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Nancy Grace
Anna Nicole Smith Funeral; The Week in the Courts
Aired March 02, 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. Just moments before the body of 39-year-old covergirl Anna Nicole Smith is laid to rest, the parties land where? Back in court, a last-minute emergency hearing filed by the covergirl`s mom to stop the burial, the hearse stopped en route to the graveyard, baking in the hot Bahamian sun while lawyers argue before a judge.
But after weeks of legal wrangling, Anna Nicole Smith buried today beside her young son. Hundreds converge on the scene, including the mother, the boyfriend and the lawyer, at an all-pink funeral. But rest in peace? No way. The biological dad of Anna Nicole`s son already petitions a Bahamian for exhumation and removal of the body to Texas.
All the while, investigators circling, reviewing evidence on not one but two suspicious deaths, Anna Nicole`s and her 20-year-old son, Daniel. And paternity hearings on her 6-month-old baby girl set down on a court calendar. In the balance, a $475 million estate.
And tonight, mystery surrounding the search for a 20-year-old Indiana University student who vanishes into thin air.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`ve been working on this case for almost five years. To be quite honest, first of all, this particular case has been a very difficult case from the very beginning. It`s been very hard on Scott`s family, his friends and our community. Our investigators have followed up on hundreds of tips, none of which have led us to any closer to solving Scott`s disappearance up to this point. But it`s a number one priority and has been from day one.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Good evening, everybody. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us tonight. First, to the Bahamas.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD MILSTEIN, GUARDIAN AD LITEM FOR DANNIELYNN: Today we share our grief with all of you, ladies and gentlemen here at the church, at the graveside, and worldwide audience. Today we come to you to carry out the final and most sacred, solemn act in the life of any individual, to provide a final resting place. We come to Nassau in the Bahamas, a beautiful, lush setting that was chosen by Vickie Lynn Marshall, known as Anna Nicole Smith. This she chose as her final resting place.
During her lifetime, Anna Nicole Smith became a larger-than-life persona. Her stars shown in the highest of zenith. Her pictures flashed and her face was seen throughout the world. She luxuriated in that press, in that media, in that publicity.
Unfortunately, in a time when life should have been reaching its highest peak for her, she was both received a blessing and a curse.
Miss Smith sought seclusion, solace here in the Bahamas and decided to bury her son in private, in a quiet area of the world and from the public, and away from the media, so that she could have time and solitude with him in the sun.
How much more tragic is that today, that just five months later, we`re coming here to bury Anna Nicole Smith, the mother who grieved so grievously for her son. I would ask everyone to just take one moment for a silent prayer for Vickie Lynn Marshall, also known as Anna Nicole Smith.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And of course, during these sacred proceedings of the funeral and burial, courthouse maneuverings, as paternity hearings are waiting, an ongoing inquest, and of course, a last-minute request to stop the burial.
Out to Court TV news correspondent Jean Casarez. Cap it off, Jean.
JEAN CASAREZ, COURT TV: Virgie Arthur filed a petition with the supreme court in the Bahamas before her lordship Justice Anita Adams (ph), asking the court that she be granted custody of the body, so the funeral couldn`t take place and the burial couldn`t take place. Petition denied.
GRACE: You know, what I don`t understand though, Jean, is what Virgie Arthur -- this is Anna Nicole Smith`s mother -- had to say to a Bahamian judge that she didn`t already say in all those weeks of wrangling in a Florida courtroom.
CASAREZ: Well, I think you`re under Bahamian law, I think she wanted to be declared as next of kin so she could stop the proceedings.
GRACE: And Jean, what about already talk of exhumation?
CASAREZ: Right. Well, this is Billy Smith. This is separate and distinct, in a sense. Billy Smith, the birth father of Daniel Smith, had an attorney file a letter with the court in the Bahamas asking for his son to be able to be exhumed so he could be taken back to the United States and buried in Texas with the rest of the family. And CNN is reporting that there will be a hearing on that matter earliest next week.
GRACE: Now, hold on. This is the biological father now wanting the body of his son, 20-year-old Daniel, who did die under suspicious circumstances there in the Bahamas, the body dug up and exhumed and moved to Texas. Let me ask you something, Jean. How many years did he pay child support?
CASAREZ: Well, we heard through court testimony in Florida he had last seen him in 1988. He had last spoken to him in 1996.
