body is not frozen; it`s refrigerated. And then there was no any kind of problem in performing this easy procedure.

GRACE: OK. Out to the lines. Vivian in California. Hi, Vivian.

CALLER: Hi, Nancy. I just want to tell you we all love you at our office.

GRACE: Thank you.

CALLER: I have a question we all kind of wanted to know.

GRACE: OK.

CALLER: Did anyone view the hotel tapes yet to see who came in or out of her room or the hallway before she died? And if so, did it show what time Howard K. Stern left?

GRACE: Excellent question. Out to David Caplan, the New York bureau chief with "Star." David, what can you tell us about the video surveillance tapes?

DAVID CAPLAN, "STAR" MAGAZINE: Right now, we haven`t heard that they`ve been viewed or released, excuse me, by the police department. Right now, the police, they haven`t released anything like that. And Howard`s whereabouts and the timing still haven`t been released yet, either.

But we`re hearing that it took about 20 minutes for him to from where he was purchasing the boat to get to the hotel. So they`ve done all the math.

GRACE: Yes, David. And in response to Vivian, I read I believe an A.P. wire that stated he was out looking at this boat, that`s why they were in Florida. It`s more of a yacht; it`s not really a boat. Certainly -- yes, a yacht would be a good way to put it.

So he was out looking at the yacht, on the yacht, received word that Anna Nicole had collapsed, and rushed to her side. He was not with her at the time she collapsed, according to the accounts I`ve read.

I want to go back to you, David Caplan. I`ve got four points that I got from the hearings today, but you tell me what you gathered. What were the main rulings today?

CAPLAN: I mean, the main rulings were -- and the first one is that we haven`t yet addressed is that there were two guardians there who were representing Dannielynn who the judge decided -- they were Richard Millstein (ph) who`s, you know, an attorney, as well as Shane Kelly (ph). And they were there to obviously represent Dannielynn`s best interests.

GRACE: Now, did this judge appoint them?

CAPLAN: Yes.

GRACE: OK, continue.

CAPLAN: So that was the first thing that was pretty big today. Overall, of course, it was great to move it along. Now, we did hear that the DNA, of course, they`re slowly moving that along, and that sort of satisfied everyone at the end of the day. All...

GRACE: What do you mean the DNA is moving along? Are you referring to the buccal swab will be taken? The M.E.`s already taken it.

CAPLAN: The issue of the DNA, not literally. But in terms of that, it was decided that, as we already know, that the medical examiner took the samples, you know, for DNA and that he just made that decision, because that was one of the big sort of hot topics over the past week, was what was going to happen? So I was happy today, at least, to see that that was resolved.

GRACE: OK. That`s two of the four issues. Break it down for me in a nutshell, David.

CAPLAN: All right. And the second thing was that we`re getting much closer to seeing paternity. We`re going to see -- on the 20th of February, there`s going to be hearings in California and in Florida, as well, to discuss paternity, as well. So that was nice to see that, as well.

And the fourth thing that...

GRACE: You know, you`re kind of describing this like it`s a fashion show. I`m happy to see, "This is spring, that`s nice to see." OK. What`s the other one?

CAPLAN: And the other thing, which is not fashion-related, that also moved along was just in terms that there was discussion at least again about where the body would go. And we saw that was a really heated debate between Virgie, of course, and Howard K. Stern.

GRACE: You know, it`s really interesting that this judge, Judge Seidlin -- out to you, Penny Douglass Furr, is discussing where her body will be buried and paternity. This is going very far off-field, is it not?

PENNY DOUGLASS FURR, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Nancy, it`s my understanding that a guardian ad litem was appointed, and he was very confused as to what he was supposed to do, since this is not a custody case. It was my understanding that an administrative ad litem was appointed to help review the issues concerning where the body went.

GRACE: To Alex Goen, with TrimSpa and a long-time friend of Anna Nicole`s, this is what I gathered, and I agree with David Caplan, happened today. Number one, guardian ad litem was appointed for the interest of the baby. This is a disinterested party, as the judge kept saying. He doesn`t have a dog in the race, OK? I agree. Two guardian ad litems appointed for the interests of the baby.

