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Model's corpse to be preserved | |
(about 2 hours later) | |
A Los Angeles judge has ordered that the body of former Playboy model Anna Nicole Smith be preserved amid a paternity row over her baby daughter. | |
The decision comes as a post mortem examination is being carried out on Ms Smith, 39, who was found unconscious in a Florida hotel on Thursday. | |
The judge ordered her body be kept until a hearing into the paternity of her baby daughter later this month. | |
Ms Smith's partner and a former boyfriend both say they are the father. | |
The judge declined a request from the ex-boyfriend, Larry Birkhead, for a DNA sample to be immediately taken from Ms Smith's body to verify his claim. | |
Mr Birkhead's lawyer Debra Opri said the DNA was needed to connect Ms Smith with the infant "so that no-one can switch the babies", the Associated Press news agency reported. | |
Howard Stern, the model's lawyer and partner, also says he is the father. | |
Ms Smith's 20-year-old son, Daniel, died days after the girl's birth. | |
'Too many drugs' | 'Too many drugs' |
The autopsy began shortly after 0900 local time (1400 GMT) at Broward County medical examiner's office in Florida. | The autopsy began shortly after 0900 local time (1400 GMT) at Broward County medical examiner's office in Florida. |
Dr Joshua Perper, who is performing the autopsy, said if Ms Smith had not died of natural causes the findings of the post mortem examination would not be immediately announced. | |
"I am not a prophet, and I cannot tell you before the autopsy what I am going to find," Mr Perper said. | "I am not a prophet, and I cannot tell you before the autopsy what I am going to find," Mr Perper said. |
Obituary: Anna Nicole Smith A life in pictures | Obituary: Anna Nicole Smith A life in pictures |
Meanwhile, Ms Smith's mother, Virgie Arthur, said she believed drugs could have played a role in her daughter's death. | |
"I think she had too many drugs," she told ABC television. | "I think she had too many drugs," she told ABC television. |
"I tried to warn her about the drugs and the people she hung around She didn't listen. She was too drugged up. The last interview I saw of her, she was so wasted," Mrs Arthur said. | "I tried to warn her about the drugs and the people she hung around She didn't listen. She was too drugged up. The last interview I saw of her, she was so wasted," Mrs Arthur said. |
But Ms Smith's lawyer, Ron Rale, told NBC that she "sounded fine" when he had talked to her recently. | |
"She's been obviously grieving still over Daniel and depressed but I didn't have any indication that she was on any medication or sedation," he said. | "She's been obviously grieving still over Daniel and depressed but I didn't have any indication that she was on any medication or sedation," he said. |
Courtroom battles | Courtroom battles |
Ms Smith was born Vicki Lynn Hogan in Mexia, Texas, on 28 Nov 1967. | |
A former topless dancer, she achieved considerable success as a model. | A former topless dancer, she achieved considerable success as a model. |
She was named Playboy's playmate of the year in 1993 and secured a lucrative contract with Guess Jeans. | She was named Playboy's playmate of the year in 1993 and secured a lucrative contract with Guess Jeans. |
In 1994, she married 89-year-old oil tycoon Howard Marshall II after he repeatedly proposed to her. | |
His death just 14 months later triggered a long feud with his family over the inheritance of his estate which saw Ms Smith make regular courtroom appearances. |