GRACE: Back to the child support question. Has he been paying for the upkeep of this boy all these years?
CASAREZ: That was unanswered in court, and I think you`d have to ask the family.
GRACE: But now he wants to exhume the body.
CASAREZ: Correct.
GRACE: OK. Getting the picture. Take a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY SEIDLIN, BROWARD COUNTY, FLORIDA, JUDGE: Are you prepared to have a court somewhere in this world exhume his body and bring him to Texas?
BILLY SMITH, ANNA NICOLE`S FIRST HUSBAND: No. No.
SEIDLIN: What should I do with his body? If I was a judge who had jurisdiction over that -- over this boy`s body, what...
SMITH: (INAUDIBLE)
SEIDLIN: What`s that?
SMITH: (INAUDIBLE)
SEIDLIN: To the mother and the son?
SMITH: Yes. Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: OK. Let me get this straight, Jean. Wasn`t that him, the biological dad, on the phone, I guess under sworn testimony over the phone. Judge Seidlin allowed that. Of course, there is not a shred of courtroom precedent to allow that. But he allowed this phone call from an anonymous person claiming to be Billy Smith, who says, No, I don`t want -- it`s a complete turn-around.
CASAREZ: Well, it appears as though it is. That`s right. I want them to be buried side by side, and I now guess he`s decided step A would be to put Daniel in Texas, so that they could ultimately be side to side once Virgie Arthur had Anna Nicole Smith removed to Texas.
GRACE: Let`s go out to the lines. Kathy in Pennsylvania. Hi, Kathy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, friend.
GRACE: How`re you doing?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Love your show.
GRACE: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My question, Nancy, is what would you suppose was the motivation behind that really hateful event that occurred today, when she tried to stop the funeral? What was the rush now? What did she hope to accomplish?
GRACE: You know, I really don`t know. I`m going to have to go to a lawyer and a shrink on that one. Jean Casarez, you said that Virgie Arthur literally stopped the funeral procession, allowing that hearse to bake with the dead body in it out in the Bahamian sun. For what? To declare herself next of kin? What about the baby?
CASAREZ: That is right, the best interests of the child. You know, I think that this is an issue now between Virgie Arthur and Howard K. Stern. I think emotions are involved, and that has a lot to do with this.
GRACE: This is what the guardian ad litem had to say. Now, think about it. There were about 30 people there at the closed ceremony. One of those 30 was the court-appointed guardian ad litem. Another of the 30 was the medical examiner who performed the autopsy. This is in Anna Nicole Smith`s inner circle.
Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MILSTEIN: If one were to write a Greek tragedy, one could not write a script as sorrowful and as hurtful as this. How horrific is it for a mother to have to bury a son under 21 years?
With all of the publicity and all of the press of the past, Miss Smith sought seclusion, solace here in the Bahamas and decided to bury her son in private, in a quiet area of the world, and from the public and away from the media, so that she could have time and solitude with him in the sun.
How much more tragic is that today that just five months later, we`re coming here to bury Anna Nicole Smith, the mother who grieved so grievously for her son.
We come to Nassau in the Bahamas, a beautiful, lush setting that was chosen by Vickie Lynn Marshall, known as Anna Nicole Smith. This she chose as her final resting place. During her lifetime, Anna Nicole Smith became a larger-than-life persona. Her stars shown in the highest of zenith. Her pictures flashed, and her face was seen throughout the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Those words spoken today at the funeral of Anna Nicole Smith.
Let`s go down to the Bahamas. Standing by, Mike Brooks. Describe the scene.
MIKE BROOKS, FORMER D.C. POLICE, SERVED ON FBI TERRORISM TASK FORCE: Well, Nancy, I was at the cemetery, and there were about 300 Bahamians and tourists that were there to see what was going on, some of them dressed in pink, Anna Nicole`s favorite color. There were three tents.
As the funeral procession made their way into the cemetery, there was all quiet. Everyone was very dignified. They came in. As people got out of the limo -- as Virgie Arthur got out of her limousine, there were boos. But when Larry Birkhead got out of his limousine, it was...
GRACE: Wa-wa-wa-wa-wa-wait, wait, wait! they booed the mother at the cemetery?
BROOKS: They booed Virgie Arthur at the cemetery. But when Larry Birkhead...
GRACE: Oh, that`s classy all the way! Why? Why was there booing?