Two, a buccal, buccal oral swab will be taken. Dr. Perper`s already done it. That`s to give DNA for the child`s DNA test to say this is her child. It could prove that through Anna Nicole`s body.

Three, an order for embalming. Four, an administrator ad litem to govern the estate was appointed. Happy, sad? Agree, disagree, Alex?

ALEX GOEN, TRIMSPA CEO: You know, as far as all the legal wranglings, you know, it`s hard for me to make a real judgment call. To me it`s rather simple. I mean, clearly, Anna Nicole wanted to be buried next to her son. I mean, it`s black and white.

Anna Nicole did not like her mom. She didn`t communicate with her mom. Any loving mom would not publicly say the things that she said about Anna Nicole and someone that she loved. Whether the mother loves Howard K. Stern or not, it doesn`t matter. Anna loved Howard. Anna wanted to marry Howard. I don`t think a loving mother would say these things in public, maybe say them directly to Anna, but not in public.

GRACE: Say what things? Say what things?

GOEN: Say all the things about Howard K. Stern that she said on the air over and over and over again. Say things like, watch out...

GRACE: OK, yes. All right. I know what you mean now.

I want to go out to Mike Brooks. The police arriving at Anna Nicole`s seaside mansion today. I thought they were there regarding the burglary of Anna Nicole`s possessions.

MIKE BROOKS, FORMER D.C. POLICE: That`s what it sounds like, Nancy, but that was back a while ago. I mean, it`s -- to conduct a crime scene investigation now, to me, is basically fruitless, depending on the number of people that have been in the house.

If they go in, they take fingerprints like you normally would process a crime scene for a burglary. They`re going to have to take a lot of elimination prints to eliminate those people as being involved in anything.

Now, you know, we go back to G. Ben Thompson. It`s still supposed to have been his house. Apparently, his son...

GRACE: Well, wait a minute. Just because it`s your home does not mean you can take the residents` personal possessions.

BROOKS: Absolutely not. I mean, that`s taking property without right. He may own the house, so it`s at least taking property without right, if not out and out burglary. I don`t know how the laws of the Bahamas work, but here in the United States, that would be a burglary or possibly taking property without right. But it`s still -- a week later, Nancy, to process a crime scene, that`s just...

GRACE: They haven`t even had the inquest on Daniel`s death.

BROOKS: No.

GRACE: They`re not racing with the clock down there, Mike Brooks. It`s a very different system than what we`ve got here in the states.

BROOKS: Very laid back, Nancy. And they`ve got -- the chief magistrate, because of the death of Anna Nicole, he says that he wants to make sure that he gets to interview Howard K. Stern during this coroner`s inquest in March.

GRACE: And to psychoanalyst Dr. Bethany Marshall, what`s your analysis?

BETHANY MARSHALL, PSYCHOANALYST: Well, my analysis is that everybody wants a piece of Anna Nicole Smith. They wanted a piece of her in life; they want a piece of her in death. And obviously this is a hugely dysfunctional family system.

But where were they when she was using? Who`s really made an attempt to help her? Everyone`s saying Howard K. Stern supplied her with drugs. The real question is, did he ever say, "Honey, I`m never going to set up another deal unless you go to rehab"? When people were doing business deals with her, did they say, "You need to get sober first"? Did her mother try to help her before she really went over the deep end? That`s my question.

GRACE: Dr. Bethany Marshall, joining us out of L.A.

And it`s simple Trial 101. The judge did something very right today. He named an administrator ad litem. This is a disinterested party appointed by the judge as a fact-finder to recommend to the judge the best thing to do for this child, Dannielynn, and, moreover, the estate of Anna Nicole Smith, cover girl, dead at age 39.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m not releasing her body. This body belongs to me now. I`m not releasing the body. From what I read, this body`s staying right here. We`ll decide how we -- what condition and what place we put the body, but the body belongs to me now.

This court wants to protect the sanctity of Anna Nicole Smith`s body. This court wants to give it the dignity and respect it deserves.

