Attorney: "This is beyond comprehension"

TMZ spoke to Larry Birkhead's attorney Debra Opri, who called this case "such a tragedy" and "beyond her comprehension."
Larry Birkhead and Debra Opri
Opri tells TMZ she is on her way into an emergency court hearing this morning to ask a judge to order Anna Nicole's DNA to be tested. Opri says that as of now, "there is no known biological father at this point in time. Larry has been prevented from giving a DNA sample, Howard K. Stern has refused to give a DNA sample." She says that Anna's mother, Virgie Arthur, is currently the only person who is legally Dannielynn's next of kin. Opri says that Anna's daughter should be given to Anna's mother until this is all sorted out.

As for Larry Birkhead, Opri says he will not be at today's hearing as he is beyond distraught over the death of Anna. Opri says, even with all of the drama between the two, "Anna was the love of Larry's life."

Reader Comments

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61. ISN'T A LTTLE STRANGE THAT HOWARD STERN WAS PRESENT WHEN DANIEL PASSED AWAY, NOW ANNA.......DO YA THINK HE WANTED EVERYTHING FOR HIMSELF....HE PROFESSED HIS LOVE FOR HER, WHEN BOTTOM LINE IS, HE WAS JUST AS MONEY HUNGRY AS HIS DECEASED WIFE. SOUNDS LIKE A CONSPIRACY

HOWARD THE PARASITE.....REMINDS ME OF A TICK....SUCKING THE LIFE OUT OF PEOPLE

Posted at 11:43AM on Feb 9th 2007 by DONNA

62. I am ashamed to admit that the thought of Daniel being the father had crossed my mind before her death, but I do believe that Larry is the father. This is a sad story and I am sure the media will be having a blast with all of this. But to the losers and everyone with hate in your hearts, Anna-Nicole had problems and it must be horrible to have the whole world know it and judge it. She came across to me as very insecure, but caring. She was messed up and unfurtunately had others running her life meaning that so-called man Howard.

Posted at 12:17PM on Feb 9th 2007 by tammy

63. No one will truly know how severe her depression was and what she went through.
RIP anna

Posted at 11:25AM on Feb 9th 2007 by christina

64. I wonder who'll make the first public appearance - Larry or Howard. Probably the one who follows the advice of their attorney (just a guess).

I wouldn't be at all surprised if Howard has had Power Of Attorney over Vicki's assets for several years now. It appears to me and from what we've heard, she was suffering from many problems, one possibly Stockholm Syndrome. Try to find a picture of "Anna" without that creep either in it or close by. The guy is creepy. Without Vicki he is simply an unemployed bum; I wonder who'll he glum on to next. I'm sure some vulnerable young woman who has no healthy family ties. Maybe someone like Lindsay Lohan.

Posted at 11:59AM on Feb 9th 2007 by ace

65. why would they give that innocent child to ANS's MOTHER???? that woman has scrambled to get on every single nationally televised show to discuss her deceased daughter!! she certainly hasn't looked to grief stricken in my opinion. say what you want about LB but you don't see him shoving his mug in front of the camera to discuss his 'grief', 'surprise', 'horror', etc. i think he truly did love her....and i wish that that baby ends up w/whoever has her best interests at heart.

Posted at 12:57PM on Feb 9th 2007 by Laurie R

66. For centuries women have given birth and lied to husbands ..........the truth is that women will prefer to have the better man be teh father irrespective of DNA contribution..its just common sense.

She did nto want birkhead or whatever involved in her life..end of story. She chose a father she thought the child will be secure with .....Larry..

In short Larry has proved that he is a true freinds to Anna, he put up with a lot of crap on her behalf and I think that ifhe oculd stand by Anna this long, he will make her proud as the baby daddy.

Anna may have had her issues, but she knew who was there for her at all times and that same person is capable of being ther through thick and thin for the baby till she is an adult...

Birkhead if he had love for any other than himslef, should have been aware that the woman just lost a child was pretty messed up ...I am sure teh baby will gor up to judge the circumstances for herself..of all the pyschos involved, only Larry seems normal among the bumnch..I have never heard a mother denouce her own child in death..wow..what a great grandma...blood has nothing to do with emotional bonding etc..............

Posted at 11:51AM on Feb 9th 2007 by Miapocca

67. http://www.YourRelationshipAdvice.com
Don't feel too bad for the baby......she'll be inheriting $85M.