BROOKS: Well, I asked some of the people there, especially some of the local Bahamians, and they`ve had enough. They say, Let the woman rest in peace. That`s all they want to see. They said, She said she deserves to be buried with her son, and that`s what the Bahamians here have to say.
GRACE: They`ve had enough? They`ve had enough? They`re selling T- shirts. What do you mean they`ve had enough?
BROOKS: Well, there were some people there who actually were dressed in pink, were fans of Anna Nicole Smith. They said that there`s been enough legal wrangling, Let the woman rest in peace. But when Larry Birkhead got out of his limousine, Nancy, there was cheers like he was a rock star. But overall, it was very, very dignified. There was between 250 and 300 people.
But let me also tell you, our producer from CNN, Mike Phelan (ph), was at the court today in reference to the Billy Smith letter. Now, Chief Magistrate Gomez (ph) told Mike Phelan that no one is going anywhere. No one will be exhumed. There`s nothing`s going to happen with this letter that he will take a look at either Tuesday or Wednesday. But nothing will happen until after that coroner`s inquest on March 26 down here in Nassau, Nancy.
GRACE: Well, the reality is, Mike Brooks, that today is just the tip of the iceberg. The investigators are literally circling because the inquest is coming up, and they`re waiting on the results of toxicology and cause of death of Anna Nicole Smith to see if there is a connection between her death and the cause of death on Daniel.
And joining us right now is one of our very special guests. Just back from the Bahamas, joining us is Dr. Joshua Perper, as you know, a renowned forensic pathologist and the chief medical examiner who performed the autopsy on Anna Nicole Smith. Dr. Perper, thank you for being with us tonight. You`ve been doing a lot of traveling today.
DR. JOSHUA PERPER, BROWARD COUNTY MEDICAL EXAMINER: Yes, I did.
GRACE: Dr. Perper, you were there in that ceremony, just a handful of people. What happened?
PERPER: Well, I thought it was like in any kind of those kind of situation, very emotional people and very emotional moment. And people put roses, long-stemmed roses on the casket. And there was beautiful music. And people were very emotionally.
GRACE: Dr. Perper, they actually had an open viewing, an open casket?
PERPER: No, they didn`t. And basically, the -- Anna Nicole Smith was in excellent state of preservation and could have been shown. But Mr. Milstein, in conjunction with the parties, decided that there was already a viewing, and they had some concern about the security problems. And so they decided to have a closed casket.
GRACE: You mean in the smaller service, where there was only, like, 30 people?
PERPER: Correct.
GRACE: When you say they were concerned about security problems, Dr. Perper, what security problems?
PERPER: I really didn`t go into detail, but that`s what I was told.
GRACE: I would imagine it`s the same security problems you were concerned about -- Dr. Perper ensuring tight security around the remains of Anna Nicole Smith up until this point. But now his job is done. Dr. Perper, when did you get back to Florida?
PERPER: When I got back to Florida?
GRACE: Yes.
PERPER: About 5:30 this afternoon.
GRACE: Dr. Perper, have you ever been involved in one of your cases in this manner, where you perform the autopsy, and the next thing you know, you`re having to order security at the medical examiner`s office for weeks, showing up in court, escorting the body to the Bahamas, going to the funeral and then finally leaving when you see the body being buried?
PERPER: No, it never happened, and I doubt that I`ll have another occasion of this kind of situation.
GRACE: Dr. Perper, was she buried with that tiara on her head?
PERPER: Yes, she was buried with the tiara, and in a very beautiful dress which she was viewed the first time, and with a photograph of herself and her son together.
GRACE: Which leads me to my next question. To you, Mike Brooks. Describe for me the security there at that Bahamian cemetery. I saw a video of Jean Casarez walking around the area, and it looked very lonely and very unprotected. And she`s buried with a tiara around her head.
BROOKS: It was very unprotected. There`s no fence that`s permanently around there. But today there was a lot of police officers from the Royal Bahamas Police force that were there providing security. Everything was very orderly.
But I tell you, Nancy, there are three security cameras there at the cemetery, and that`s about it. After everyone leaves and after the tents go away, that`s all that`s going to be there to protect the gravesite, are three security cameras. There`s no fence all the way around that very, very small private cemetery.