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GRACE: Well, that was a 180, thank God. A lot of legal wrangling going down in a Florida courtroom regarding the body of Anna Nicole Smith. And, in fact, one attorney took it upon herself to suggest a funeral home to conduct the embalming. She said her client would pay the bill.

Question, out to you, Dr. Joshua Perper, you`re the chief medical examiner there in Broward County, who will be doing the embalming? And why would one of the attorneys have their own private embalmer suggested?

PERPER: In the afternoon, the judge called me about the embalming. And I suggested to him that the embalming be done in the medical examiner`s office, because we have the proper security and this would reduce the media hype. And he agreed.

What`s going to happen now is that the judge is going to select a funeral home. We`ll contact the funeral home, and we`ll have two of the embalmer come to our office, be witnessed by our staff during the embalming, so nothing improper occurs, such as photography and so on. And at the end, we`ll return the body to the refrigeration when it`s embalmed, until the judge is going to direct us what next to do with it.

GRACE: When do you expect this to happen, Dr. Perper?

PERPER: I believe that this will happen tomorrow.

GRACE: Dr. Perper, will you personally be there to oversee all this?

PERPER: Yes.

GRACE: OK. That is good to know.

Back out to you, Dr. Bethany Marshall. You know, I think about this child growing up. One day she`s going to read all these transcripts; she`s going to very likely read everything all of us and others have said. And I`m interested what impact that will have on her. Or maybe she`ll be like a lot of crime victims that don`t want to think back, that don`t want to remember, that don`t want to remember anything bad.

MARSHALL: Well, actually, one of the best predictors of good mental health is that a person has a good autobiographical narrative, that is, they know what happened to them, they can explain it, they can tell their stories to other people. So it depends on what she`s told. Is it accurate? Does it make sense to her?

What disturbs me even more is, if the mother used drugs in the first trimester of pregnancy, she could have pervasive learning disorders, and these could start to reveal themselves, developmental disorders, fairly soon, because in the first trimester the neurons are not yet assigned in the brain. And so if there was drug use during that period, that`s going to have a far greater impact over the life span of little Dannielynn.

GRACE: I want to go out to a friend of Anna Nicole Smith. In fact, Anna Nicole was her bridesmaid at her wedding, Penny Genovese.

Penny, thank you for being with us. And the photos that you brought to us at the wedding are just beautiful.

PENNY GENOVESE, FRIEND OF ANNA NICOLE: They are. They`re memories to last a lifetime.

GRACE: And she`s gorgeous. There`s no doubt about that. What are your recollections of her?

GENOVESE: She was very sweet, very down to Earth. She wanted to get to know everybody around her. She wanted to hear people`s stories. I had won a weight-loss challenge, and she was involved in my wedding, obviously. She surprised me with it. And she really just wanted to sit down with people and get to know them.

GRACE: Well, Penny, when you hear all these accounts of her, what is your reaction?

GENOVESE: You know, my reaction is, it`s so easy for people to judge on the outside from what they`re seeing in the tabloids, when you really don`t know what`s going on behind closed doors.

It`s easy for people to speculate on it, but when you`re not actually behind the door, and you don`t hear intimate conversations and see intimate things that`s done in her life, I think that`s easy for other people to judge.

GRACE: Well, these photos show her in a very candid way. And she`s just as beautiful there as if she were in some fashion layout. She`s just a beautiful lady.

Out to the lines. Connie in Wisconsin. Hi, Connie.

CALLER: Nancy, love you.

GRACE: Thank you.

CALLER: If there really is a legitimate will expressing Anna Nicole`s wishes, why wouldn`t Howard K. Stern want the judge to see that so she can be buried next to her son, Daniel?

GRACE: I agree. I agree.

Out to you, Art Harris. You`ve been on the case from the get-go. I don`t understand. They keep saying there`s a will, showing her express wishes. Why don`t they read it?

And another thing, why don`t they read the will? And why don`t they submit to this paternity test and be done with it?

ART HARRIS, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST: That`s a great question, Nancy. And, today, as a matter of fact, Howard K. Stern`s lawyer did say she had the will, she`d be happy to show it to the judge in chambers. He said, no, you know, everything here is going to be transparent. If we see it, it will be out front.

