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Death of Anna Nicole Smith

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Main article: Anna Nicole Smith

Anna Nicole Smith (November 28, 1967 – February 8, 2007) was an American model, actress and blond celebrity. Her death has caused a stir and has sparked several lawsuits regarding her burial and her will, and will have a profound effect on the lawsuits she was involved in at the time of her death.

Death

On February 8, 2007, Smith was found unresponsive in room 607 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida. A spokeswoman from the hotel stated that Smith checked in on February 5 2007 at 20:00 as a guest and was due to check out on February 9 2007. According to Seminole Police Chief Charlie Tiger, at 1:38 p.m. (18:38 UTC) Smith's bodyguard Big Moe, who is a trained paramedic, called the hotel front desk from her sixth floor room. The front desk in turn called security, who then called 911. At 1:45 p.m. the bodyguard administered CPR before she was rushed to Memorial Regional Hospital at 2:10 p.m and pronounced DOA at 2:49 p.m.

Rescue teams then attempted CPR again as well as intubation, IV's, 12-lead electrocardiogram, electrical captures, and an external pacemaker used in a process called "pacing". Smith's companion, Howard K. Stern, was not with her in the hotel room when she died and has reported to Entertainment Tonight that her temperature was running 104 degrees the night before. Smith's attorney, Ron Rale, stated that Smith had flu-like symptoms for the last couple of days before her death. Entertainment Tonight's Mark Steines stated that Smith had to take an ice bath on February 5 2007 after her fever reached 105 degrees. MSNBC Reporters had been told that witnesses at the Hard Rock Hotel's bars observed her drinking profusely to the point where she couldn't walk independently. The medical examiner has reported that the official cause of her death is still unknown but is thought to be related to pneumonia. The police chief has said that there is no indication that a crime has occurred in Smith's death. There were no illegal drugs found in the hotel room, only prescription drugs. Preliminary results of the autopsy found no drugs in Smith's stomach. A phone call was released to the public on February 13, 2007 involving Seminole police and the local 911 operators, in which a police official described Smith as "not breathing and ... not responsive."

Reaction

Smith's half-sister, Donna Hogan, released a statement to the media a short while after her sister's death was announced:

On behalf of the Hogan Family, we are saddened and heartbroken by my sister's death. No matter what our differences have been over the years, Anna was still our blood and she will be missed terribly. She was a woman who was determined to get out of her small town in Texas and make a name for herself. She became an international star and she was a good mother to Daniel; there is no doubt that her son loved her. They lived out of each other's pockets while he was alive and now they can be together again in Heaven. We feel that the death of her son left her deeply saddened, a sadness she hid from everyone. As a mother of three children, I am anguished by this tragic event and the fact that her new baby daughter Dannielynn Hope is now without a mother.

A statement was also issued by Playboy founder and friend Hugh Hefner shortly after her death:

I'm very saddened to learn about Anna Nicole's passing. She was a dear friend who meant a great deal to the Playboy family and to me personally. My thoughts and prayers are with her friends and loved ones during this difficult time.

Legal issues

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Paternity

A California judge on February 9 2007 ordered that Smith's body be preserved until February 20 2007 so that a hearing in the paternity dispute over her 5-month-old daughter can be held. If Smith left no will and was not legally married to Stern, then her child will most likely receive her assets. In a Florida court to decide Anna’s final resting place, the matter of paternity was also to be settled. Larry Birkhead petitioned the court to ask Howard K. Stern to submit to a DNA test on February 20, 2007 but at the time Stern stated he was not willing to do so in a closed conference with Judge Larry Seidlin. The judge has put off the paternity question until after the issue of the location of Anna’s burial is decided.

At the request of Anna Nicole Smith's mother, Virgie Arthur, a Bahamian judge issued a temporary injunction on February 13, 2007, preventing Howard K. Stern from taking Anna Nicole Smith's daughter Dannielynn out of the Bahamas. The paternity claim of G. Ben Thompson (the real estate developer that got into a dispute over the mansion she lived at in the Bahamas) was never filed in court and because medical records indicate he had had a vasectomy he is no longer considered a possible father.

Paternity cases over Dannielynn are pending in courts in Los Angeles, the Bahamas, and Florida. A hearing over a request for DNA testing was held on February 22, 2007 in Broward County, FL. Although Dannielynn was not born in the United States, she is nevertheless a U.S. citizen since Anna Nicole Smith was a U.S. citizen, and any child born to a U.S. citizen is automatically a U.S. citizen until adulthood when he/she may have to make an election of citizenship.

Final resting place

There is also a court case involving over 20 different lawyers representing four different parties, over the body of Anna Nicole Smith. Anna’s mother, Virgie Arthur, wants the body to be buried near her family in Texas. Larry Birkhead (a paternity claimant of Smith's daughter) held that she “should be buried with her son, but that neither should be in the Bahamas.” He (along with the other parties in the case) said that Smith told him several times that she “wanted to be buried in California near her idol, Marilyn Monroe.” Smith's longtime companion and lawyer Howard K. Stern wants her to be buried in the Bahamas next to her son Daniel. Richard Milstein, guardian ad litem to Smith's daughter Dannielynn, wants the court to settle the paternity case first and then have Dannielynn’s biological father decide where Anna should be buried. On February 20, 2007 the court heard from Florida county medical examiner Joshua Perper that her body’s rate of decomposition is faster than expected. Perper advised that any viewing of the body be done locally to preserve “the optimal condition”, as “The face of the deceased might show color change.” Broward County Circuit Judge Larry Seidlin, who had anticipated a few weeks of argument on the case, determined to speed things up, declaring “The court is going to enter a decision by the end of the week, let the chips fall where they may.” Lawyers and family members began working immediately to arrange a viewing, either at the medical examiner's office or a local funeral parlor.