GRACE: Let`s unleash the lawyers. Joining us tonight out of the New York jurisdiction, Doug Burns, a veteran trial lawyer. And in Atlanta, Renee Rockwell. First to you, Doug Burns. To exhume a body, that is a herculean effort. How do you go about doing that? The father can`t just write a letter and say, Hey, I want to dig up my son.
DOUG BURNS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: No. We`ve discussed this before. I mean, exhumation ordinarily happens in criminal cases, where you`re moving toward a homicide investigation. A body`s buried too quickly and you need to exhume it in order to do further toxicology along those lines. In a civil context, where they`re battling over the simple who gets custody of a body, I don`t -- I think it`s totally an uphill battle.
GRACE: What about it, Renee?
RENEE ROCKWELL, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, it`s an uphill battle. But Doug, you just mentioned a civil context. There are seven insurance policies. And Nancy, don`t think that the insurance companies won`t get involved in the investigations before they start paying those policies off.
GRACE: Let`s go out to the lines. Jeannie in Michigan. Hi, Jeannie.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. Love your show.
GRACE: Thank you, dear.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Watch you every night.
GRACE: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My question is, if Mr. Milstein, the guardian ad litem, was in charge of the funeral, could you -- could someone tell me why he allowed cameras inside the church and at the burial site?
GRACE: Oh, that`s a very good question.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And why Howard Stern was allowed to make money off of that today?
GRACE: Now, I don`t know about the money. But let`s go to the source. Carlos Diaz with "Extra" is joining us from the Bahamas. Carlos, response?
CARLOS DIAZ, "EXTRA": I went up yesterday to see if our crew could actually go in and shoot inside the church because the doors were wide open. I talked to someone who identified himself as an employee of Sandy Port Development Company, and he told me that another entertainment show had paid a large contribution to the church. And at that point, someone came up to me from Sandy Point and handed me this contract, saying that every crew would have to pay money to be on the private property around the church.
GRACE: OK. The question was, Carlos, why were cameras allowed in the funeral, and has Howard Stern made money off this?
DIAZ: Well, that`s the thing. I mean, I went to the people there at the church, and they said that another entertainment show, "Entertainment Tonight," had paid a large contribution to the church to be inside the church. So apparently...
GRACE: Oh, inside the church. I thought you meant around the church.
DIAZ: Inside the church.
GRACE: OK. I understand.
DIAZ: No, no, no.
GRACE: I understand. And Carlos, what about Howard Stern? Is he getting paid for anything? Have items belonging to Anna Nicole Smith already popped up on eBay? And if money involved, shouldn`t it be held in trust for the baby?
DIAZ: What I can tell you is the money should be held in trust for the baby. When you`re talking to me, a person who works for "Extra," you know, I can`t tell you if another entertainment show actually paid Howard K. Stern for the rights to this story. I would hope that they would be above that.
GRACE: Very quickly, let`s go to tonight`s "Case Alert." Forensic evidence, crime scene photos all presented to a jury of 12. It is day two in the John Evander Couey death penalty trial, Miami, Florida, Couey accused of kidnap, assault and murder of the girl in the pink hat, 9-year- old Jessie Lunsford. Couey, already a child sex predator, back on the streets when Jessie went missing.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MILSTEIN: We come to Nassau in the Bahamas, a beautiful, lush setting that was chosen by Vickie Lynn Marshall, known as Anna Nicole Smith. During her lifetime, Anna Nicole Smith became a larger-than-life persona. Her stars shown in the highest of zenith. Her pictures flashed, and her face was seen throughout the world. Today we come to you to carry out the final and most sacred, solemn act in the life of any individual, to provide a final resting place.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: In the backdrop of a funeral fit for a princess, legal maneuverings in court actually holding up the funeral proceedings, as Anna Nicole Smith`s mother battled one more time to stop the burial. As you can see, it was unsuccessful. Coming up on the court docket, paternity hearings, an inquest as to the death of her son, Daniel, and much, much more, including exhumation process.
Very quickly, I want to announce something we have just learned, and that is that Mount Horeb church there in the Bahamas strongly denies any suggestion that they were paid in any way or profited from this funeral of Anna Nicole Smith, and want that on the record. And I`m happy to put that on the record for them.
Let`s go out to a friend of Anna Nicole Smith`s, someone that knew her and loved her in life. That is her former decorator. You may have met him on her reality show, Bobby Trendy. Hello, Mr. -- Mr. Trendy, That is certainly a beautiful outfit you`ve got on.
