CNN LARRY KING LIVE
Accidental Overdose Killed Anna Nicole
Aired March 26, 2007 - 21:00 ET
Joining us now in Dania Beach, Florida, Susan Brown and Nancy Haas. They're the attorneys for Larry Birkhead, who maintains he is the biological father of Dannielynn. First, Susan, your reaction to the autopsy report?
SUSAN BROWN, FLORIDA ATTORNEY FOR LARRY BIRKHEAD: I wasn't surprised at all. It was exactly what I expected.
KING: Nancy, is Larry satisfied with the autopsy findings?
NANCY HASS, FLORIDA ATTORNEY FOR LARRY BIRKHEAD: Absolutely. Dr. Perper and the Broward medical examiners did a very thorough job. And we're very satisfied.
KING: Susan, does Larry blame anybody for the death of his former girlfriend?
BROWN: We haven't been able to confirm Larry's reaction today to the results. But I don't believe so. Larry's not that kind of person. I think Larry's main concern is the baby. Larry's main concern is the baby.
KING: Nancy, does he blame himself in any way? He tried to intervene with Anna Nicole about her drug use in the past. Does he ever think I should have done more?
HASS: Well, I think we heard Larry testify he did everything within his power, that Mr. Stern interfered with him trying to take drugs away from Anna Nicole. And it was a very difficult situation. Ultimately, as we all do, Larry thinks it was a tragedy and a senseless death.
KING: Where are we now, Susan, with the DNA story? BROWN: Well, there's a gag order in the Bahamas. I'm going to very careful in how I respond to you. It's been reported in the media. There's another hearing on April 3. I still haven't heard about the appeal from the media. And I think that's still looming out there. We expect an appeal from Mr. Stern.
KING: Does that mean, Nancy, that DNA has been taken, not taken or you can't reveal?
HASS: Well, we can't reveal. We believe the Bahamian court is acting appropriately. And we know everyone wants to know who the biological father of this child is. We know it's our client. But yes, we believe they're proceeding accordingly.
KING: Once the DNA testing is done, are we going to know, Susan?
BROWN: I hope know. Again, we're not sure. There's a gag order in place. But I would think, and I'm speculating, but I would think once the results are known, there should be an official statement.
KING: How much contact has Larry had with Dannielynn?
HASS: Well, we can't really comment on that either pursuant to the gag order, Larry. But I think that everyone's seen Larry in the media, you know. And everyone can draw their own conclusions. Of course, he wants to be reunited with his daughter and be with her everyday.
KING: Why, Nancy, is he on the list -- your client on the list of witnesses to the inquest into Daniel Smith's death?
HASS: We can't comment on that either because it is an inquest. But I think that the Bahamian court again is trying to gather all relevant information to get to the bottom of Daniel's death and why he also, you know, succumbed to a drug overdose. These are very, very serious allegations.
KING: You mean he can't even say why he's on the list for the inquest?
HASS: I'm afraid not.
KING: Why?
HASS: Because the Bahamian court likes to conduct things in a very private judicious manner. And we as attorneys have to respect that.
KING: How long do you anticipate before we know who Dannielynn's father is?
BROWN: Again, there's a hearing that's been reported in the media on April 3. I suspect an appeal. So your guess is as good as mine. I think and hope the Bahamian appeals proceed quicker than a typical appeal in the U.S. But I think the jury is still out on how long it's going to be. KING: How's Larry handling all of this, Nancy? How's he dealing with it?
HASS: Larry's doing just great. He has very high spirits at this point. I think today's coroner's report will give everyone some closure, hopefully. And his focus is really on the paternity proceedings in the Bahamas and to again be reunited with Dannielynn. That's his primary focus at this point.
KING: When everyone seemed to get together at the funeral, Susan, has this changed a lot of the harsh attitudes between Larry and Howard?
BROWN: Larry and Howard certainly got along for purposes of the funeral. But they're adversaries in court. They're both fighting for the same little girl that Larry is 110 percent sure is his. So I don't think you can be buddy-buddy in that type of situation.
KING: Nancy, this case, among the cases you've handled, where do you rank this?
HASS: Pretty much at the top, I would say. It's had every twist and turn and all kinds of issues: family law issues, probate issues. It's been a very, very intense experience for Susan and I. We've both been family attorneys for a very long time. And Larry has really been a wonderful client. But it's been very fascinating and we've been very happy to be involved and to assist him.
