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Nancy Grace
Court Halts Anna Nicole Burial
Aired February 26, 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: Tonight, the DNA battle over Anna Nicole Smith`s baby girl goes global, all the way to the Bahamas. Smith`s mother, boyfriend and lawyer all converge in Nassau, fighting for custody of 5- month-old Dannielynn. She stands to inherit an estimated $475 million.
And back in Florida, Anna Nicole`s body staying in a Broward County morgue under tight security, at least for now. Emergency motions over the Bahamas burial by Smith`s mother, still fighting to have her daughter buried in Texas.
And tonight, the mystery surrounding a 34-year-old Michigan mom of two. She vanishes into thin air from her suburban home. We investigate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tara Grant is a wife, mother of two, and an executive for Washington Group, an international engineering construction company. Her husband, Stephen (ph), says Tara took off February 9 in a dark sedan. She left early for a business trip in Puerto Rico, after they had a disagreement concerning all her traveling. But there is no record of Tara Grant making that flight. Loved ones fear she`s in danger, since they are convinced she wouldn`t be out of touch for this long.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She is my only sibling, and I just want to know that she`s going to be safe, wherever she is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Tonight, there is breaking news. A Florida court issues an emergency stay in the dispute over the remains of Anna Nicole Smith. So not so fast, Howard Stern! The body is not headed to the Bahamas yet. All parties have until 2:00 PM tomorrow to file opposition. And in the Bahamas, eviction proceedings to throw lawyer/boyfriend Howard K. Stern and the 5-month-old baby out of a seaside mansion. It`s all going down in the courtrooms.
Good evening, everybody. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us tonight. First of all, let`s go straight to Florida and the Bahamas. First to the Bahamas.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He testified yesterday under oath that he was the natural father of Dannielynn under the laws of Bahama. Bahama does not recognize a biological father, and the laws in this state list the natural father as the biological father. Mr. Stern, are you or are you not the biological father of Dannielynn under the laws of this state?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Objection!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The best argument is that our motion to dismiss should have been granted because Mr. Stern had no standing to file that petition. He was not related to the baby. He was not married to the decedent. And that -- our motion to dismiss should have been granted, and then this circus would not have ensued.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you the biological father of Dannielynn?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The guardian should never have been appointed in the first place. We had a child -- we have a living grandmother who is ready, willing and able to serve in that capacity. And to go to an absolute stranger is -- it makes no sense at all. And not only that, it`s against all Florida law to -- that holds to the contrary. This mother is a mother who deserves the right to bury the remains of her child. It matters not that they had become estranged over the years. She was a mother, and the trial court treated her as though she were nothing to Anna Nicole Smith.
LARRY BIRKHEAD, ANNA NICOLE SMITH`S FORMER BOYFRIEND: I missed the delivery of my child. I`ve had to pay $4.99 for magazines to see what my child looks like. I`ve had to call and send gifts Fedex, Christmas gifts for my child. And I`ve missed everything that you can`t get back. There`s a lot of hurt and heartache.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: It`s enough to make you demand cremation. That`s right, not so fast, Howard Stern. The body of Anna Nicole Smith is not headed to the Bahamas for burial. Two weeks and counting now.
Let`s go straight down to Court TV`s Jean Casarez. She`s joining us from the Bahamas. What`s the latest, Jean?
JEAN CASAREZ, COURT TV: Good evening, Nancy, from Nassau, Bahamas. Here in Nassau, we had two hearings today. The first one was guardianship. Should Virgie Arthur, as the grandma of baby Dannielynn, have custody and guardianship over the baby, or should it be Howard K. Stern, who is presumptively is the father and the legal guardian? The judge decided to continue the case until later in March. Today was mainly procedure.
Second up at 4:00 o`clock this afternoon was a real property issue. Who, in fact, owns the mansion, the white mansion that Howard K. Stern is living in with baby Dannielynn? Well, the judge in that case said, I don`t know if I can proceed in this case because it`s Anna Nicole Smith that was the first defendant, and she is now deceased. That has been continued until March 14.
GRACE: Jean, please tell me you`re wrong. You just told me about all these hearings going down in the Bahamas. You told me about guardianship. We`re not going to hear anything about that until March. You told me about eviction. Correct me if I`m wrong, but isn`t the big legal question about paternity? Paternity? Aren`t we going to have any filings, any motions, any DNA tests on paternity?