BOBBY TRENDY, ANNA NICOLE FRIEND AND FORMER DECORATOR: Thank you. I`m wearing it in remembrance of Anna because we all know her favorite color was pink. Her bedroom was pink. Her coffin was draped in pink. She wore pink. So I`m wearing this today in her memory, as her legacy will carry on.
GRACE: Is that, like, a pink bird on your shoulder?
TRENDY: Yes. And it might fly away.
GRACE: Well, it`s absolutely stunning.
TRENDY: Thank you.
GRACE: Question to you. We`re going to be back with Mr. Trendy in a moment. But do you believe she wanted to be buried there in the Bahamas?
TRENDY: I don`t know if she`s the one that bought those four plots or not, but I think she should be buried in Texas so her American fans could visit her. I don`t know anyone who`s going to fly to the Bahamas. That`s very far.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MILSTEIN: I`m asking all of you, the public, the media (INAUDIBLE) to write a final chapter to this great tragedy with me. I`m asking you to leave a legacy of decorum, dignity and peace and solemnity for her only daughter, Dannielynn.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Welcome back to Bobby Trendy, the decorator on the reality show for Anna Nicole, and her friend. You saw portions of the funeral today. Would she have liked that?
TRENDY: Anna personally, I think she would have liked all of that pink stuff and the tulle and the ribbon everywhere. But I don`t know if all the -- it seemed like there was a lot of tension and drama there because there`s so much unsolved things. It`s a medical, legal and paternity puzzle right now, and I don`t think she would have liked all that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was very sad, of course, but there was a lot of waiting that was going on, because of the last-minute acts by Virgie to stop the funeral, and so everyone sat around waiting.
And then, finally, when it all got started, it was lovely. The pallbearers brought the casket down the church aisle, covered in a pink, velvet drape, beaded with feathers and ribbons. And it was very appropriate.
The pallbearers included Ron Rale, who was Howard`s attorney, Moe, Anna`s his bodyguard, and other friends. The service started. Of course, Howard and Kim were in the front row. Larry sat in the second row, with his attorney. Alice Goen was there, of TrimSpa. The coroner that we`ve seen on the air over the last few weeks was there, and Dannielynn`s guardian, of course, was there, as well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And that is the backdrop for legal wranglings set to go on for months, paternity, exhumation, residency, corruption, even an inquest into the death of her son, Daniel, and her own death, now lined up on court dockets.
Very quickly, before, I got cut off with Mr. Trendy, Bobby Trendy, Anna Nicole`s decorator and friend, Mr. Trendy, one thing I can`t get a handle on, I hear very different stories from the parties themselves. Did Anna Nicole hate her mom that much?
BOBBY TRENDY, FRIEND OF ANNA NICOLE: Anna never talked to me about her relationship with Virgie. Every time I was there, she was just in a happy-go-lucky mood. My experience with her has always just been fun, because I`m fun to be with. She never voiced her opinion about her mother.
GRACE: Interesting, because the mom thought they had such a great relationship. Obviously she did not feel the same way. What can you tell us about her relationships with Birkhead and Stern?
TRENDY: Well, the thing is, I didn`t see a relationship with Larry Birkhead at that time, but I know he was there on an assignment photographing us before. But Howard was very kind and sweet to Anna. He would wait on her, and she liked that, that part of him, when he would do whatever he said.
GRACE: At the time you were with her, did she have a drug problem?
TRENDY: I never saw her do any drugs when I was with her, but sometimes she wasn`t always alert, and aloof and goofy, but they never did any in front of me. Even though I came over there at midnight, and 1:00 and 2:00 in the morning, because Anna called me at those hours to come over, like very late, I came over, but we only talked about pillows, and feathers, and funny stuff. I never saw her do anything, though.
GRACE: You know, I`m really glad to hear it. I think a lot of people are taking advantage of her in death. And, very quickly, do you believe that she wanted to be buried in California?
TRENDY: You know what? I think actually that`s a good question, Nancy. You cut right to the chase. I think they should bury her at (INAUDIBLE) or at Hollywood Forever or Westwood Cemetery. She`s an American celebrity and TV star and should be here. That`s where she wanted to be.
But her son`s in the Bahamas. They should exhume him and bring him and her to Hollywood. That`s where Anna Nicole wanted to be. She loved Marilyn Monroe. She could be buried next to her or Hollywood Forever. All her fans, legions would come.