Posted at 11:30AM on Feb 9th 2007 by victoria

68. I seriously wonder if Howard has something to do with all the incidents of the last few months. There's a witness willing to say Howard gave Daniel one of the pills that caused his death and flushed the remaining pills to hide evidence. Then you have this naming him as the dad on paper (I do not believe in any way he is the dad, otherwise he'd do a dna test and I saw no affection between he and Anna), then she is supposedly so sick they bring a nurse but then she's left alone and found dead. If she was that sick why wasn't she taken to a doctor? If she was that sick, why was she left alone to die? If she was that sick, why was it necessary she travel to get this boat they were there purchasing instead of being home resting?
If Howard was so close to her they had a commitment ceremony, were supposedly going to marry and she named him as the dad to her daughter on paper, he had to also know how bad off on drugs she was, had to know she had them with her. I feel like he played a big part in keeping people from her in order to have control.
I feel very sorry for this baby.
I don't think either prospective dad should have it til custody is decided, and I don't think her mother should since they didn't get along and she's said the baby needs to be with the dad. If I were the grandma in this instance SHOOT YES I'd be fighting for my grandbaby. But Anna supposedly has 5 siblings, the baby should stay with one of them til custody is determined.
Whatever it took though, I'd get it away from Howard, people tend to die around him.

Posted at 11:37AM on Feb 9th 2007 by Jackie

69. Howard K. Stern he has a lot to gain first her son . Now she is gone too how fortunate for the man on the birth certificate. By the way Isnt he also the one who supplied the Son thand Mother the drugs(Methadone)? HMMMM. Maybe there is a connection.

Posted at 6:40PM on Feb 10th 2007 by Rebecca Brandi

70. Isn't it all so sad that Anna's body barely was getting cold and this Larry guy is already filing court proceedings for a bay that he had little or no contact with since the day she was born, or during Anna' pregnancy. Howard has been there for Anna and been a constant part of her first five months. What sense does it make to take her away from the only father she has ever known, not to mention the fact that he's listed on a legal document as her father. That should be enough to keep the wolves awy from the door till this whole thing is sorted out. Anna's fat pig mother Virgie? Please was obviously a rotten mother to Anna, she just needs to line her pockets so she can sit on her fat lazy ass knee deep in pork fat for the rest of her life.

Posted at 11:33AM on Feb 9th 2007 by noodles101

71. I hate that Attorneys voice. She see money and a name for herself in all of this. Attorneys are scum sucking liars with pasts that catch up with them.

Posted at 11:36AM on Feb 9th 2007 by All American Girl

72. You can laugh at anything but the death of a child. Some people learn to laugh again. Others will never go on. I don't think Anna would have ever come to terms with her sons' death. Now they are together again and I hope she's learn to laugh.

R.I.P. Anna.

Posted at 12:09PM on Feb 9th 2007 by lily

73. DO NOT, REPEAT DO NOT GIVE THAT BABY TO THAT FREAKIN MOTHER OF ANNA NICOLE SMITH.

Posted at 11:37AM on Feb 9th 2007 by Paul Kline

74. While it is sad that the baby has now lost her mom, the fact remains that this poor baby doesn't have a father either. Let them all mourn in their own ways. Once this is done, in the child's best interest, get the DNA tests done. If Howard and Larry both have the child's interest truly at heart they will both submit to a test. Larry has been willing all along and pushing for it. If Howard tries to drag it out in the legal system he will only prove my point that his interest is not for the child, but for himself. While it is sad that Anna is now gone, she also did her best to avoid the DNA test. It's simple and quick. Could have resovled the entire thing. Everyone may be picking on Larry but this is typical North American values. Fathers have no rights. If he is indeed the father, his rights have been violated. There is a double standard that it's expected that women automatically have the children and the men are to be kept out of their children's lives. This child, this baby while too young to know what's going on, needs a loving parent. If Larry is indeed the father, then the child should go to him. The 1.6 Billion dollar lawsuit should be dropped (there's talk that it will continue on in the baby's name) and if Larry is the father, the right thing to do would be to drop it. The money never truly was Anna's and she was a selfish, self-absorbed gold digger. She used men for her financial needs and she used men for emotional needs. Allegations of abuse as a child is no excuse for her behaviour while she was alive. She was a grown adult, able to make her own decisions. She should have been more responsible. She was a mother. When you become a parent it's no longer about you anymore. If the allegations were true about her childhood, she should have resolved to be the parent she wished she had when she was younger. Stop feeling sorry for Anna. She was a grown adult and mother who made her own choices. Too often in America we feel sorry for those who did their own damage. No one takes responsibility for their own actions anymore. Her actions have left her baby motherless. Feel sorry for the poor baby that's only begun her life in this terrible mess of death, lawsuits and media attention.

Posted at 2:02PM on Feb 9th 2007 by Brent

75. Does anybody think it is a bit strange that Stern was in the room during the deaths of both Daniel and Anna? Ummmm - or maybe a coincidence? Sure hope they don't leave the baby with him. I am in agreement - I think she deserves a stable, loving family. I don't think either man or the grandma are responsible enough to care for her. It is all about the $.

Posted at 12:16PM on Feb 9th 2007 by digitaldiva

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