KING: Do you know why Larry gave up his other attorney, Susan?
BROWN: That would get into an attorney-client privilege matter that we really can't get into. I would suggest if you want that answer you speak to one of them.
KING: Thank you both very much. Susan Brown and Nancy Hass, the attorneys for Larry Birkhead.
Anna Nicole Smith's death spirals into nasty legal war
BY MATT SEDENSKY
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: Thursday, February 15, 2007 at 6:30 a.m.
ALAN DIAZ/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Susan Brown, right, and Nancy Hass, attorneys for photographer Larry Birkhead, talk to Circuit Judge Lawrence Korda in Fort Lauderdale, Wednesday. Korda granted a request to keep Anna Nicole Smith's body at the medical examiner's office for DNA testing.
MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- A Florida judge said Friday he is not sure courts in his state -- or in California -- have the authority to order Anna Nicole Smith's DNA samples turned over for testing in a paternity dispute.
Larry Birkhead, one of several men claiming to be the father of Smith's 5-month-old daughter, Dannielynn, filed legal papers requesting the samples. The 5-month old child, Dannielynn, was born in and lives in the Bahamas.
"As you begin the staircase, step one is jurisdiction," Broward Circuit Judge Lawrence Korda told Birkhead's legal team at a brief hearing.
(Watch the week and with a hoax, a skeptical judge and a Bahamas hearing ahead )
The attorneys provided Korda with several legal opinions that they said bolster their argument that he has jurisdiction in the case.
Birkhead filed his paternity suit in California before Smith's death.
His attorneys claim the California judge is asking the Florida court to release Smith's DNA samples -- collected by the Broward County Medical Examiner -- to Birkhead's expert.
Korda said, however, he questions "how California can give me jurisdiction to domesticate their order when they may have no better jurisdiction than I do."
Birkhead's attorneys also want Korda to order DNA samples from Dannielynn, but the judge said he would deal with that issue after jurisdiction has been established.
Birkhead was in court on Friday morning, but not Howard K. Stern, Smith's lawyer-turned-paramour who is named as the father on the baby's birth certificate.
Birkhead's lawyers sought an emergency hearing. But Korda noted that the paternity issue does not carry the same urgency as the question of who receives Smith's embalmed remains.
In contrast to the sometimes bizarre court proceedings of the past week, which legal analysts have called a circus, Korda handled the hearing in a no-nonsense manner.
At one point he told Birkhead's lawyers, "I'm not wide open for questioning such as you may be used to."
He refused to hear from attorneys for Smith and Stern, who also claims to be Dannielynn's father.
"This is a paternity case filed by Mr. Birkhead ... and I'm still trying to find out what your standing is," he told them.
Attorney Susan Brown maintained afterward that Korda "most definitely has jurisdiction over the DNA samples, which California has already asked him to provide to the DNA expert."
She added, "We also believe, reading the California orders together, he has jurisdiction to order the testing of Dannielynn, who is the bottom line in this case."
Brown said she expects a decision from Korda possibly by Monday.
"This is about Anna Nicole Smith running from Larry Birkhead (to the Bahamas)," Brown said. "Because Larry Birkhead is the father of this child, and we should be permitted to prove it, either in California, here or in the Bahamas."
The paternity hearing came a day after another judge, Larry Seidlin, granted custody of Smith's body to her infant daughter's guardian.
On Thursday, Stern and Birkhead said they agreed Smith should be buried in the Bahamas, next to her son Daniel. The men made the announcement a few minutes after Seidlin tearfully awarded custody of the body to Richard Milstein, guardian ad litem for Dannielynn. (Watch the judge's emotional ruling )
A motion to stay Seidlin's order was filed Friday by attorneys for Virgie Arthur, Smith's mother, but an appeal won't be filed until Monday, the attorneys told CNN. Arthur wanted custody of Smith's remains so she could bury her daughter in Texas near other family members.
Smith died February 8 in a Florida hotel. The cause of her death still is unknown.
Broward County Medical Examiner Joshua Perper predicted the appeal would be dismissed in short order.
"Probably in a day or two there's going to be a final decision," he told reporters. "So we'll be able to make the arrangements."
Seidlin made no secret of his wishes: "I want her buried with her son in the Bahamas," he told a stunned courtroom. "I want them to be together."
Perper, who carried out the autopsy, said it will likely take up to 14 days before he can determine the cause of death.
"At this time, we don't have any evidence of foul play," he said about Smith's death.