CASAREZ: Well, what I understand is that here in the Bahamas, you just can`t really file a paternity action, so Debra Opri, we understand, was successful to actually intervene in the guardianship action. Now, it`s not going to be heard until March 16, but she now has intervened, so you`ve got a guardianship and paternity action apparently going on at the same time.
GRACE: OK. Well, wait a minute. You said they don`t have paternity actions in the Bahamas like we do here in the U.S. And I heard one of the other lawyers spouting off that in the Bahamas, they don`t recognize biological fathers? I`ve never heard anything like that in my life.
CASAREZ: Well, what the issue is and what the law is, is presumptively, Howard K. Stern is the father because he cohabitated with Anna Nicole Smith, and his name is on the birth certificate. But it`s a rebuttable presumption. What that means is that Howard K. Stern can say, most likely in his intervention here, that he wants a blood test or he wants a DNA test. The judge can order it. But in fact, Howard K. Stern, as guardian of the child, can say, I`m not going to do it. And then the judge can either hold him in contempt of court or just acknowledge the fact that he is the father and is not allowing that DNA test.
GRACE: And also joining us there in the Bahamas, former cop, former fed Mike Brooks. Mike, now I hear that Birkhead`s lawyer claims there`s a hole -- I assume that`s a legal loophole -- in the birth certificate of the baby. And everybody, why we`re so concerned about this baby, Anna Nicole Smith`s 5-month-old baby girl, Dannielynn, she`s the heir to an estimated $475 million. Now I think you`re getting the picture of why everybody wants custody of this baby.
Mike Brooks, what legal loophole?
MIKE BROOKS, FORMER D.C. POLICE, SERVED ON FBI TERRORISM TASK FORCE: Well, apparently, there`s one line on the birth certificate, Nancy -- and I think Mr. Propin (ph) will probably be able to talk to this a little bit better. But there`s one place where they`re signed by Dion M. Smith (ph), attorney. Here in the Bahamas, it has to be someone who actually witnessed the birth, or it should have been Howard Kevin Stern, Howard K. Stern, on that particular line. Debra Opri today said that as far as she was concerned, it was a fraud.
GRACE: A fraud. A fraud. OK.
BROOKS: A fraud.
GRACE: Out to the lines. Let`s go to Terry in New York. Hi, Terry.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. I`d like to know how the ex-husband feels about Virgie disturbing Daniel`s gravesite.
GRACE: The ex-husband? Which one would that be?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Daniel`s father.
GRACE: OK, well, here`s the kicker. We don`t know who Dannielynn`s father is. Oh, oh! You mean Anna Nicole Smith`s ex?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Correct.
GRACE: Oh, I`ve got you. You know, interesting point. Out to you, Art Harris, investigative reporter. Art`s covered cases all over the world. Have we heard anything from Daniel`s father about the removal of his body, the potential exhumation?
ART HARRIS, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: What we`ve heard, Nancy, is that he -- he came on the phone with Judge Seidlin in court the other day, sort of a telephone deposition, as it were. And he said he felt that -- that, you know, Anna Nicole should be buried with his son, that that was her desire, and didn`t think that he should be moved.
Now, we don`t know how he feels about, you know, exhuming the body, should, you know, she wind up there and something happen later, where somehow Virgie gets -- you know, gets access to it. But he did say over the phone that he felt that they should be buried together.
GRACE: That`s your answer, Terry in New York. But back to you, Jean Casarez. Remember -- Art Harris is correct. When her first husband, the biological father of her dead son, Daniel, got on the phone and started kind of testifying in front of Judge Seidlin, it backfired. Remember? That`s not the purpose they brought him on for.
CASAREZ: No, I think it did backfire because he said that he had not spoken with the boy since 1988, had not seen him, had not spoken to him since 1996. And I think the judge did not really take this into consideration when he made his order last week.
GRACE: And also, Jean, wasn`t that phone hookup made by Virgie Arthur`s lawyers, and then when they got the dad on the phone, he said, Well, I think they should all be buried together in the Bahamas? Ruh-roh!
CASAREZ: That`s right. I think it was a last desperation move by Virgie Arthur`s lawyers because they obviously were trying to get ahold of that body. But Nancy, they still may be successful because there is an appeal in Florida right now, and the appellate court has issued a stay to the judge`s orders last week. And what that means is that the body is not leaving the morgue anytime soon, until there can be response with the appeal court.
GRACE: That`s right, Jean Casarez, today a stay by the appellate court there in Florida. Now her body is staying right there in the morgue. Joining us right now, a very special guest, the chief medical examiner there at the morgue, Dr. Joshua Perper. Dr. Perper, again, thank you for being with us tonight, usually illuminating so many issues. Were you prepared for that decision today? Did you expect that`s what would happen? She`s going to be your house guest for quite some time.
