Anna Nicole dispute shows system's flaws
March 10, 2007
BY JEFFERY M. LEVING AND GLENN SACKS
Behind the Anna Nicole Smith circus lies an important truth about fathers' rights. The long line of opportunistic men who have lined up to be Smith's baby's dad since Smith's death has diverted attention from the case's key fact: Photographer Larry Birkhead, Smith's ex-boyfriend, has a legitimate claim to paternity. He has been thwarted for several months by the same legal maneuvers that are often employed to separate fathers from their children.
Long before Smith died and her estate became an issue, Birkhead had filed for a DNA test to determine the paternity of Smith's baby. In December he told the Associated Press: ''I am the father of Dannielynn and I think this is . . . a crime. I expect to be reunited with my daughter.''
~SNIP~ more at link
http://www.suntimes.com/news/otherviews/291024,CST-EDT-REF10A.article
I kept wondering why a Father's Rights-type group hadn't chimed in on this.
Will new evidence in the Anna Nicole Smith case change the course of the investigation? --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On Friday, GARY BITNER, spokesman for the Seminole Police Department and the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel, told ET that the investigation is moving forward with new evidence in the ANNA NICOLE SMITH case.
"This is not delayed evidence, this is just additional evidence that has come to light during the course of the investigation," he said. "We are finding more information and making that available to everyone involved."
Bitner gave no timeline for the evaluation of the new evidence. He noted that this is still not a criminal investigation, even taking into account the new evidence.
He would not confirm reports that an Indian shaman has been called in to purify the hotel suite that Anna was staying in when she died.
"We don't discuss any issues related to the medicine of the Seminole tribe," he said.
DR. JOSHUA PERPER, the Broward County medical examiner assigned to Anna's case, tells ET the new evidence could potentially change his conclusion about her cause of death.
Dr. Perper said he had determined a cause of death until he met with Chief CHARLIE TIGER of the Seminole Police Department on Wednesday. During their meeting, Chief Tiger said he had new evidence that he wanted to be evaluated. This new information is being kept confidential.
"We exchanged information," Dr. Perper says. "They informed us about additional pieces of evidence that they have obtained."
They both agreed that this new evidence could change Dr. Perper's conclusion about what caused Anna's death.
"This is going to delay [results] for another week or two," he tells ET.