After Broward County Medical Examiner Joshua Perper told Florida Circuit Judge Larry Seidlin that the body of Anna Nicole Smith was decomposing at an accelerated rate, the hearing into who can choose the final resting place of Anna Nicole took on a sense of urgency today. Smith's mother, Virgie Arthur, took to the stand today to plead her case for why she should be allowed to bring the body of Anna Nicole Smith back to Texas, just one day after Smith's attorney/boyfriend Howard K. Stern testified in his bid to see the body of Anna Nicole Smith laid to rest next to her son Daniel in the Bahamas.

Without any written proof of Anna Nicole Smith's wishes, Judge Seidlin has been forced to hear both sides of the argument to determine where Anna Nicole Smith should be laid to rest. As Virgie Arthur took to the stand on Wednesday, she admitted to the court that she had not seen Anna Nicole Smith in person in nearly 10 years, but she reiterated her request to bring Anna Nicole's body back to Texas for burial. In a surprise turn of events, Virgie Arthur told the court that she also wishes to exhume the body of Daniel Smith, as she wishes to bring the body of the son of Anna Nicole Smith back to Texas as well, to bury both her daughter and grandson side by side.

While Howard K. Stern has argued that Smith wanted to be buried next to her son, Daniel, who died last September is Nassau, Bahamas, Arthur has been adamant about bringing her daughter's body back to Texas, and also wants Daniel Smith buried next to Anna Nicole Smith. As Judge Seidlin heard the second day of testimony, the Florida Judge insisted that the best result would be a compromise, and one reached soon as Dr. Joshua Perper has insisted that a public viewing may not be possible after the weekend. The Associated Press quoted Judge Seidlin, who said, "When you walked into the court, you hope to get everything." The judge then said, "We will try to fashion a remedy where not everyone gets everything they want."

Anna Nicole Smith died on Feb. 8 after being found unconscious and unresponsive at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida. Smith was later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital, though the cause of death is still under investigation. As Virgie Arthur took to the stand to describe her relationship with Anna Nicole Smith, she talked about her relatively frequent phone conversations with Smith, and Anna Nicole's relationship with her son, Daniel. Arthur also refuted testimony given by Howard K. Stern, where Stern said Anna Nicole had been wanting to die since the death of her son. Virgie Arthur was quoted by the AP, saying, "You can't make me believe that. She was too full of life. She loved life."

Virgie Arthur had testified on Tuesday that drugs had soured her relationship with Anna Nicole Smith, and that Smith would call Arthur every so often in the middle of the night sounding "drugged." Before testimony began today, John O'Quinn, the attorney for Virgie Arthur, went on CBS's The Early Show, where he challenged the legality of burying Daniel Smith in the Bahamas. The AP quoted O'Quinn, who said, "There was no reason to be burying somebody who is not a legal resident of the Bahamas in the Bahamas. This whole case is based on fraud, fraud, fraud perpetrated by Stern so he can always control everything and make money off of Anna."

At the same time as the legal hearing into the fate of the body of Anna Nicole Smith takes place, a California court has been slowly moving forward with the paternity battle of Dannielynn Stern, the daughter of Anna Nicole Smith. While Howard K. Stern has been listed as the baby's father on the birth certificate, several other men have claimed to be the real father of Dannielynn. Larry Birkhead, a former lover of Anna Nicole Smith's, has been insistent on a DNA test to determine the baby's paternity. As well, Prince Frederic von Anhalt, the Hungarian royal who is married to actress Zsa Zsa Gabor, has filed court papers to have his own DNA test. A fourth man, Alexander Denk, a former bodyguard of Anna Nicole's, has also said he could potentially be the father of Dannielynn.

On Tuesday, Howard K. Stern had testified that he and Anna Nicole Smith had taken part in a commitment ceremony, though it was not legally binding. Stern said the couple had a wedding planned for this week, despite the fact he conceded Anna Nicole had other lovers. Stern had reiterated that he did not want any money from the estate of Anna Nicole Smith, and that he would be willing to waive his fee as executor of Anna Nicole Smith's will. Stern was quoted by the AP, saying, "I do not intend to get one penny." Meanwhile, the California judge in charge of the paternity case has not relinquished control over the case, but has said that the courts have to decide who has jurisdiction over a potential DNA test.

Anna Nicole Smith was the widow of Texas oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall II. Smith married Marshall in 1994, when Marshall was 89 years old. Since his death shortly thereafter, Smith had been engaged in a lengthy court battle to determine if she was eligible to inherit his estimated $500 million fortune.