It’s done. The task of embalming Anna Nicole Smith’s body was completed on Saturday. According to news reports, two embalmers finished the job less than 24 hours after a court order mandating its completion was issued on Friday.
The Florida medical examiner that conducted Smith’s autopsy told reporters the embalming was done in meticulous fashion.
“In other words, she’s basically looking like she looked in life or very, very close to that,” the medical examiner told reporters.
The embalming follows a delay by photographer Larry Birkhead, who claims he’s the father of Smith’s baby girl. Birkhead fought to have the embalming postponed until an additional DNA sample was taken from Smith’s body. A judged ruled in Birkhead’s favor and the embalming was put off until yesterday.
Ding. Ding. On to battle number two. The embalming may be complete, but Smith’s body still remains at the medical examiner’s facility awaiting another court ruling on who gets the remains. In one corner is Smith’s estranged mother Virgie Arthur. In the other is Smith’s companion Howard K. Stern. Both are battling over where the former Playboy model should be buried. Arthur wants Smith to be buried in her home state of Texas, while Stern says he wants to fulfill Smith’s wish to be buried in a plot in the Bahamas next to her son. A judge is set to rule on the case by the end of the week.
In other developments, according to CNN, Smith’s will has been revealed, and it leaves everything to her deceased son Daniel. It also names Stern as the executor of her estate. The only catch—-the will was written in 2001 and was not updated after the birth of Smith’s daughter, Dannielynn Hope. What’s more, the document doesn’t include a provision in the event Daniel pre-deceased her, nor does it say where Smith wished to be buried.
According to legal analysts, it is not clear how the document will affect the ongoing custody and paternity battle over Smith’s baby girl.
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