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NANCY GRACE

Anna Nicole Hospitalized With Pneumonia

Aired October 31, 2006 - 20:00:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, GUEST HOST: Major new developments tonight. The legal battles rage on for international celebrity Anna Nicole Smith, and we have just learned Smith has been admitted to a hospital in the Bahamas. The millionaire covergirl is fighting eviction from her seaside mansion. Now she reportedly wants to sue her own attorneys. With her residency status in question, if Smith is kicked out of the Bahamas, what will become of the just-buried body of her 20-year-old son, Daniel? Will Anna Nicole have the legal right to exhume his body? All this as a nasty paternity battle rages back on U.S. soil.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because of the events concerning residency issues, the inquest of her son`s death arising out of drug issues, applications, property issues, ongoing fraud and perjury allegations, as you can imagine, ladies and gentlemen, the walls are closing in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Good evening, everybody. I`m Jane Velez-Mitchell, sitting in tonight for Nancy Grace, who as we speak is helping Hurricane Katrina victims. Nancy is physically rebuilding homes in Mississippi, and we applaud her efforts.

Meantime, Anna Nicole Smith has just been hospitalized for pneumonia in the Bahamas. This comes on the very day that demands were made that she leave her million-dollar mansion, the claim being that she is not the rightful owner. All this as questions remain about the drug-related death of her 20-year-old son, Daniel, and the paternity of her newborn baby daughter.

For the very latest on this storm of drama, let`s go straight out to Larry Sutton, staff editor of "People" magazine. He has been tracking this case from the very start. Larry, what is the latest?

LARRY SUTTON, STAFF EDITOR, "PEOPLE" MAGAZINE: Well, just a few moments ago, our reporters told us that, yes, she is in the hospital. She does have pneumonia. They say it`s not that serious. She`s taking antibiotics intravenously. They thought better safe than sorry, so that`s the reason she`s there. I wouldn`t make too much of the illness, but she is in pretty -- no, she`s not in great shape at the moment.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, it`s hard to say you have pneumonia, but wait, it`s not such a big deal. I thought pneumonia was a very serious illness.

I want to go straight to our psychotherapist on the scene here, Lauren Howard. You know the old saying, A person can develop a cold. Is she overwhelmed by being at the very center of this international drama?

LAUREN HOWARD, PSYCHOTHERAPIST: She would have to be non-human to not be overwhelmed, and this is a huge trauma with a lot of layers to it. And a person`s immune system is reduced when they`re under a lot of stress. You don`t get pneumonia from stress, but if you have something lurking, your body`s more susceptible to becoming ill. So yes. You know, in the old days, they`d call it "the vapors," right?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Right.

HOWARD: Meaning, you know, that she`s infirmed with sort of faint of will from the stress that she`s encountered. It`s -- there`s some truth to it.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: But there could be convenient timing involved, as well, at least according to some skeptics.

And I want to go to Alex Goen, who is the CEO of Trimspa and a close friend of Anna Nicole`s, as well as her late son, Daniel. Alex, thank you for joining us. And all have tremendous sympathy for what Anna Nicole has gone through. There are some people who wonder, though, about the timing of this, given that there was an effort to evict her from her seaside mansion today. Do you see any coincidence -- oh, suddenly she`s hospitalized with pneumonia, but it`s not so bad?

ALEX GOEN, CEO, TRIMSPA: I don`t see any coincidence whatsoever. As a matter of fact, I was planning on going out to see Anna and Howard tomorrow morning. And on Thursday, we were going to do some work with Trimspa for the very first period of -- for the very first time. I mean, when you think about it, Anna had a baby. Just having a baby alone is very difficult. She`s waking up in the middle of the night. She`s having to feed the baby every couple of hours. Then she lost her son. Just having that incident alone is very difficult.

Now she turns on the news, she turns on the television, and she sees story after story after story, one sensational story after the other. This past Saturday, she gave her very first interview in about the last year or so, and that was rather stressful. She talked about her life and some of the challenges that she had as a child, and that alone is very stressful.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, let me jump in there...

GOEN: You add all that together, it`s -- it`s horrible.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I think you`re talking about the interview she gave to "Entertainment Tonight" and Marc Steines (ph) said she was a broken bird who was totally devastated by her son`s death. And again, tremendous sympathy for her, but can you have it both ways? Why do the interview with "ET," why get ready to do a photo shoot with you down in the Bahamas, if you are so overcome by grief?