And another thing today, who was in charge of that guest list, to only allow a few people to come in? When someone dies, I think everyone should be allowed to go see them, like the Ronald Reagan funeral. Everyone was allowed to see our president, President Ford.
And another thing I wanted to tell everyone, I`ve done about 300 interviews since my friend`s passing, and I haven`t taken one dollar for any interview, spending so much time in these news stations and studios to promote my client`s legacy.
GRACE: Well, Mr. Trendy, I`ve got to commend you, because you`re one of the few people that I can of that aren`t making a buck off of it.
TRENDY: I will not do it.
GRACE: Now, the comparison of her funeral to that of Reagan and ford, that`s quite an interesting and yet provocative comparison. And, Mr. Trendy, before I say good bye, I`d like to tell you that your outfit is magnificent. And thank you for your insights.
TRENDY: Oh, thank you. Excuse my beauty, but thank you. Can you believe your pretty little eyes, Nancy?
GRACE: Actually, no, I cannot.
Very quickly, I want to go out to another guest joining us, Eric Redding. The name may be familiar to you. He wrote "Great Big Beautiful Doll: The Anna Nicole Smith Story," and possibly knew her better than any of the characters that we have been talking to.
Mr. Redding, thank you for being with us. Mr. Redding, the relationship between herself and her mom is going to be crucial in a court of law. What was that relationship?
ERIC REDDING, ANNA NICOLE`S FORMER MANAGER: Take in mind, I discovered Anna Nicole Smith 16 years ago. And back then, her mom, Virgie, and Anna were inseparable. They did everything together. She went to all her functions together. Also, the son, Daniel, was very close to everything that Anna did and was very close to her grandmother, as well. So it`s kind of sad to see what`s happened in the last, you know, two or three weeks.
GRACE: So, in that time, they were very, very close?
REDDING: Absolutely.
GRACE: Do you know what caused the falling out?
REDDING: To be honest, Howard Stern. I mean, the last few years, Howard didn`t want Anna to have anything to do with her past friends or past family.
GRACE: How do you think that happened?
REDDING: Just, you know, Howard wanted her to move up to another level, and everyone kept wanting things from Anna. And I think Howard just decided to cut everybody off and have her start fresh. That was his opinion; that`s what he thought he could do.
GRACE: Let`s go to the lines. Holly in Washington. Hi, Holly.
CALLER: Hi, Nancy, how are you?
GRACE: I`m good, dear. What`s your question?
CALLER: My question is, I was wondering if Daniel Smith`s father actually has any legal rights to his son`s body or to his son? And did he even attend his son`s funeral?
GRACE: Interesting. To Jean Casarez, Court TV news correspondent and lawyer, what do we know about that?
JEAN CASAREZ, COURT TV: I think, under Bahamian law, he would be the next of kin. And I don`t know if he was at the funeral; I wouldn`t be surprised if he was not invited.
GRACE: You know, to you, Mike Brooks, joining us there in Nassau, tonight, when everyone leaves that cemetery, there`s going to be nothing but a security camera there. We have seen a huge crush of tourists and visitors watching this, people making money off Anna Nicole Smith, even in death. We know she`s buried in that tiara. What is being done to protect her remains?
MIKE BROOKS, FORMER D.C. POLICE: I`ve not heard. There was a security company, ICS, that was there present. It`s one of the largest security companies here on the island. But as far as I know, there`s not going to be any police presence there. And I don`t know, Nancy, if ICS security will be there.
But I`m sure they will take some safeguards, because they`re a very, very private cemetery, and they care about what happens there, talking to some of the sources there earlier in the week. But I can`t tell you exactly what kind of security they`ll have there.
GRACE: Back to you, Eric Redding, the author of "Great Big Beautiful Doll: The Anna Nicole Smith Story," you often describe Anna throughout your book as being child-like. What do you mean by that?
REDDING: Anna was a child inside. She was very playful. She just liked to have a good time. Like I said, she loved her son, Daniel. She loved to play video games, loved to go to amusement parks. She didn`t really want to grow up; she didn`t want to be an adult.
GRACE: We were talking about her relationship with her family, which is going to be back in court this week and throughout the month. Take a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNA NICOLE SMITH, FORMER MODEL: You want to hear my childlife? You want to hear all the things she did to me? You want to hear all the things she let my father do to me, or my brother do to me, or my sister, the beatings, the whippings, the rape? That`s my mother. That`s my mom.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you want to say to her?