Thursday's ruling capped several days of unusual courtroom proceedings that touched on child custody and paternity, though the issue at hand was limited to the disposition of Smith's body. Some called the proceedings a circus. (Full story)
Before ruling, Seidlin told the parties in the case, "I feel for you, I absolutely feel for you." (Read the judge's ruling (PDF))
"I've reviewed absolutely everything. I've suffered with this," Seidlin said.
He addressed Smith's mother several times as "mama" and told her and the others he was trying to reach an equitable decision. (Thursday's
testimony)
Smith married Texas oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall II in 1994 when he was 89 and she was 26. She had been fighting his family over his estimated $500 million fortune since his death in 1995.
Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, TV`s most provocative entertainment news show. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York. This is our continuing coverage of what killed Anna Nicole Smith.
ANDERSON: Just like so many others, Larry Birkhead, who says he is the father of Anna Nicole`s baby, watched today as the medical examiner revealed the results. Joining me tonight from Davey, Florida is Larry Birkhead`s attorney, Susan Brown. Welcome Susan.
SUSAN BROWN, LAWYER FOR LARRY BIRKHEAD: Hi.
ANDERSON: OK, Larry Birkhead, as I said, just like so many others, waiting to see what really killed, for Larry, the love of his life, Anna Nicole Smith. Is Larry satisfied, Susan, with the medical examiner`s determination that she died from an accidental overdose of prescription drugs?
BROWN: I have unfortunately been playing phone tag with him. So I don`t have an official comment at this time.
ANDERSON: Prior to the revealing of the autopsy results, in your conversations with Larry, did he suspect that would be the cause of her death?
BROWN: Well, one of the problems is you`re kind of asking me to get into attorney-client privilege. But let me address it this way: I don`t think anybody was surprised that she died of a drug overdose. I think it`s what was suspected from the beginning.
ANDERSON: OK, well look, during the court hearings over the battle over Anna Nicole`s body, on the witness stand, Larry said that at one point he had taken the drugs away from Anna Nicole, but that Howard K. Stern told him to give the drugs back, that Anna needed them to live. Does Larry think -- even though, you know, no charges are being filed as a result of the autopsy, and I know you`re going to have to go back to previous conversations, but does Larry want somebody to be held responsible here? I know this entire thing has been very, very emotional. He`s very distraught since her death.
BROWN: Right now, Larry`s main focus is getting custody of his daughter. I think, any other issues are for another day, after the dust settles a little. You know, there`s some big stuff coming up. I think the paternity and custody issue are the priorities right now.
ANDERSON: OK, well let`s talk about that. You know, all of this happening just as we are expecting the results of the DNA test that will determine whether Larry is the father of Dannielynn. Now does Larry have any doubt, any doubt whatsoever that the DNA will show that he is the father?
BROWN: As Larry testified before Judge Seidlin in Florida, he`s 110 percent sure that he`s the father. Larry is confident he`s the father. And hopefully we`re going to know very soon.
ANDERSON: Hopefully so. And speaking of that, there have been reports,
Susan, that the court will not reveal the results of the DNA test until at least April 3rd. Is there anything that leads you to believe this could happen sooner than that, later than that, Howard could file an appeal? What are you hearing?
BROWN: Well, again, I`m only going to respond, and attempt not to violate the gag order, to what I`ve heard in the media. And I have also heard that the results will not be addressed until April 3rd. I suspect Howard Stern will file an appeal. I would be shocked if he did not.
ANDERSON: So that could delay the entire procedure and everyone getting the results, correct?
BROWN: Yes, I think an appeal could delay it. I don`t know how quick the appellate system works in the Bahamas, but our appeal with Virgie Arthur was very unusual in Florida. Usually it takes a substantially longer time. But I expect an appeal. Again, I would be shocked if there isn`t one.
ANDERSON: Well, once the results are revealed, even if the DNA test shows that Larry is the father of the baby, under Bohemian law, Howard K. Stern can maintain custody of that child, because he`s listed on the birth certificate as the father. Does Larry believe that Howard will still refuse to give up the baby, even if the DNA shows Larry is the dad?
BROWN: It`s a guess at this time. However, my understanding of Bohemian law is that if the DNA rebuts the presumption, Howard K. Stern will have no claim whatsoever.
ANDERSON: All right, Susan Brown, attorney for Larry Birkhead, thanks so much for joining us and sharing what you could with us. We appreciate it.
BROWN: You`re welcome.