DR. JOSHUA PERPER, BROWARD COUNTY MEDICAL EXAMINER: Well, there`s nothing I can do about it. And as a matter of fact, it didn`t surprise me because the appellate court, the fourth circuit court, decided to review the case. And if they review the case, such an order was expected. So it`s very unfortunate that this woman is not laid to rest, but there`s nothing I can do about it.
GRACE: Dr. Perper, I know that you personally arranged for a funeral home to come in and embalm Miss Anna Nicole Smith to preserve her body. As the body lies there at the medical examiner`s office, what happens to it?
PERPER: Well, there`s a natural process of deterioration of body tissue, and especially of the face. There might be discoloration of the face, peeling of the skin, a lot of changes. I don`t think that nobody can predict the rate of deterioration. But obviously, the longer it takes, the more likely such a change will appear.
GRACE: Let`s go out to clinical psychologist Dr. Andrea Macari. Andrea, everybody`s wrangling in court. As Dr. Perper says, the body is deteriorating. It seems like no one cares about that at all.
ANDREA MACARI, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: Well, I think, Nancy, what`s happening is, is they`re using the law to really bring out all their anger. And what`s the purpose of anger? Well, it`s a substitution for grief. So by going through the courts, really, what they`re doing is they`re preventing themselves from feeling the real sadness of the loss that they`ve experienced.
GRACE: Out to the lines. Michelle in Connecticut. Hi, Michelle.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. I love your show.
GRACE: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I wanted to know, what right does Virgie have to exhume Daniel`s body?
GRACE: You know, interesting. Let`s go back out to you, Jean Casarez. How would that work, if it gets that far?
CASAREZ: Well, if Virgie would be determined to be the next of kin to baby Dannielynn, then she also could be considered next of kin to Daniel, who is in the grave. And she could make the decision then to exhume him.
GRACE: Tonight with us, another special guest. This is Virgie Arthur, Anna Nicole Smith`s biological mom`s lawyer. Joining us there in West Palm Beach, Florida, Roberta Mandel. Thank you for being with us.
ROBERTA MANDEL, ATTORNEY FOR VIRGIE ARTHUR: Thank you for having me.
GRACE: This is a big, big win. Although the appellate court didn`t say, Yes, Virgie, you`re right, they did stop everything and say, You know what? Wait a minute. We`re going to hear arguments or we`re going to read arguments from all the parties involved. What is your take on how these proceedings should come out?
MANDEL: This was a very big win. The pleadings should -- you know, they speak for themselves, and I believe the appellate court recognized that there were some very serious issues that really needed to be addressed. And truth be told, the trial court should have dismissed Mr. Stern`s petition initially because Mr. Stern had no standing to bring that petition at all in the trial court.
And if this had been any other case, any other individual, that hearing would have last a half hour, as opposed to six days. He was not related whatsoever. He was not married to the decedent. There`s no real concrete evidence, nor was any brought out at trial, that he really is the father. And the trial judge himself in the order came out and said that Mr. Stern was not the appropriate party to be bringing that action.
GRACE: With us tonight, Roberta Mandel. She is Virgie Arthur`s lawyer. Big win for Ms. Mandel and Virgie Arthur in court today. The breaking news tonight is a Florida court has put an emergency stay on all these proceedings. Dr. Joshua Perper is going to keep Anna Nicole Smith`s body for an even longer period of time right there at the morgue.
Elizabeth, let`s unleash the lawyers. Joining us tonight, Jeff Skatoff, probate expert, Ray Giudice and Greg McKeithen. Welcome, gentlemen. First of all, to you, Ray Giudice. A little problem with the will. First of all, the beneficiary is someone who predeceased Anna Nicole Smith. Second thing, they didn`t perfect the will. So I can write on this piece of paper that Howard Stern is my executor and throw it out the window, right here on the eighth floor. And that`s about what it`s worth. Explain.
RAY GIUDICE, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: That`s right, Nancy. For folks that have access to good legal counsel, this will, or lack thereof a good will, has created an enormous amount of problems, which of course, has led this - - and I think the appellate counsel that you just spoke to has raised some very meritorious issues in her appeal, which is why the appellate court has granted this stay.