GOEN: I think that your life has to go on. It`s not something that you just can continue to grieve for the rest of your life. Your life has to go on. Why do the interview? She`s got offers and people trying to interview her one after the other after the other. She figures, Let me get the story out. Let me get my side of the story out, and hopefully, some of the media will go away.

There`s a lot of pressure when you have to do story after story after story for the media. So she decided to give that one interview. I thought it was a very good idea. You know, there`s two sides to every story.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: And what about going and doing a photo shoot with you for Trimspa at this stage, at this juncture?

GOEN: I mean, when do you think the proper time would be? I mean, she is the most celebrated weight-loss success story ever, and this is another opportunity to tell that story. She`s need to lose something like 60, 70 pounds, and we wanted to take some "before" pictures to go out there and show how well the product works. I mean, if this didn`t happen, we probably would have done this photo shoot a month or two ago, but...

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well...

GOEN: ... when is the proper time?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I don`t have the answer to that question, but I will ask, and we have a panel of experts who might come up with some answers.

Larry Sutton, staff editor of "People" magazine, you`ve been listening to these questions. When is the proper time? There was a tremendous amount of sympathy that went out to Anna Nicole in the wake of her son`s death. Our hearts all go out to her even now, but we do wonder about the timing of some of her decisions. For example, doing a Trimspa, which she`s canceled, but she`s canceled because she has pneumonia. And then, of course, the biggie, having a commitment ceremony before her son was buried, where she and her companion, Howard K. Stern, jumped off a catamaran into the ocean and they had a little party. And at that point, would you agree or not that the tide turned in public opinion against her a little bit because of what some considered wildly inappropriate behavior?

SUTTON: Well, again, everyone deals with grief differently. She is certainly much different than most people who have had a tragedy like this in their family. But I think he makes a good point when he says, Who`s to say what`s the day when you`re going to come back from something like this? If she wants to go on with her life, go back to work now, that might be the best thing for her.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Holly Hughes, prosecutor, you have seen many, many grieving parents. What is your take on the appropriateness of Anna Nicole`s behavior in the wake of her son`s tragic death and the timing of some of her decisions, like the commitment ceremony?

HOLLY HUGHES, PROSECUTOR: Jane, I think your prior guests have said it best. Everybody grieves differently. And I think what`s happened with Anna Nicole, she`s had so much piled onto her at the same time, I don`t think it`s necessarily inappropriate for her to have a commitment ceremony. She wanted something positive. She needed something to celebrate. I don`t think there`s anything wrong with going out with a person you intend to be your life partner and saying, OK, you know what? For two hours today, instead of grieving, instead of crying, we`re going to get out. We`re going to get out of the house.

I encourage my victims to do this. I encourage the parents of murdered children to go out and do something fun and do something life- assuring and reassuring. And with respect to going back to work, I find a lot of people, it`s better to keep themselves busy, Jane, going to work, going for Trimspa. You need to occupy yourself with thoughts other than the grief and the trauma that`s been inflicted upon you.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Well, while we`re on the subject, let`s go back to Larry Sutton from "People" magazine and ask one other follow-up because there was concern about some of the photos she sold. And I`m really not clear. What photos were taken, when, and who did she sell them to for what amounts?

SUTTON: Well, I can`t give you the answers to all those questions, but I can tell you that, yes, pictures were taken of her when she had her commitment ceremony with Howard K. Stern, great pictures, beautiful pictures, fun pictures. And as magazines do, we paid for the pictures.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: You know, Lauren Howard, everybody`s making the same point. This is her life. And I totally agree with it. She could do it however she wants. Yet there is criticism because people wonder, Well, how can she do these things, given the fact that she`s overwhelmed with grief? Can she have it both ways? Is there a reason why, because of her psychological makeup, she needs to do it this way because this has been her life pattern and that`s what she knows?

HOWARD: There is no question that she`s an attention addict, that she loves attention, that she likes being the center of a maelstrom. That doesn`t mean that she wanted tragedy to fall on her. I mean, she likes being the center of attention, does not equate to wanting to be the center of tragic attention.

But you know what? She can`t win, Jane. It doesn`t really matter how she plays this. She is so under the glass. She is being looked at -- every single move she makes is under such scrutiny from public opinion that, really, if she worked, she`d be criticized. If she didn`t work, she`d be criticized. IF she didn`t work, people would say, Oh, well, of course, you know, she feels guilty, so therefore -- it -- she can`t win, so she might as well just go with her gut and do what she feels like.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I think you`re right. And let`s listen to Anna Nicole`s mom, who is speaking out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NANCY GRACE, HOST: I`m reading in "In Touch Weekly" -- and with us tonight, the executive editor of that, Dan Wakeford (ph). Ms. Arthur, in here, you say, "It was murder. I know it was. And someone has to pay." In that room, there were only Daniel Smith, by his mother`s side, Anna Nicole Smith, your daughter, and apparently, Howard Stern, the lawyer, now proclaiming to the be the father of the baby.

