Anna Nicole's burial takes on urgency as body decomposes

The drawn-out US court battle over what to do with Anna Nicole Smith’s body has a new sense of urgency – the starlet’s remains are decomposing more quickly than expected and a public viewing could be in danger.

That warning in Florida from Broward County’s medical examiner came as Smith’s boyfriend and her estranged mother fought over where to bury the former Playboy centrefold.

The legal manoeuvring that was set to continue today has been going on for about a week. Anna Nicole died on February 8 and the cause of death is under investigation.

Also at issue in a California court is who fathered Anna Nicole’s five-month-old daughter, Dannielynn, who could inherit millions of dollars.

Boyfriend Howard Stern is listed as the father on the birth certificate, but a photographer who once dated Smith says the girl is his.

Mr Stern wants Anna Nicole to be buried next to her son Daniel in the Bahamas, where he died last year. The mother, Virgie Arthur, wants Anna Nicole back in her native Texas.

Without written proof of Anna Nicole’s wishes, Circuit Judge Larry Seidlin was forced to hear testimony from those who claim to know what she wanted. He said he would rule by Friday.

Ms Arthur, who was expected to be back on the stand today, testified that drugs soured her relationship with her daughter. Ms Arthur said the two talked only every few months and that Anna Nicole often called her in the middle of the night sounding “drugged”.

“She was on Valium. She liked downers,” Ms Arthur said. “She didn’t like uppers.”

Mr Stern earlier testified Anna Nicole never recovered from her son’s death. He said a grief-stricken Anna Nicole threw herself over his body as he lay in a coffin in the Bahamas, wailing, “If Daniel has to be buried, I want to buried with him.”

Mr Stern’s lawyer Krista Barth said she had bank documentation proving Anna Nicole had agreed to pay for two cemetery plots in Nassau. She showed an “Entertainment Tonight” interview in which Anna Nicole expressed hatred for her estranged mother. And she questioned Mr Stern about his relationship with Anna Nicole.

He said the couple considered each other husband and wife and had celebrated a commitment ceremony, though it was not legal. Stern said they had planned to legally wed this week. He conceded, however, that Anna Nicole had other lovers.

Anna Nicole was the widow of Texas oil tycoon Howard Marshall. The two married in 1994 when he was 89 and she was 26. She had been fighting his family over his estimated $500m (€374m) fortune since his death in 1995.