GRACE: Wait, you mean the will was in court today? Is that what you just said?

HARRIS: I`m saying that his lawyer said she had a copy of the will, was happy to show it to the judge, hasn`t been filed yet. But, you know, it has --it`s a mystery why...

GRACE: Is that Chris Debar (ph) that said she had the will?

HARRIS: She did.

GRACE: OK. So there`s two lawyers now that have represented there is a will. His lawyer, James Neavitt, and now Chris Debar.

Out to Sherry in Virginia. Hi, Sherry.

CALLER: Hi, Nancy. I love your show.

GRACE: Thank you.

CALLER: I would like to know, is Howard Stern currently under any type of investigation?

GRACE: Not to my knowledge. Let`s go out to Matt Meagher there in Nassau, Bahamas. I understand that the police were there for the burglary issues.

MATT MEAGHER, "INSIDE EDITION": You`re right, Nancy. We asked one of them. They said that it was a combination of the burglary issues and insurance.

But an interesting development today. The doctor who was prescribing the prescription drugs to Anna Nicole is under investigation by the State Board of Medical Practices in California now...

GRACE: For?

MEAGHER: They`re taking a look at the prescriptions. As you know, he was writing the prescriptions in California. They were drop-mailed to the Bahamas. We found a Mailboxes Etc., drop today. We talked to the clerk inside. We asked her, "Is this where they came?" And she said, "I never saw Anna Nicole in here, but for the last year Howard K. Stern has been in and out of here on a regular basis." That`s where the drugs were going.

GRACE: Hold on. Wait a minute. To you, Richard Herman. There`s nothing wrong with Howard Stern picking up the mail. But there is a problem about writing prescriptions to a false name.

RICHARD HERMAN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Absolutely, Nancy. But, you know, if she had an alias because she was afraid that the press would get a hold of this, you know, in movie star land, maybe that`s what they do. I don`t know. This doctor`s records are going to be analyzed. And if he overdid the prescription, he`s going to have a problem.

GRACE: Right. Mike Brooks, what about it?

BROOKS: ... what they`re going to do is, every doctor who writes prescriptions has a DEA number. And you`ll see it on a prescription pad. They`ll go back, take a look at this DEA number on any prescriptions that he has written over the past number of years, and they`d better be in order, because the Drug Enforcement Administration will be knocking on his doors.

GRACE: Oh, oh, DEA? Ruh-roh!

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s happened and it`s terrible, but I guess it really hadn`t hit me that it`s real. It`s hard, you know, to lose a grandson and a daughter, no matter if you haven`t been around them in a while or not. Like I say, it`s still your daughter.

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GRACE: That was the father of Anna Nicole Smith. You asked us about her last night, wanted to show you him speaking out. Out to the lines, Andrea in New York. Hi, Andrea.

CALLER: Hi.

GRACE: What`s your question, dear?

CALLER: My question is about her will. And I wanted to know that, could it be contested due to her possible drug use and her state of mind, if the will was completed recently?

GRACE: You know, Andrea, that`s a great question.

Out to you, Alex Goen. Typically, in this day and age, a will is witnessed by someone who also states when they witness that the testator, Anna Nicole Smith, was of sound mind and body at the time. Why doesn`t Howard K. Stern read the will, put the will out there, and take the DNA test?

GOEN: Well, as far as the will, I believe he wants to put it out there. He wants to do it through the proper channels, and that`s the court system. I believe the will is something that was written back in 2001. And at that point, everything was supposed to be given to Daniel, which, now that Daniel`s gone, it should be Dannielynn Hope.

GRACE: I think you`re absolutely right, Alex. And a lot of people want to know if that will really exists. You tell us it does; I have no reason to disbelieve Alex Goen.

Very quickly tonight, let`s end our legal discussion and remember Air Force Senior Airman Elizabeth Loncki, 23, Newcastle, Delaware, killed Iraq. On the bomb squad, she put studies on hold to enlist. An all-around athlete, she loved volleyball, swimming, and matching the boys pushup for pushup. Loncki, American hero.

Thank you for being with us tonight. NANCY GRACE signing off. See you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern. Good night, friend.

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