So if it wasn`t suicide, that only leaves Anna Nicole and Howard Stern.

VIRGIE ARTHUR, ANNA NICOLE`S MOTHER: It`s true. There was only three people in that room. Daniel was one of them.

GRACE: But what could their possible motive be, Ms. Arthur? Why would they want to do this to a young boy?

ARTHUR: I don`t have a clue. I don`t know why. I just know that Danny didn`t kill hisself. He did not overdose hisself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: So much controversy surrounding Anna Nicole and the death of her son, Daniel. And new controversies almost every minute, there`s wire copy coming down with a new controversy with Anna Nicole Smith.

Let`s go to Art Harris, investigative reporter who is tracking all of this. Tell us about the latest controversy involving Anna Nicole and the house, the seaside mansion that she has in the Bahamas. She says she owns the house, and somebody else says no, she doesn`t, and wants her out. Why is this so crucial, Art?

ART HARRIS, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: Jane, it`s crucial because it will determine whether she keeps her residency status, and that will then give her a shield, potentially, against these lawsuits that are forcing her or want to force her to go back to LA and submit the baby to a DNA test.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: But if she owns it, there`s a deed or some legal document says she owns it. I mean, if she doesn`t, she doesn`t. Why is there a controversy that apparently has now enveloped the Bahamian government with charges and countercharges from top politicians? The scandal just seems to be growing like a hurricane.

HARRIS: It`s an amazing political scandal in the Bahamas, Jane. And the owner of the house is supposedly her former boyfriend, a wealthy South Carolina developer who says he bought the house to make it easy for her to live there and that she was going to buy it from him. These papers supposedly rest in the hands of the appropriate ministry in the Bahamas, but her lawyers now say that she has not signed the proper papers to buy the house. So that could subject her to challenges about whether she is actually a permanent resident and whether she owns the proper house with a half-million dollar value that would qualify her for that status.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: So just so I have it right, we`re talking about three men in her life now, this former boyfriend, allegedly, who helped her with the house, Howard K. Stern, who says he is the father of her newborn baby daughter, and Larry Birkhead, a Los Angeles photographer, who also claims that he is the father of her newborn baby daughter and is going after her legally with two lawsuits to try to prove that. Boy, my head`s ready to explode!

But let`s go to the phones for one second. Kathy, Indiana, your question?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Jane.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Hi.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How are you? My question is, with her being married to the elderly gentleman, Mr. Marshall, and his estate, what she got from his estate, and then with his son dying, why doesn`t she have enough money to buy her own house in the Bahamas and afford her own attorneys without having Mr. Stern represent her? Has he taken all this money?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, you`ve really brought the big picture question in here, and it`s an excellent question. Let`s go back to Art Harris. I mean, how much money does she have now? And all of these battles, how much do they have to do with the big battle that she`s waging to get, if she wins, half a billion dollars from the estate of the very elderly man who she married, who later died, who was an oil tycoon, and whose family has been fighting her for years over the issue of the estate?

HARRIS: Well, that seems to be the heart of the matter, Jane. She has a great shot at this inheritance, which supposedly is rightfully hers, according to the law. And she has been ruled, you know, a valid participant to get it. So that makes her obviously a target for anybody who wants a piece of that. And critics would say that Larry Birkhead, the purported or claimed father of the child, just wants to get custody so that he can get what you would call in California support, child support payments, as the absent father.

Now, you know, as far as Anna Nicole goes, who knows when that timetable will be. Right now, she`s in the hospital. She is trying to maintain her residency status, and she`s fighting off the latest charge, which is the fact -- well, according to Larry Birkhead, she dyed the baby`s hair.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Oh, you know what? We`re going to get to that in a second. That is a whole other can of worms, and it`s such a shocking development, if it`s true. And if it`s not, it`s still shocking that somebody would make the allegation. Hang in right there. We`ll get to that in a moment.

