DNA battle over daughter of Anna Nicole Smith · 2007-03-22 17:10
According to Reuters, Anna Nicole Smith’s longtime lawyer and companion, Howard K. Stern, is appealing a judge’s directive for a DNA swab test on the former Playboy Playmate’s 6-month old daughter, the subject of a custody battle in the Bahamas.
Howard K. Stern is listed as Dannielynn’s father on her birth certificate.
The paternity lawsuit was brought in the Bahamas by Larry Birkhead, an ex-boyfriend of the billionaire’s widow whose sudden death in Florida on February 8 touched off a custody battle for her daughter.
Birkhead, a Los Angeles photographer, said he is the father of the baby who is heir apparent to Smith’s estate, which could be worth hundreds of millions of dollars if it wins a fight to inherit from Smith’s late oil tycoon husband, J. Howard Marshall.
Larry Birkhead visited doctor’s office Wednesday morning to submit his own DNA, according to TMZ.com. Stern is exempt from testing for now because, since he’s on the birth certificate, he’s daddy until proven otherwise, E Online informed.
The results from the DNA tests could be ready as early as Friday.
Meanwhile, the samples that were presumably taken Wednesday are reportedly on their way to a lab in Columbus, Ohio, where latex-gloved technicians will hopefully be able to provide an answer to one of the more pressing questions to be asked on tabloid covers in recent years.
• Elton John urges to speak out against homophobia
• Jolie is not so stay-at-home mom
|