Deal done to bury ex-Playboy model Smith in Bahamas

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Feb 23 (Reuters) Former Playboy centerfold Anna Nicole Smith will be buried in the Bahamas next to her dead son after an agreement was reached to end a two-week legal feud over her corpse, lawyers said.

Choking back tears, Broward Circuit Judge Larry Seidlin had earlier placed Smith's body -- rapidly decomposing after her unexplained death at age 39 in a Florida hotel casino on February 8 -- into the custody of a court-appointed guardian of her 5-month-old baby daughter Dannielynn Hope Marshall Stern.

''I'm very grateful that Anna Nicole's wishes are going to be carried out,'' said Smith's long-time lawyer and companion, Howard K. Stern, who wanted to have her buried next to her son Daniel in the Bahamas, where he died five months ago.

Speaking to reporters outside the Fort Lauderdale courthouse where Stern, Smith's former boyfriend Larry Birkhead and Smith's mother, Virgie Arthur, have spent six days fighting over the corpse, lawyers for the factions said they could not give any details about the funeral but hoped it would be private.

The decision appeared to mean the legal tussle over Smith -- famous in life for her bountiful bust -- was all but over even though Arthur's attorney indicated she might yet appeal.

Broward County Medical Examiner Joshua Perper said an appeal could delay release of the body.

The sudden death of the former topless dancer and billionaire's widow and the legal battle over her body have brought swarms of television crews and tabloid journalists to the Broward County courthouse in Fort Lauderdale.

Relishing the limelight, Seidlin presided over the proceedings as if they were an audition for a TV show, berating shouting lawyers, taking over their questioning of witnesses and firing off jokes and off-the-cuff remarks.

But the saga is about more than just 15 minutes of fame or the location of a tombstone -- Smith's estate could be worth a fortune one day if a decade-long court battle to inherit the wealth of her late husband, Texas oil tycoon J Howard Marshall, prevails.

And so much of the focus has been on who fathered Dannielynn -- her legal next of kin.

Birkhead says he is her father and has launched a paternity suit in California, while Stern is listed on Dannielynn's birth certificate as the child's father.

A hearing was scheduled for a Fort Lauderdale family court today, just down the hall from Seidlin's courtroom, where lawyers for Birkhead said they would demand DNA tests on Dannielynn.

Seidlin spent the last day of his hearings asking questions about those vying for the remains: did Smith's mother, Arthur, provide strong support for her daughter?; was Stern ''an enabler'' who aided and abetted her prescription drug problem? ''Good guy, bad guy, hero, villain?'' Seidlin mused, speculating about Smith's abuse of prescription drugs and wondering whether she would have been better able to handle fame if she had had a stronger support network.

''This beautiful woman gets thrown into the spotlight. But unfortunately ... she's not prepared for this hurricane.'' Reuters SSC DB0917