Judge: Let Anna Nicole rest in peace

Former Playboy model Anna Nicole Smith has the right to rest in “peace and tranquility,” a US judge says, as the row over her burial continues.

Former Playboy model Anna Nicole Smith has the right to rest in “peace and tranquillity,” a US judge says, as the row over her burial continues.

The long-distance battles over what to do with Ms Smith’s body – and the paternity of her young daughter – were taking place today in courtrooms in Florida and California.

Ms Smith’s estranged mother, Virgie Arthur, and boyfriend, Howard Stern, appeared in Fort Lauderdale.

Lawyers for Mr Stern were also set to argue in Los Angeles with those for Ms Smith’s ex-lover over who is the father of her infant daughter, Dannielynn.

Twelve days after Smith died in Florida, many of the legal questions are still unanswered.

Judge Larry Seidlin ordered Mr Stern to appear in court today. Mr Stern closed his eyes and rested his forehead on his hand as Smith’s embalming was discussed.

“This is very important to me – to carry out what Anna Nicole wanted,” he said.

Without written proof of Smith’s own wishes, the judge will be forced to hear testimony from those who claim to know what the reality TV star wanted.

“We’re trying to balance the rights and respect of a body that wants peace and tranquillity,” Mr Seidlin said last week.

Judge Seidlin adjourned the open court session this afternoon to bring the parties together to discuss issues privately in his chambers.

In Nassau, Bahamas, Mr Stern emerged from seclusion at a waterfront mansion today, but did not speak to reporters as he entered a car that took him to the airport.

He wants Smith buried in the Bahamas in a plot that was purchased next to her son, Daniel, who died in September. Arthur wants her brought home to her native Texas.

The mother has a perhaps unlikely ally in Larry Birkhead, Ms Smith’s ex-boyfriend, who delayed a decision on the star’s burial by fighting for another DNA sample he hopes will prove he is the baby’s father. He was expected to testify for Arthur.

Ms Smith died in Florida on February 8, aged 39. The cause of death is under investigation.

She was the widow of Texas oil tycoon J Howard Marshall, whom she married in 1994 when he was 89 and she was 26.