GRACE: And also, let me go out to you, Greg McKeithen. You tried a lot of cases when I was there with you in the district attorney`s office. The problem with what happened with Danny`s father -- Daniel, Danny, the little boy, 20 years old, died -- they got him on the phone, Greg, tried to help Virgie Arthur`s case, and instead, he blurted out right in front of the judge, right on live television, I think they should all be buried together in the Bahamas. That is not what Virgie Arthur wanted. The reality is, they asked a question, Greg, they didn`t know the answer to. Problem! Why?
GREG MCKEITHEN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: That is a problem. I can tell you why, Nancy. As an experienced trial counsel, I never ask a question unless I know the answer to the question. Whether on direct examination or cross- examination, you should always know the direction you`re going to go with the question. Therefore, never ask a question unless you know the answer to it. In other words, I go to where the evidence leads me. If it leads me there, I go there. If it doesn`t lead me there, I will not go there. They should not have gone there.
GRACE: And to you, Jeff Skatoff, the problem with the will. We all thought her naming Stern the executor wrapped it up lock, stock and barrel. Not so, Jeff.
JEFFREY H. SKATOFF, WILL AND PROBATE ATTORNEY: Well, the problem is that until he produces the original will and offers it for probate in a court that has jurisdiction over the probate, he`s not the executor. So right now, we don`t have an executor.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The guardian should never have been appointed in the first place. We have a child. We have a living grandmother who was ready, willing and able to serve in that capacity. And to go to an absolute stranger is -- makes no sense at all, and not only that, is against all Florida law to -- that holds to the contrary.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Not so fast, Howard Stern! A Florida appellate court, emergency stay, the proceedings keeping Anna Nicole Smith`s body there in the morgue until tomorrow, 2:00 PM, when all sides involved have the opportunity to tell the court why they should get the remains of covergirl Anna Nicole Smith, the 39-year-old found dead in her Florida hotel. Problem. The 5-month-old baby girl is down in the Bahamas with Howard Stern.
Let`s go out to the lines. Kisha in New York. Hi, Kisha.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. How are you?
GRACE: I`m good, dear. What`s your question?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have a very big question.
GRACE: Oh, Lord!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. I understand that this appeal by the mother, Virgie, is going on now. But my question is, what`s going to happen if Virgie does win the appeal, and then Stern and Birkhead want to appeal? How long can the appeals process continue, and how long will her body stay there in the morgue?
GRACE: You know, theoretically, they could try to appeal it all the way up. But for it to go as far as somewhere like the U.S. Supreme Court, there`s got to be a bigger issue than just a general probate claim.
You know, what about it, Roberta Mandel? This is Virgie Arthur`s appellate lawyer.
MANDEL: Nancy, the appellate court, in its wisdom, ruled very quickly today. And the appellate court system in Florida -- I`ve been an appellate attorney for 23 years. They know the importance that this case has to proceed as quickly as possible. And judging by the ruling today, there`s no reason to anticipate that this is going to drag out, certainly not the way it did.
GRACE: I believe that Kisha`s question is, say your client, Virgie Arthur, wins. Do the other two appeal? And how long can this go on, Roberta?
MANDEL: If -- you know, that`s a question you`re going to have to ask the other side, you know, if they would win. If Virgie, of course, wins, she`ll be very happy that she`ll be able to bury her child in her native Texas with her -- amongst her loved ones.
GRACE: Back out to the lines. Ellie in Indiana. So the answer to that is it`s anybody`s guess, Kisha, how long this can go on. And I`m glad Dr. Perper is here, hearing this tonight, so he might as well just keep that room vacant for Anna Nicole Smith there at the morgue.
Ellie in Indiana. Hi, Ellie.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. I love you.
GRACE: Thank you, dear. What`s your question?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Where -- how`s Virgie getting all this money for all the lawyers and the appeals and stuff?
GRACE: What about it, Roberta Mandel? How is Ms. Arthur paying for all the attorneys and the appeals?
MANDEL: You know, that`s a question that really doesn`t have anything to do with the merits and...
GRACE: I get it. Ellie, like any good lawyer, she`s not going to divulge her client`s business. I`d like to know, too. I`ll continue to dig.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I feel like that my client`s going to win, as she -- because she should win. And I think it`ll all be straightened out in two weeks, and she`ll get to take the body and bury it, the body of her daughter.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Face-off! A Florida appellate court rules Judge Seidlin`s decision must be stayed. Now the onus on Perper to keep Anna Nicole Smith at the morgue. Let`s take a look. Face-off. Seidlin, 56, born in New York. Dr. Perper, 74, born in Romania. Seidlin, J.D. from Miami. Perper, studied law at Hebrew U., post-grad studies at Johns Hopkins University. Seidlin, appointed Broward County circuit judge `89. Perper, chief medical examiner since 1994.