On February 22, 2007 Judge Seidlin ruled that the final resting place of Anna Nicole Smith's remains would be dictated solely by attorney Richard Milstein, the guardian ad litem for Smith's infant daughter Dannielynn. The judge also indicated his own preference saying, “I want her buried with her son in the Bahamas, I want them to be together.” In less than an hour after the 4pm decision, Millstein had worked out the details of her burial with the other parties. It was been agreed that she would be buried next to her son at Lakeview Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Nassau, the Bahamas. It was a well-photographed and publicized private funeral with friends and relatives attending. All the parties to the court case were invited to attend.

Her mother Virgie Arthur is still appealing the decision, the judge told her previously that it was beyond the power of his court to order Daniel’s body exhumed in the Bahamas for reburial in Texas. In addition to his ruling, Judge Seidlin also implored the parties of the paternity question to agree to DNA tests, but repeated that he would not force any test.

Bahamas mansion

A dispute has arisen regarding the ownership of the mansion in the Bahamas where she last resided which has caused the locks of the estate to be changed a number of times. Ford Shelley, the son-in-law of Smith's former boyfriend entered the mansion following her death and removed certain articles, including laptops, video tapes and other possessions, which Howard K. Stern later claimed were stolen. Shelley surrendered the items to the Horry County sheriff's office, which transferred them to the Seminole Police Department, who are responsible for investigating Anna Nicole Smith's death.

Will

According to Smith's will, which was released to the media on February 16 by a Florida Court, she left everything to her son Daniel, who died in September 2006. She named Howard K. Stern as the executor. The document is dated July 30, 2001, and was not updated after then. The lawyer for Smith's estranged mother, Virgie Arthur, said the will was not filed in any court, so it is not valid.

References

  1. "Anna Nicole Smith Dies After Collapsing". Associated Press. 2007-02-09. Retrieved 2007-02-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. "Anna Nicole Found Face Down in Her Pool Months Before Death". World Entertainment News Network. 2007-02-09. Retrieved 2007-02-11. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. Audio from story "Paramedic: Anna Was Not Alive When I Got to the Room". NBC. Retrieved on February 12 2007.
  4. "Anna Nicole Smith Dead". Entertainment Tonight. 2007-02-11. Retrieved 2007-02-08. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. "Anna Nicole Smith dies after collapse". Associated Press. 2007-02-09. Retrieved 2007-02-08. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. "Anna Nicole Smith Is Dead, Her Lawyer Says". Fox News. 2007-02-08. Retrieved 2007-02-08. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. "Reality star Anna Nicole Smith dies after collapse". CNN. 2007-02-09. Retrieved 2007-02-08. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ Matthews, K J (2007-02-10). "Early autopsy results can't explain Smith's death". CNN. Retrieved 2007-02-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. "Cocktail for death". MSNBC. 2007-02-09. Retrieved 2007-02-10. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. Matthews, K J (2007-02-10). "Early autopsy results can't explain Smith's death". CNN. Retrieved 2007-02-09. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. DeMarzo, Wanda J (2007-02-13). "Tape: "Shes not breathing. It's Anna Nicole"". Miami Herald. Retrieved 2007-02-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. Recording of call (MP3). Retrieved on 2007-02-14.
  13. "Breaking: Anna Nicole Smith Dead: Statement by sister Donna Hogan". elitestv.com. Retrieved 2007-02-14.
  14. "Hefner, Larry King Weigh in on Anna Nicole Death". people.com. 2007-02-08. Retrieved 2007-02-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  15. Deutsch, Linda. "Anna Nicole Smith left tangled legal web". Associated Press. Retrieved 2007-02-14.
  16. ^ "Rot sets in over bizzare battle for Anna Nicole". The Sydney Morning Herald. February 21, 2007. Retrieved on February 20, 2007
  17. "Smith's mother gets order barring removal of infant from Bahamas". News Wire Services. 2007-02-14. Retrieved 2007-02-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  18. "Anna Nicole Smith's life is still ridiculous". October 24, 2006. Retrieved on February 22, 2007
  19. ^ Michael Muskal (February 22, 2007). "Guardian of Anna Nicole's baby gets custody of remains". LA Times. Retrieved on February 22, 2007
  20. "Anna Nicole Smith's life is still ridiculous". October 24, 2006. Retrieved on February 22, 2007
  21. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,257441,00.html
  22. "Anna Nicole Smith's Mother Vows to Take Her Home; Hearing Continues Tuesday". Fox News. 2007-02-19. Retrieved 2007-02-19. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  23. "Courts on both coasts examine Smith issues". Associated Press. 2007-02-20. Retrieved 2007-02-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  24. http://www.cnn.com/2007/LAW/02/22/smith.hearing.ap/index.html
  25. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17276661/
  26. http://keyetv.com/entertainment/entertainment_story_292153351.html KeyTV.com
  27. Robertson, Jessica (2007-02-11). "Smith companion, infant reclaim mansion". Associated Press. Retrieved 2007-02-11. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  28. Hoke, Josh (February 16, 2007). "MB resident turns in Anna Nicole items". Charlotte Sun News.
  29. Candiotti, Susan (2007-02-16). "Anna Nicole Smith's will leaves everything to dead son". CNN. Retrieved 2007-02-16. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  30. "Smith left her estate to dead son". BBC News. 2007-02-17. Retrieved 2007-02-17. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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