To tonight`s "Case Alert." The investigation of a Colorado man`s mysterious murder focusing on a key clue, his own missing custom snowboard. Twenty-eight-year-old Benjamin Bradley vanished in June on his way to a snowboarding trip with friends, his body found early this month in the Rock Springs area of Wyoming. Investigators believe Bradley`s one-of-a-kind Never (ph) Summer (ph) snowboard could lead to his killer. The snowboard splits in two. The bottom is black with red lettering. The top is blue with a white mountain scene. Anybody with information, please call Sweetwater County police at 307-872-6350.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Any person may make an application for resident status in the Bahamas. However, resident status is usually only accorded to major international investors or owners of a home in the Bahamas valued at $500,000 or more. Resident status may be given on an annual or permanent basis. It should be noted that resident status does not confer the right to work in the Bahamas.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I`m Jane Velez-Mitchell, in tonight for Nancy Grace. You just heard a recording on an outgoing message from the Bahamian government. We could not get a person, a human being in the government to talk to us about what it takes to become a resident, as we continue to debate the controversy over Anna Nicole`s residency in the Bahamas.

So many controversies. We`re going to get to the residency issue in a second. We got to go back to Art Harris about this alleged hair-dyeing of the baby. What is this about?

HARRIS: Does she or doesn`t she, Jane? That`s what inquiring minds want to know. Did somebody dye the baby`s hair? Anna Nicole, of course, sports platinum blond hair, and the baby`s hair is supposedly a darker shade, closer to her now husband Howard Smith. According to the photographer Larry Birkhead, who saw leaked snippets of this "Entertainment Tonight" interview and suspects somebody is dyeing the baby`s hair. And he wants to be reassured that nobody is harming that baby, who he says is his.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, you know, if that allegation is false, that is a really mean, nasty thing to say to a new mother. Alex Goen, who is a very close friend of Anna Nicole`s, has some information to impart about this allegation. Alex?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I mean, you said it before. It is a ridiculous allegation, very shocking. And why would something like that even be said? We were with Anna and Howard about a week ago. My wife held the baby for a good three hours. And my wife knows hair. That baby`s hair was definitely not dyed.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, what color was the baby`s hair?

GOEN: It was a sandy blond.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: What?

GOEN: A sandy blond.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: So does that say anything about the paternity of the child at all, in your mind?

GOEN: I don`t think it says anything. And I don`t know if you believe that Anna`s hair is platinum blond naturally. It`s not.

(LAUGHTER)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: So she`s a brunette who decided to have more fun?

GOEN: I`m not saying she`s a brunette, either, but she`s certainly not a platinum blonde.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: You know, there`s something I don`t understand that`s been plaguing me about this case. If, in fact, Howard K. Stern is the dad and Anna Nicole knows it, why not have the paternity test? I mean, why not say, Let`s get this over, for his peace of mind, for our peace of mind, to end the drama, let`s take the test because we know that Howard K. Stern, the man you`re looking at right there, is the daddy.

GOEN: Well, you know, there`s a reason that there`s legal procedures in this country and other countries. That will happen if the court feels it should happen. And if the court feels it shouldn`t happen -- you just can`t have anyone go out there and allege that -- paternity on a child. I mean, and furthermore, it should not be something that`s tried in the public. It`s supposed to be kept confidential, especially in the state of California. I mean, so there`s going to -- if they`re compelled to do a DNA test, they will give that DNA test.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Even though you`re concerned about the death of Daniel, I can see that you -- what would you say to her tonight if you could speak to her?

ARTHUR: Vickie Lynn, you know I love you, always have. And be very careful about how you hang around with because you may be next.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I`m Jane Velez-Mitchell, sitting in tonight for Nancy Grace. We are trying to figure out what`s really going on behind the scenes in the very confusing and very tragic case of Anna Nicole Smith, who lost a son and is fighting over the paternity.of a daughter. And she is now reportedly hospitalized in the Bahamas, saying that she has caught pneumonia.

I want to go straight out to Doug Burns, defense attorney. Yet another controversy is being reported, that if, in fact, Anna Nicole is deported, she might want to take her son`s remains with her.

DOUG BURNS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Right.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: And of course, that would require, what, exhuming the body. How would that possibly work?

BURNS: Yes, that`s both interesting and very complicated. In other words, Jane, normally, when you exhume a body, it`s in connection with a further criminal investigation, ie continuing toxicology. That`s what we always see. Here, if you`re saying that she simply wants to change her mind about the situs (ph) of where he`s to be buried, I think it would probably be easier. But to answer your question -- I`m not dodging it -- you go to court, get a court order of exhumation. But it would be very tricky in that it involves two different countries.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: How many court battles can one person have? That is another question tonight.

