Anna Nicole's estranged mother in bid to have grandson exhumed

US: Anna Nicole Smith's estranged mother told a judge yesterday she wants to exhume her grandson - buried in the Bahamas - and…

US:Anna Nicole Smith's estranged mother told a judge yesterday she wants to exhume her grandson - buried in the Bahamas - and bring his body to Texas to be buried along with his starlet mother in her home state.

Ms Smith's long-time companion, Howard Stern, is fighting for the former Playboy centrefold to be buried next to her son, Daniel (20) in the island chain, where he died from apparent drug-related causes last year.

On the second day of testimony in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, judge Larry Seidlin indicated the best result would be a compromise - and soon - since the medical examiner warned that Ms Smith's body was decomposing more quickly than expected and a public viewing could be in danger.

"We will try to fashion a remedy where not everyone gets everything they want," the judge said.

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Ms Smith died on February 8th aged 39. Her cause of death is under investigation.

Without written proof of her wishes, Mr Seidlin was forced to hear evidence from those who claim to know what she wanted.

Also at issue in a Californian court is who fathered Smith's five-month-old daughter, Dannielynn, who could inherit millions of dollars. Mr Stern is listed as the father on the birth certificate, but Larry Birkhead, a photographer, says the girl is his.

Ms Smith's mother, Virgie Arthur, testified that although she had not seen her daughter since 1996, they spoke on the phone more frequently. She cried as she spoke about her relationship with Ms Smith and her grandson's death.

She also disputed Mr Stern's claim yesterday that Ms Smith was obsessed with her own death and expected to die young, just like her hero, Marilyn Monroe, who was 36 when she died in 1962.

"You can't make me believe that. She was too full of life, she loved life," she said.