SMITH: I want to say to her, how dare you, (bleep). How dare you. That`s what I want to say. Come after me. Come on, get yours. You know what? I used to cry after you. I used to cry after you, from the day, even when I am a baby girl, I cried for you. And you asked Howard, I cried for my mom. I cry for my mom when I saw her on CNN, and I saw how evil she was and evil she looked. So bring it on, mama, mommy dearest.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: That was an interview played in court last week, Anna Nicole Smith talking to "E.T." about her estrangement from her mother.
And we`re all looking at simple Trial 101 at this juncture: exhumation. This is a very rare practice, but apparently there`s a plan to exhume not only the son, Daniel, but Anna Nicole Smith`s body, as well.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`ve been told two or three different scenarios. Basically, 90 percent of the time we`re told that, yes, Scott has been murdered. Some of those scenarios come down to he was murdered over a drug deal. Another time we were told that he was murdered because he had a car that was brand new and it was a carjacking. And then it`s also been told to us that the possibility he might have been at the wrong place at the wrong time with the disappearance with other males his age in Indiana and Illinois, it`s suggested that maybe there is a serial killer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: What happened to a 20-year-old young man, a university student, his life before him. Out to you, Jean Casarez, what happened to Scott?
CASAREZ: Well, it was May 24, 2002, and he was a sophomore at Indiana State University. He was at a party that night with his friends, at his friend`s house. At 2:30, he left his party, called his mother, said that he was coming to their home, and then he never arrived. And she called about 3:00 in the morning, and his cell phone was turned off, and he was never seen from again.
GRACE: All we have of Scott Javins is this. This is a missing person`s poster. You can get it online at www.ScottJavinsismissing.org. I met his parents recently in Terre Haute. And they are joining me tonight, Mervin and Doreena Javins.
Thank you to both of you for being with us. Ms. Javins, what happened the night he went missing?
DOREENA JAVINS, MOTHER OF MISSING SCOTT JAVINS: Well, I had woken up and realized he wasn`t home yet, and I called him, and he told me he was on his way home. And when he didn`t come home, I knew he should be home within 20 minutes or so. And when he didn`t come home, I knew immediately something was wrong. I called his cell phone, and it went straight to his voicemail.
GRACE: So whatever happened, happened between the time he called you and the next 20 minutes?
D. JAVINS: Right.
GRACE: So 20 minutes after he called, you called him, and it went straight to his cell?
D. JAVINS: Straight to his voicemail.
GRACE: And to you, Mr. Javins. Mervin Javins with us tonight. What has been done to find him? And tell me about his vehicle. I`m very interested in that vehicle.
MERVIN JAVINS, FATHER OF MISSING SCOTT JAVINS: OK. Scott`s vehicle had just been purchased. It was a brand-new 2002 Honda Civic SI. It was a rare car that Honda was only producing about 20,000 of that year worldwide. And Scott`s dream was to take that car and turn it into a show car. And ever since that evening, nothing has been seen of Scott or his car. And we believe it could possibly be, you know, a carjacking.
GRACE: That is my thought exactly. I mean, this car -- let`s take a look at it again, Rosie, if you don`t mind, dear -- this car was brand-new at the time. He was turning it into a show car. As you hear, it was a limited edition of a car. Take a look.
Now, let me ask you this, Mr. Javins. Was there a body of water or a dense forest between where he was and getting home? Has that been searched thoroughly?
M. JAVINS: There was one body of water between one of his paths that he would have taken home from the house that he was last seen at. Yes, we believe that has been searched thoroughly. We have searched all the areas of woods, underpasses, overpasses, anything we can possibly search on any of the paths that he would have taken that evening.
And we`ve also done probably 12 or 14 other searches elsewhere and probably checked about 25 or 30 bodies of water with some sonar equipment that I have purchased.
GRACE: You purchased that yourself?
M. JAVINS: Yes.
GRACE: To Lieutenant Tim Gossett, he is there with the sheriff`s department, Lieutenant, thank you for being with us. What can you tell me about the search now? What`s happening?
