Birkhead Is Father Of Smith’s Baby
By Quincy Parker
“I told you so!”
With that elated pronouncement, a grinning Larry Birkhead put to rest all questions about who is the father of Dannielynn Hope, the daughter of the late American celebrity and Bahamas permanent resident Anna Nicole Smith.
DNA expert Dr. Michael Baird backed his claim, saying the DNA test showed with 99.9999 percent accuracy that Mr. Birkhead was Dannielynn’s father.
Mr. Birkhead – who has insisted all along that he fathered the seven-month-old with Ms. Smith when they were a couple – was quite emotional as he made his announcement on the front porch of the court.
“There’s certain things that I can’t talk about, but this is one that I’m happy to talk about. My baby is going to be coming home pretty soon,” he said. “It’s all up in the air, and nothing’s been determined except parentage, and I’m the father.
“It’s been a long road, and I’m just happy to have this behind me and to be able to start a life with my daughter. I’m going to the toy store.”
It was a raucous scene outside the Supreme Court as applauding onlookers yelled encouragement and endearments to Mr. Birkhead – both Bahamians and tourists, men and women alike shouted their love for Mr. Birkhead, and that they had been pulling for him all along.
Mr. Birkhead initiated a custody battle for Dannielynn with Ms. Smith’s lawyer Howard K. Stern, who later claimed to be her lover and the child’s father. He and Ms. Smith lived together with Dannielynn at the Eastern Road mansion called ‘Horizons’ until Ms. Smith died in Florida on February 8.
Mr. Birkhead said he was unsure where he would raise Dannielynn, and that Ms. Smith would have been “proud that [he] fought [for Dannielynn].”
Dr. Baird explained how the results of the DNA swab he took of Dannielynn on March 21 came to be released.
“I released those to His Lordship Judge [Stephen] Isaacs, and at his direction they were made public in the courtroom. Larry was determined to be the biological father based on the DNA testing. He had a probability of paternity of 99.99999 percent. So in all, essentially he’s the biological father,” the DNA expert said.
Mr. Birkhead’s victory in the paternity battle was only one step in the process, however.
He will not get immediate custody of Dannielynn, who will remain with Mr. Stern until the custody issue is settled once and for all.
Deborah Rose, Virgie Arthur’s attorney in the custody proceedings, confirmed that Mrs. Arthur intends to go to court on Friday to continue her battle for custody of her granddaughter.
Mrs. Arthur said, “It’s been like a roller coaster – up and down, up and down. I lost my grandson. Y’all don’t forget that.”
Ms. Rose said, “We’re looking forward to working with Larry, and hopefully we can come to a position that’s in Dannielynn’s best interests.”
As for the other party in the paternity proceedings – Mr. Stern – he got his own share of love from the crowd.
“I’m obviously very disappointed, but my feelings for Dannielynn have not changed,” Mr. Stern said afterwards. “I am not going to fight Larry Birkhead on custody. We’re going to do what we can to ensure that the best interests of Dannielynn are carried out, and I’m going to do whatever I can to make sure that he gets sole custody.”
Mr. Stern issued an open invitation to Mr. Birkhead to go over to Horizons and spend time with Dannielynn so that the change in custody is not a sudden, harmful disruption of her life.
“As far as I’m concerned, Larry can come over to the house and spend as much time as he wants with her right now. I’d like there to be a gradual transition period for her so there’s no harm caused to her,” he said.
Mr. Stern also fired a warning shot across the bow of the media’s ship.
“This whole process, everything, has been very difficult, very difficult. The way that the media [have] treated everything has been beyond irresponsible, at times malicious. And those are things that will be addressed later on,” he said.
Media lawyer Lin Wood has confirmed that he will be representing Mr. Stern in a number of court actions against media outlets Mr. Stern feels may have crossed a line in their coverage of the story.
Mr. Stern added that he intends to stay in The Bahamas.
“I’m going to stay in The Bahamas regardless,” he said. “I’m not going to leave Anna and Daniel here alone. I wouldn’t do that.”
Mr. Birkhead’s lawyer, Emerick Knowles, said that since the issue of paternity has been decided, the next issue to be addressed would be custody.
As he left the courthouse, flanked by his twin brother, his sister and their children, Mr. Birkhead said it was time for the celebration to begin. He also had words for Bahamians.
“Everybody in The Bahamas has been very supportive of me, and I have to thank them greatly, because everyone on the streets – all the way from the children up to adults – they’ve just been nice, and I remember that, and I appreciate that,” he said.
Mr. Birkhead also spoke of his plans once Dannielynn is in his custody.
“To be the best dad I can be, and to show her as much love as I can,” he said. “Just to make sure that she has the best home, and that she knows about her mother.”
http://www.jonesbahamas.com/?c=45&a=12242