Let us go to famed forensic scientist tonight, we`re very honored to have him with us, Dr. Henry Lee. Dr. Lee, you`ve been very patient. Tell us about this exhumation process, if it were to occur. How does it work, sir?

DR. HENRY LEE, FORENSIC SCIENTIST: Well, it`s a five-step process. The first one, you have to get court order agree to move the body. Also, you have to have health department permission, make sure no contagious disease. The second step, of course, to exhume the body itself, to dig it up, which is not a really complicated process. The funeral home going to make arrangement with cemetery.

Next step, of course, have some certain form of identification. Even if it`s a criminal case, of course, you need a forensic pathologist and forensic scientist to be there and make sure the body is correct, and that`s Daniel. But in this case, of course, a funeral home or some other form of identification can prove that`s Daniel`s casket. The next thing, of course, the next step is to transport the body. And then the next thing, of course, to bury at new site. It`s really lengthy but not really that complicated procedure.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: On October 11th, this office first learned of the existence of a Bahamian birth certificate bearing the name of Howard K. Stern as the father of Dannielynn. This office immediately began inquiries and an investigation into the veracity of this document and learned that, as part of the application process to secure such a birth certificate in the Bahamas, affidavits under penalty of perjury had to be prepared by the parties.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I`m Jane Velez-Mitchell in tonight for Nancy Grace, who is helping Hurricane Katrina victims. She is working hard, helping to rebuild homes in Mississippi. Way to go, Nancy.

Meantime, the saga of Anna Nicole Smith just gets more and more dramatic and astounding, really, a rash of developments, as the former "Playboy" playmate is hospitalized in the Bahamas as she battles ongoing efforts to evict her from her seaside mansion, even as a former boyfriend claims to be the father of her baby daughter and tries to force her to give her child a paternity case.

And on top of all that, there`s talk that she might want to exhume her newly buried son`s body if she is, in fact, deported so she can take the remains with her.

Prosecutor Holly Hughes, is that a good idea? This is a body that`s already been subjected to two autopsies, one by the Bahamian government, another by the independent pathologist hired by the Smith family. And wouldn`t that -- it just seems like so much to do to this body that`s there.

HUGHES: Well, it does, Jane. But you have to consider this is a grieving mother. This is a mother who loved her son, by everyone`s accounts. No one, I think, has come out and said she didn`t love Daniel more than life itself.

I believe there were reports that, when they were attempting to resuscitate him, she was just crying and hanging onto his feet and saying, "Take me instead." And any mother would do that, they would switch places with their child.

The soul is gone. If she wants to keep her son close at a place where she can go and visit him on a daily basis or a weekly basis, I don`t think that that`s unusual. That`s something that I would want, Jane. I would want to be able to go to the place where my loved one is buried, and visit, and be able to pay my respects, and share with them. I don`t think it`s unusual, and I don`t think it`s necessarily abusive.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: But defense attorney Doug Burns, what about the fact that the government hasn`t decided whether or not to hold a jury inquest into Daniel`s death? So if you move the body before that, aren`t you potentially taking away evidence?

BURNS: Well, right there, Jane, you`re right on the money, of course. The point is, you`re not going to be able to get the court order that I described earlier, if in point of fact, as you just described, it`s still being held for some kind of inquest.

I agree with Holly, obviously. Holly`s not making a legal analysis. From a human analysis, of course she wants the body where she can visit it. Nobody disputes that. But there`s no way they`re getting that body moved if there`s some legal proceeding pending.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: So many calls coming in. This is such a controversial case. Judy in Michigan, your question?

CALLER: Yes, ma`am. I was wondering, you know, nobody has asked who is the beneficiary of her son. I mean, you`ve got the grandmother controversy with the murder, and you`ve got her with the lawyer, who -- she`s losing the house. I mean, what is happening here?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, let`s go to Larry Sutton, staff editor for "People" magazine, who has been tracking the Anna Nicole story for many, many years. What is the status of her finances? I understood that her son had a trust.

SUTTON: Sure.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Who does that trust go to, that sort of thing?

SUTTON: Well, the son does, from what we know, does have a trust fund. As far as who gets the money from that trust fund, that`s not been disclosed.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, I mean what is her financial status? We know she could come into half a billion dollars if she wins this battle.

SUTTON: She could. You have to remember...

VELEZ-MITCHELL: But what does he have -- she obviously must go through money like water, I mean, just the lawyers alone, forget the seaside mansion and everything else. I mean, what is her financial status right now?