Let`s keep going. Seidlin -- he wants his own TV show. Dr. Perper performed multiple autopsies, thousands of autopsies, and has a background in law and medicine. Seidlin, quote, "That baby`s on a cold, cold storage room. It`s not decaying so fast." Perper, "There is unfortunate deterioration much faster than expected."
That`s it between two major players in this hearing. We saw 18 lawyers in the courtroom, but those two really set the stage for what has happened today, emergency stay in the proceedings.
Back out to Jean Casarez. Jean, what happens now?
CASAREZ: What happens now is that tomorrow by 2:00 o`clock, the respondents have to file briefs. And we`re talking about the guardian ad litem of the little baby, Dannielynn, and we`re also talking about Howard K. Stern. That`s all in Florida. We expect possibly oral arguments on Wednesday.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY BIRKHEAD, CLAIMS TO BE FATHER OF DANNIELYNN: I just told her over and over, I said, don`t -- something`s going to happen to you. Something`s going to happen. And sometimes I didn`t even know if she was going to live. And they kept bringing more and more drugs in the house.
LARRY SEIDLIN, BROWARD COUNTY JUDGE: Let`s say you`re the father. Do you think you can develop a relationship with Mr. Stern?
BIRKHEAD: You know, there`s a lot of hurt and heartache. I missed the delivery of my child. I`ve had to pay $4.95 for magazines to see what my child looks like. And the more he fights me and the more it takes, the less likely he`s put...
DEBRA OPRI, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: He testified yesterday under oath that he was the natural father of Dannielynn under the laws of Bahama. Bahama does not recognize a biological father, and the laws in this state list the natural father as the biological father.
Mr. Stern, you can laugh at me all you want. Are you or are you not the biological father of Dannielynn under the laws of this state?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And as of today, breaking news regarding an appellate court in Florida. They have issued an emergency stay on all the proceedings. At the end of last week, we all thought that Anna Nicole Smith`s body was headed for the Bahamas for burial next to her young son, Danny. Not so, according to a Florida court of appeals.
Let`s go straight out to the lines. Renee in South Carolina, hi, Renee.
CALLER: Hi, Nancy.
GRACE: What`s your question, dear?
CALLER: How is a Broward County guardian ad litem and/or medical examiner have jurisdiction in the Bahamas, that Florida doesn`t have jurisdiction over...
GRACE: Renee, I have been saying that from day one. Let`s unleash the lawyers. Ray Giudice, Jeff Skatoff and Greg Mikithen (ph). You know, I think a lot of it, ray, is that possession is nine-tenths of the law. They had Anna Nicole Smith`s remains in Florida when she died. It was a total fluke, Ray.
RAY GIUDICE, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: That`s right. And everyone sort of laughed at the judge when he said, "The body is mine," but what he was trying to say was, "This court has jurisdiction over the body."
This whole case is about jurisdiction. Every issue in this case comes back to who has jurisdiction over her body, who has jurisdiction to probate the will, who has jurisdiction over the child.
GRACE: But, you know, the point, though, Jeff Skatoff, the question that Renee wanted to know, in addition to the body, Ray addressed, is the issue of guardianship. The Florida court does not have jurisdiction.
JEFFREY SKATOFF, WILL AND PROBATE ATTORNEY: I think what Judge Seidlin did was he appointed a guardian for Dannielynn for the narrow purpose of representing her interests in the dispute as to who should take the body and not as a guardian for all of her rights, wherever they may exist. Whether he had the right to do that under Florida law, I think remains to be seen.
GRACE: OK. Out to Cheryl in Connecticut. Hi, Cheryl.
CALLER: Hi, Nancy, you`re the best.
GRACE: Thank you, dear. What`s your question?
CALLER: My question is, Richard Millstein, as you were just discussing, the court-appointed guardian ad litem, is supposed to be advocating for Dannielynn`s best interests. Therefore, why is it that he is not demanding DNA testing? Why is he not advocating on behalf of or in conjunction with everyone?
GRACE: Well, Cheryl, I think wisely Millstein knows that the jurisdiction over the DNA testing is where the baby is, and that baby is in the Bahamas. All these motions regarding paternity should have rightly been filed down there at the get-go, instead of all this incessant whining in front of the microphone and the camera.
Out to you, Sherri in Texas, hi, Sherri.