LT. TIM GOSSETT, VIGO COUNTY SHERIFF`S DEPARTMENT: Well, Nancy, just recently, Mr. Javins and one of our technicians searched a small pond in southwestern Vigo County. And it`s my understanding that they did find something. They`re not sure at this point whether it was a vehicle or brush in the water. Arrangements have been made with the Indiana State Police to search this water here within the next week.
GRACE: Now, that is quite a development.
I want to go quickly to clinical psychologist Dr. Patricia Saunders. Dr. Saunders, I`ve looked and looked. I don`t see any red flags to suggest this young man was troubled in any way, nothing out of the ordinary, Patricia.
DR. PATRICIA SAUNDERS, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: No, there isn`t. He was a great student; he was a good son; he had a great social life. But oftentimes things happen out of the blue, Nancy. Bad things happen to good kids. And it looks like that`s what happened to Scott.
GRACE: And your advice to his family, Doctor?
SAUNDERS: To keep on doing exactly what they are. They`re suspended between despair and hope, and they`ve chosen to land on the side of hope, reaching out to other parents, reaching out to you, appearing on your show, doing their Web site. Better to take action than to collapse into despair.
GRACE: Let`s unleash the lawyers, Doug Burns, Renee Rockwell. Renee, what now?
RENEE ROCKWELL, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Nancy, it`s shows like this that brings the attention. And we were talking about a case, not a long time, five years, an ex-girlfriend, a reward, information will come forward.
GRACE: And, you know, Doug Burns, sometimes cases lie sleeping for several years, and then there is a crack.
DOUG BURNS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Oh, absolutely. You remember the Skakel case 20 years later.
GRACE: Oh, yes, 25 years.
BURNS: I agree with Renee. I mean, it`s great when you bring national media coverage, print media, television media, to the case like this. You`re doing a phenomenal service. And hopefully somebody will pick something up, say, "Jeez, I never went forward because I thought it was solved."
GRACE: Exactly.
BURNS: "And, wow, I watched this show, and it`s not." And let`s just hope that happens.
GRACE: And, very quickly, back to Doreena Javins. If you could speak to him right now, what would you tell him?
D. JAVINS: I would tell him that I love him very much, I want him to come home, that we miss him, and just come home.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: What a week in America`s courtrooms. Take a look at the stories and, more important, the people who touched our lives.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GRACE: A 16-year-old straight A student, really just a little girl, found thrown away like garbage on a busy street. Months pass. No witnesses, no clues. I don`t believe it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It will ease my suffering. At least I would have closure. I would hopefully know what happened on that day.
GRACE: Day one of the John Evander Couey death penalty trial. There are reports that Couey colored throughout the trial. Is that trial?
RICHARD HERMAN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I`d say the guy`s nuts. It`s transparent. And I don`t know what to do with this one, Nancy. It`s very bad.
GRACE: Brian Neary?
BRIAN NEARY, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Coloring doesn`t matter, Nancy. The penalty with regard to the death penalty is going to be made on other issues.
GRACE: Maybe not to you, but I think the Crayola debacle will matter to the jury.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We sent officers out in response to a third party at our south side hospital at St. Mary Corwin (ph), who had information in regards to someone selling their baby.
GRACE: You know, it never ends. And when you think of how many thousands of people would want to cherish and love a little baby like this, we find out some mom is accused of giving the baby away for a Dodge Intrepid, P.S., a used Dodge Intrepid.
DANIEL HOROWITZ, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: This mother didn`t feel that she was a good mother and wanted this baby to have a better upbringing.
GRACE: And she wanted herself to have a better car, Courtney.
HOROWITZ: So she took a little money, Nancy, so what?
GRACE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... to carry out the final and most sacred, solemn act in the life of any individual. I`m going to ask everyone to just take one moment for a silent prayer for Vickie Lynn Marshall, also known as Anna Nicole Smith.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GRACE: Tonight, we remember Marine Lance Corporal Brandon Van Parys, 20, New Tripoli, Pennsylvania, killed, Iraq. Enlisting straight from high school on his first tour of duty, dreamed of a career in law enforcement, also, a volunteer firefighter. He loved e-mailing to his family from Iraq. Loyal, good-natured, hard-working, he leaves behind proud parents. Brandon Van Parys, American hero.
Thank you to our guests, but most of all, to you. And a special good night tonight from Florida. Friends of the show, Steve and Jenny, say good night. And good night from the New York control room. Good night, Rosie, Brett, Dean, Ben. See you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern, everybody. And until then, good night, friend.
END