SUTTON: Sure, she spends. Now, the big money is the money that`s being held up in court right now, which is, of course, the settlement from her former marriage. She makes money in other ways. The fellow from Trimspa will tell you they pay her a pretty penny, I`m sure, to be their spokeswoman. And she also does personal appearances. She makes modeling appearances. So she`s got a lot of outside income coming in, besides the amount of money that`s waiting for her should the courts ultimately decide in her favor and give her that money.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, Alex Goen, you`re her friend. You`re also the CEO of Trimspa. How is she doing financially?

GOEN: Well, she certainly is not a wealthy person. She does OK. Certainly, she does get a lot of work here and there, but it`s been difficult the last couple of years really to get work.

She`s had the Supreme Court case. They made it pretty clear that she shouldn`t do any type of appearances and make this into a major publicity type of event, and she didn`t. And that, you know, she really likes to be very much alone. She wants to get some of that private time, and she was really looking forward to raising her kid.

But, unfortunately, right now she does have a lot of expenses, because not only does she need all these attorneys, she needs security. She needs bodyguards. There has been people jumping over the fence trying to get into the house. It`s just been real, real unfortunate. She`s a prisoner in her very own house.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: That`s what I`ve heard. And that`s what "Entertainment Tonight" apparently reported when they went down there to interview her. Let`s listen to Anna Nicole`s mother talk about her grandson, late Daniel.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VIRGIE ARTHUR, ANNA NICOLE SMITH`S MOTHER: I know that Danny had a trust fund. I don`t know if he still has it or if they -- I don`t know what happened. But he did have a trust fund. But if Howard marries Vickie and Daniel`s gone, that leaves Howard and the baby, to inherit whatever money she has.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Larry Sutton, let`s talk about the big question involving Daniel and that is the drugs that were reportedly found in his system, according to the independent pathologist Cyril Wecht, who was hired by the family. We`re talking methadone, we`re talking Zoloft, an antidepressant, and we`re talking Lexapro, and apparently in considerable quantities. Why? Why would this young man, who never had a reputation for doing drugs apparently, who was very clean cut, who was well-liked by everybody, have these three items in his system together?

SUTTON: Well, again, you know, they said that he was fighting depression. There`s also -- I think you`re going to find there`s (INAUDIBLE) I think you`re going to find out down the road, when the full toxicology reports come out, that there were other substances in his body. They were not bad; it was cough medicine, things like that. But again, the combination, you`re going to find about seven different types of drugs that treat everything from depression to colds. And it`s that combination that really did him in.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, Doug Burns, defense attorney, is there any innocent explanation for that? I mean, why would somebody, a young man, be on methadone? And apparently methadone is used primarily when you`re trying to kick heroin or when you`re suffering a severely, severely painless illness, sometimes a terminal illness. What would he have methadone?

BURNS: Yes, that is the big curiosity. In other words, we know he was on the two antidepressant medications that you mentioned, including Lexapro, Zoloft. But you`re right: Methadone is usually used to wean heroin addicts off of heroin, and that is the big curiosity. And that`s why, as the prior guest, I mean, some further toxicology might show us that. I mean, there`s a lot of rumors and innuendo and speculation. We`ve got to be careful. So they just need further tests.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Oh, we want to be very careful, and we want to ask Alex Goen, who also knew Daniel very well, what his thoughts are on this, because, again, he had a wonderful reputation. He did not have a reputation for abusing drugs, and he was always considered a very clean-cut young man.

GOEN: I mean, what my thoughts are, it`s hard to really make that analysis. I mean, I`ve never seen Daniel even drink. He was always very, very straight. You would never have imagined that he was taking any type of drugs or medicine that he shouldn`t be taking. I presume that he got a prescription from a doctor and the doctor prescribed these medications to him; that`s the only thing I can think of.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Or several doctors, because, I mean, wouldn`t one doctor prescribe all three of those medications at the same time? And that`s a question I certainly can`t answer. We don`t have the answer to that. But we`re going to continue to ask the questions.

To tonight`s "Case Alert," another player on Duke University`s elite lacrosse team speaking out for the very first time about the rape investigation. Devon Sherwood, who is African-American, was the only player not asked for DNA samples, as the alleged perps were identified as white males.

In an interview with ABC`s "Good Morning America," Sherwood says he believes the rape allegations are false and says his three white teammates, Dave Evans, Collin Finnerty, and Reade Seligmann, were stereotyped by class and skin color. D.A. Mike Nifong defends the way he and police handled the case, saying his only regret was granting too many interviews during the early stages of the investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEVON SHERWOOD, FRIEND OF ACCUSED DUKE LACROSSE PLAYERS: It`s a stereotype.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How so?