CALLER: Hi.
GRACE: What`s your question, dear?
CALLER: Well, I`m curious as to whether Mr. Stern can claim to be her common-law husband, and, therefore, her next of kin?
GRACE: Oh, interesting. Let`s go out to Godfrey "Pro" Pinder. He is the attorney for G. Ben Thompson.
Mr. Pinder, thank you for being with us.
GODFREY PINDER, ATTORNEY FOR ANNA`S LANDLORD: Thank you.
GRACE: What about the possibility of him being established as a common-law husband? I think I`ve got Mr. Pinder on the phone. Hi, can you hear me?
PINDER: Yes, I`m on the line. You`re talking about a common-law husband?
GRACE: Yes, is it possible that Stern could be considered a common- law husband?
PINDER: No. He has to be at least seven years with a woman, living in the Bahamas in the house before he can be established as a common-law husband.
GRACE: Well, Mr. Pinder has the answer on the law. Everything else is in flux tonight. At least we`ve got one straight answer.
Back out to you, Mike Brooks, former D.C. cop and former fed with the FBI. Why are U.S. law enforcement down in the Bahamas?
MIKE BROOKS, FORMER D.C. POLICE: That`s a good question, Nancy. Sources close to the investigation that I spoke to today said that two investigators from Florida were here speaking with a doctor. Apparently this doctor, Hubert Menace (ph), is the OB-GYN of Anna Nicole Smith.
Now, what they want to know, and the questions they were going to ask this doctor is, what kind of drugs did he prescribe to her before, during and after her pregnancy? And what this says to me, Nancy, as a former investigator, is, I think some things are starting to come back from the toxicology tests, and they`re now looking to draw a parallel, maybe a link analysis between the death of Daniel and the death of Anna Nicole in Florida.
But I tell you what, I`m anxious to hear exactly what they have to say and what they found out from this doctor and if they are able to draw a link between the two, because, keep in mind, we still have a coroner`s inquest on March 26th here in the Bahamas into the cause of death of Daniel. We still don`t know. That has not been answered as of yet.
And there`s supposed to be 30 witnesses appear at this coroner`s inquest. And I can tell you, the chief magistrate here is licking his chops to get Howard Stern on the stand and question him, because he`s the only living person who was in that hospital room when Daniel died.
GRACE: To you, investigative reporter Art Harris. You heard -- and I`m sure understand -- the implications of what Brooks has just said, that the law enforcement are looking for connections in the death of Daniel and the death of Anna Nicole.
ART HARRIS, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST: Absolutely, Nancy. You know, you can`t...
GRACE: Do you believe that to be true?
HARRIS: Well, it`s very circumstantial, and they`ve got to look at it. You know, you actually had a homicide trial unit prosecutor writing South Carolina authorities to give up, you know, the material or the possessions that were taken from her home in the Bahamas, the two computers and other things, and turn it over to the Florida investigators. So it`s getting interest at a high level, Nancy.
GRACE: Back to you, Dr. Joshua Perper, the chief medical examiner there in Broward County. Two questions: Do you have the toxicology reports back? And what precautions are you taking to safeguard the remains?
DR. JOSHUA PERPER, BROWARD COUNTY MEDICAL EXAMINER: Nancy, they`re all the time coming in, toxicology tests. We have already a substantial number of such tests, but we are waiting for more. And all the results of those tests are going to be disclosed in time.
You know, I hear all the time all kind of speculation, and that`s what they are. And I would say, in my opinion, most of those speculation are totally unfounded.
In regard to the body of Nicole, the body`s under the same condition of very strict control. The body is in a plastic bag, which is sealed with evidence tape, inside the cage, which is sealed with evidence cage, and it is locked inside the refrigerator, which is locked, inside an office which has security system. And on the outside, there are deputy sheriffs. So it`s totally impossible to have more safety than we have now.
GRACE: Dr. Perper, are you ready to tell me what`s in that urinalysis tonight?
PERPER: No, I am sorry. I really like you a lot, but I`m not going to be so open, because I think it`s improper to start to drip information instead of having the total information at the end.
GRACE: Well, Dr. Perper, maybe you should have been a lawyer, too. That`s what I was talking about earlier. You`ve got to know the answer when you ask the question. I knew you were going to refuse me yet again.
Dr. Perper, when do you believe all of the toxicology reports will finally be in and you can give us the cause of death?
