BAHAMAS:A US Supreme Court justice yesterday denied a motion by Anna Nicole Smith's mother, Virgie Arthur, to halt the burial of the former model and take her body to Texas, according to reports last night.
Justice Anita Allen denied the motion filed by Ms Arthur's lawyer Deborah Rose, a radio report in the US said. It was the latest attempt by Ms Arthur, who had been estranged from her daughter, to halt the burial alongside the former reality TV star's son, Daniel Smith, who died in the Bahamas in September.
Meanwhile, in the Bahamas, pallbearers carried Ms Smith's body in a mahogany coffin covered by a rhinestone-studded pink blanket into a church for the funeral. Hundreds of islanders and tourists crowded behind steel barricades guarded by police as the coffin was borne down a red carpet, lowered on to a cart and wheeled into the Mount Horeb Baptist church.
Onlookers cried out "Anna! Anna!" Inside, the pews were festooned with pink roses. The coffin was closed during the service and a painting of Ms Smith decorated the altar, said Yvonne Gibson, a guest.
"Today we share our grief with all of you," said Richard Milstein, the court-appointed advocate for Ms Smith's baby daughter, Dannielynn, who called for "respect and solemnity" from the media horde and others outside.
"Today we come to you to carry out the final, most sacred, solemn act provided to any individual."
Before the coffin arrived, Ms Arthur arrived in a white stretch limousine with an entourage of about 10. There appeared to be fewer than 100 guests overall, even though an organiser said about 300 had been invited to the private ceremony.
Gazing at the ranks of TV cameras and police dressed in white-belted tunics with blue trousers, some tourists were amazed at all the security and media.
"She's got a presidential kind of media frenzy going on," said Christie Rathgaber, a nurse from Ohio who was at the scene. "I'm just incredulous at all the fuss."
Dr Joshua Perper, the Broward medical examiner, said he would announce Ms Smith's cause of death next week.- ( AP)