SHERWOOD: They were stereotyped in the media. It`s almost universal in that they felt, oh, that daddy is going to buy them the big-time lawyers and they`re going to get off. We can`t have that. I`ve even been stereotyped from being rich, being on full scholarship, to being not in touch with my own black community at Duke. And it`s terrible to be find yourself being stereotyped.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Anna, I`m talking to you directly now, and I want you to listen to me, and I want you to hear what I have to tell you. If you are so certain, if you are so certain that Larry Birkhead is not the father, then you have nothing, absolutely nothing to lose by submitting to this jurisdiction and allowing a paternity test.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Jane Velez-Mitchell in tonight for Nancy Grace, who is helping Katrina victims rebuild their homes and their lives. Meanwhile, we are talking about the amazing drama surrounding Anna Nicole Smith.

And I`d like to go right to Lauren Howard, psychotherapist, about the whole methadone issue, methadone reportedly found in her son`s body. How is it possible?

HOWARD: Jane, the methadone is the piece of this puzzle that is very complex and disturbing. It is completely plausible that a doctor would prescribe Lexapro and Zoloft for someone who they`re treating for depression, but methadone is a tightly controlled opiate. It is used in the treatment of rehab for heroin victim. It is not often a street drug, because it`s too expensive. It`s cheaper to sell heroin on the street.

You don`t just get methadone; it`s not that easy to come by. It is very tightly controlled. How methadone got into Daniel`s hands is a real puzzle that I just quite frankly cannot understand. I don`t understand how he would have gotten methadone unless he was being treated at a clinic for rehab.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Or if he was a terminally ill cancer patient, right?

HOWARD: Well, that, too, sure.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Right, but there`s no evidence that he would have...

HOWARD: Quite frankly, you wouldn`t just give methadone to a terminally ill cancer patient as an outpatient in that way. You might treat them with it in a hospital setting, but you would not dispensing it. I mean, it would be unusual. We would know about it. We would know about the cancer.

(CROSSTALK)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: It is a mystery. And Anna Nicole`s mother, Daniel`s grandmother, has weighed in on this mystery.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: How would you explain such high levels of Lexapro, Zoloft and methadone in this boy`s bloodstream?

ARTHUR: Somebody had to give it to him. He had to get it from somewhere. I just know that Danny didn`t kill hisself. He did not overdose hisself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: And let`s go to Dr. Henry Lee, noted forensic scientist. Dr. Lee, methadone found in his system. Would the autopsy report give us information about when he ingested it? In other words, he had recently come from the States to the Bahamas, and the key question would be: When did he get this methadone and when did he ingest it?

LEE: That`s an excellent point. First of all, when was he injected? What`s the concentration, the next thing, and, of course, who prescribed that? He cannot just get the methadone by himself. So the combination of the three drugs, of course, going to have (INAUDIBLE) maybe cause this. So it`s kind of important issue to trace back all the so-called paper checking, see what, who and when all of those methadone was given to him.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, Art Harris, investigative journalist, is this what the Bahamian investigators are doing right now, as they trial to determine whether they need to have a jury inquest, which is essentially like a mini-trial?

HARRIS: That`s right, Jane. You know, their report is sealed, but they have been in California trying to retrace his steps. And one of the things that has come up, you know, he got the methadone, but it was likely in pill form. And what pharmacologists I`ve interviewed tell me is that the other two antidepressants have a multiplier effect when it comes to methadone. They will block the absorption of it and make it much stronger and out of proportion to perhaps the amount he took and deadly.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now, Larry Sutton, staff editor of "People" magazine, a somewhat possibly related question that is totally 100 percent speculative, but Larry Birkhead, the Los Angeles photographer who claims to be the father of the new daughter that Anna Nicole had, is demanding that that newborn baby girl, Dannielynn, be tested for drugs. What is the allegation behind that request?

SUTTON: Well, it`s so off the wall, his theory being that, if, indeed, the baby had its hair dyed, there might be some danger that the dye would cause problems with the baby. He`s grasping at straws, I think, trying anything he can to compel Anna Nicole Smith and the baby to return to California.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: And, Alex Goen, as a friend of Anna Nicole`s, the CEO of Trimspa, as well as a friend of the late Daniel, what do you say about Anna Nicole`s past, vis-a-vis substance abuse? My understanding -- and correct me if I`m wrong -- is that Daniel had actually helped her kick an addiction to painkillers, is that true?