PERPER: In about 10 days, I think in the middle of next week, we are going to have the total puzzle presented and solved.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Loved ones and friends of Tara Grant have put up fliers like this one all over town hoping they will lead to answers. Grant, who was a wife, mother of two, and an executive with an international engineering construction company has been missing after a disagreement with her husband, Stephen, over all her traveling for work. She left the house the night of February 9th and hasn`t been seen or heard from since.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: A Michigan mother of two vanishes into thin air. We want answers. Take a look at this lady. Out to Chad Halcom with "The Macomb Daily." What happened, Chad?
CHAD HALCOM, REPORTER, "MACOMB DAILY": ... remembers seeing Tara was the night she returned home from a business trip, one she regularly takes to Puerto Rico. She came home, sees her husband. This is late at night, after the kids are in bed. A fight breaks out. Apparently, the two have a disagreement about her frequent traveling. She needs to return to Puerto Rico right away on additional business.
At some point after that, she has contact with someone outside the home. We don`t know with whom and by what means, but then a car comes to pick her up. According to the husband`s account, she leaves and has not been seen since.
GRACE: Also with us tonight, Sheriff Mark A. Hackelz. He is the Macomb County sheriff.
Sir, thank you for being with us. What is the latest in the search for Tara?
SHERIFF MARK A. HACKELZ, MACOMB COUNTY: Thanks, Nancy. Again, we`re still very hopeful that she is alive and that she`s out there. And, obviously, getting this national attention might give somebody some indication that they`ve seen her to get a hold of us, let us know. National Center for Missing Adults has a hotline. They can long on if they see something, give us a tip.
But we`re very hopeful she`s actually still alive. As days pass, it becomes more of a concern for us that something, you know, obviously tragic or some foul play may be involved in this situation here.
GRACE: Sheriff, can you confirm that she was in the home, her home, the night she went missing?
HACKELZ: Only according to the husband`s statement. So, in other words, we actually -- five days later, actually on February 14th, Valentine`s Day, the husband came into our office around 10:00, reported her missing, reported that she`d been missing since the 9th of February.
We went back to the home to talk to him. About an hour and a half, spoke with him. We were unable to make any determination by physical means that she was actually there. It`s all by his account at this point in time. He did indicate she left, walked down the driveway, got into a black car after they argued. Again, that black car has not been accounted for. There has been no indication, transactions, phone records, or anything of this missing mother since that February 9th date.
GRACE: And no cell or credit card activity?
HACKELZ: Absolutely no cell phones, credit cards. She was supposed to get on a plane, head back to Puerto Rico for work that Sunday, that Monday and, unfortunately, did not get on that flight. And nobody has seen or heard from her, from her family, her coworkers, her husband, not even us in law enforcement. Nobody has heard anything, and we`re working as diligently as we can to find something that would give us an indication that she`s actually alive. And we have been unable to do that at this time.
GRACE: Please take a look at Tara Grant, everyone. She`s a 34-year- old mother of two. Ages 4 and 6 are the ages of her two children. They want their mom to come home. Something is very, very wrong with this scenario.
Joining me tonight is Tara`s sister, Alicia Standerfer. Alicia, thank you for being with us.
ALICIA STANDERFER, SISTER OF TARA GRANT: Thank you for having me.
GRACE: What can you tell us about the search for your sister?
STANDERFER: Well, thus far, as Sheriff Hackelz already said, you know, just the facts of the search, the fact that her cell phone has not been used, the fact that her credit card has not been used, there has been no contact with family members. You know, we are just beside ourselves with the whole scenario.
GRACE: Alicia, would she have gone this long without calling you or any family member? How often did she speak to you?
STANDERFER: We speak fairly frequently. In fact, actually, the day of her disappearance I spoke with her twice. And under no circumstances would she ever go this long without speaking to myself, my mother, or her two children.
GRACE: So is your mom like the clearinghouse, everybody checks in with her all the time?
STANDERFER: Yes, you know, just like a typical mom.
GRACE: And what about the children, the 4-year-old and the 6-year- old? Where are they tonight?
STANDERFER: As far as I know, they`re with my brother-in-law.
GRACE: Have you spoken to him about this?
STANDERFER: Yes, I have.
GRACE: And he said?
STANDERFER: You know, I haven`t spoke with him in the last few days. But, you know, he`s pretty much given me his account of which the police already -- you know, they already have that information. I know he`s said that Tara came home, they had an argument, that they actually had an argument prior to her coming home, on the way home from the airport.
GRACE: About what?
STANDERFER: From what he has told me, it was about her having to return to Puerto Rico. She was scheduled to return to Puerto Rico on that Monday.