GOEN: Well, I mean, that was way before I knew Anna, but hearing it from Anna and hearing it from Howard, Daniel was the reason that Anna got through a very, very difficult time in her life back about eight to 10 years ago.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: What is the big picture here? As a friend, could you have ever predicted that she would end up in this dilemma tonight, with so many controversies -- it`s hard to even count them at this point -- swirling around her, sitting in a hospital, suffering from pneumonia with a newborn baby girl? And we certainly want to ask what the status of that newborn baby girl is, who`s taking care of her? How is she doing? Do we know?

GOEN: The baby girl is doing very well. She has a couple friends that are taking care of her while Anna`s in the hospital. The girl, she`s in good hands.

Would I have ever imagined all this? No way. I don`t think anyone could ever imagine this. And you know what`s really sad is just the stories are getting more and more outrageous. As far as this exhuming of the body, I mean, that`s just -- I don`t know where that story comes from, but I just wonder where a lot of these stories come from.

But, of course, for some reason, anything that is outrageous and is associated with Anna Nicole, they just seem to stick for some crazy reason. And, you know, unfortunately, we live in a world that media is always looking for a sensation story, and they`d rather have a train wreck than a really good story.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Lynnette, quick question from California.

CALLER: Hi. Yes, with the baby being born in the Bahamas, is it possible for them to evict her and deport her, knowing that she`s the baby`s mother?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Doug Burns, you want to take that question on?

BURNS: Sure, I mean, that`s pretty tricky. I mean, if they deport her, the child`s going with her. I mean, that`s the simple answer, because there`s no other parent on the scene. So the answer to the question is, if she is made to leave the country, the baby will go with her.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: But she wants desperately to stay in the Bahamas. Why?

BURNS: You`re asking me that?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes.

BURNS: Well, no, the speculation is that she has utilized that, and I`m not giving editorial about that, but that she has utilized that to avoid the process of the California courts. Where I politely disagree a little bit with Alex is on the point about taking the paternity test. Why not?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARTHUR: He was precious. He was curious. He always wanted to know. He always asked, "What if?" He was a good boy. He was just a blessing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I`m Jane Velez-Mitchell in tonight for Nancy Grace, who is helping Hurricane Katrina victims by joining with others to rebuild homes in Mississippi, a very important cause. Meantime, we`re here tracking Anna Nicole Smith. And let`s get to the really big picture: Has Anna Nicole become a tragic figure?

Closing thoughts, starting with Lauren Howard, psychotherapist.

HOWARD: Jane, the biggest tragedy for Anna Nicole Smith is this is a girl who lost her father when she was young, she`s been searching for a father figure ever since. If you think for a minute she is making these decisions on her own about whether to go for paternity, whether -- she`s under the rule of various svengalis, all the men in her life, all these -- everyone is pulling the puppet strings for this girl. She is not making these decisions on her own.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: You know, Holly Hughes, prosecutor, Lauren has just made an absolutely fabulous point. Lawyers can`t even keep up with the many complexities of all her legal battles. Are we really thinking that she`s keeping up with all of this or is there a puppet master?

HUGHES: I don`t see how she could be, Jane. I agree with Dr. Howard 100 percent. I think there`s several puppet masters from which she`s getting advice, and this girl is -- having lost her father and now having lost her son, she`s set adrift, and she`s looking for help and grasping on to anybody that will offer it to her.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Doug Burns, final thoughts. What advice would you give Anna Nicole tonight?

BURNS: Jane, you said it best: It`s a storm of drama. And I think - - I`m not a P.R. rep. I`m a lawyer. But, I mean, she`s got to just get some good advice and try to sort this out. But my goodness, what an absolute roller coaster ride.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Absolutely. And, you know, there`s a saying there`s no mess you can`t clean up, and we certainly wish her the very best. We hope she can clean up all of this gigantic mess and find some closure with her terrible loss, and move on with her newborn baby daughter, and have a wonderful life. I think we all wish her that, and say a little prayer for her tonight that she can get it together and do that.

Tonight, we remember Marine Corporal Joshua Watkins, just 25 from Jacksonville, Florida. On his second tour of duty, Watkins put his studies at the University of North Florida on hold to enlist in the Marine Corps. He dreamed of becoming a police officer. He leaves behind a grieving family; they remember him for his beautiful, million-dollar smile. Joshua Watkins, an American hero.

Thanks to all of our guests for their insights tonight, and thanks to you at home for tracking these important cases with us. Please tune in right here tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern. Until then, have a wonderful and a very safe evening.

END

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