GRACE: Oh, I thought they might have been arguing about his e-mails?
STANDERFER: No, those have only come to the forefront since my sister`s disappearance.
GRACE: Sheriff Hackelz, what can you tell me about the e-mails the husband was sending?
HACKELZ: Again, those e-mails were forwarded by a girlfriend of the husband. At that point in time, we didn`t know about it. She forwarded it to a local news media outlet. They then, in turn, told her to contact us. They got a hold of us. It was printed in the paper, obviously something we didn`t put out.
But, again, looking at them, there is a concern, obviously, if you look at it, about the perception of, you know, the female and this individual in this relationship knowing that he was married. But, again, it didn`t really do much for us in the investigation, actually determine where is she at this point in time. It might have something to do with credibility issues, but, again, for us, in actually helping us locate Tara...
GRACE: Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! "I do want to see you naked"? That`s to the girlfriend?
HACKELZ: Apparently, yes, from what we`ve been able to determine.
GRACE: To Andrea Macari, help me out, Andrea.
ANDREA MACARI, INSTRUCTOR OF PSYCHOLOGY: Well, Nancy, it`s really easy to demonize men who are married who are engaging in inappropriate relationships. But the reality is, it`s a lot more common than people want to believe. Sixty percent of married men engage in extramarital affairs, 40 percent of women. And the reality is, is they do for a number of different reasons. So don`t be so judgmental about that. It certainly does not make him a murderer.
GRACE: Just looking at the evidence, Dr. Macari, speaking of the husband, he is not a suspect. He has not been named a suspect. Take a listen to this.
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STEPHEN GRANT, HUSBAND OF TARA GRANT: Tara knows of my relationship with the woman that sent those e-mails. It`s not a relationship that`s untoward or anything like that. It`s simply a very old friendship.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police still say that you are not a suspect in this case. Do you feel that you are not a suspect in this investigation?
GRANT: I have no idea. I mean, I know what I was told on the night of the 14th.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Should you be a suspect in this investigation?
GRANT: I don`t know. They have to look at what they have to look at, and I understand that. I`m sure there`s a lot of suspects in the case.
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GRACE: Out to you, Elizabeth. Let`s take a look in the control room. You`re an old friend. You`ve never asked to see -- do you ask to see them naked?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolutely not.
GRACE: OK, you know, I want to go back very quickly to you, Alicia. Forget the e-mails. Andrea is right: A lot of people engage in e-mail flirtation. It means absolutely nothing. What can you tell us about your sister, to help find her?
STANDERFER: My sister is a fun-loving person, you know, always bubbly, a kind of person that, once you meet her, you never forget her face, you never forget, you know, how she is as a person, a wonderful mom and a loving person.
GRACE: The tip line: 800-690-FIND. Please.
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GRACE: Thirty-four-year-old Tara Grant, missing. Tonight, her two children looking for their mom, ages 4 and 6. Quickly to Tara`s sister, Alicia Standerfer. Everybody, that tip line, 800-690-FIND.
Alicia, how are the children tonight?
STANDERFER: Well, my mom spoke with them tonight. And as far as I know, they`re holding it together the best that they can.
GRACE: Everyone, again, the tip number, 1-800-690-FIND or go online. We`re keeping this picture posted on our Web site. Please help us.
Let`s stop to remember tonight Army Sergeant Robert Thrasher, 23, Folsom, California, killed, Iraq. Enlisting straight from high school, he wanted to see the world. A tank driver on a second tour, he loved rollerblading, sports cars, traveling, skiing, European history, architecture, collecting wine. He leaves behind a grieving grandmother and his high school sweetheart, Christine, also in the Army. Robert Thrasher, American hero.
Thank you to all our guests, but our biggest thank you to you. And tonight, a special good night from a New York friend of the show, Sherri. A few months ago, I traveled with other volunteers to Biloxi to help rebuild homes devastated by Katrina. One of those volunteers, Sherri, traveled with us all the way from New York to hammer, nail, and for her to cook and help the others.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... face of the people around me and their belief in me that I could come here and do this and make a difference. I`m not saying that it`s easy to see the devastation and to see and listen to these people`s stories, but it`s inspiring at the same time, because they`re still here. It`s been really great, you know, doing everything from learning how to sheetrock, insulation, spackling, or like mudding, as they like to call it, and cooking.
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GRACE: Let`s don`t give up on our coast, Biloxi. NANCY GRACE signing off for tonight. See you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern. And until then, good night, friend.
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