In yet another dramatic turn of events in the hearing into who will get custody of the body of Anna Nicole Smith, Florida Circuit Court Judge Larry Seidlin announced promptly that he was leaving the courtroom for 15 minutes, and that upon his return, he would render his verdict in the case. The legal hearings into who will gain custody of Anna Nicole Smith's body were filled with attacks aimed at both Howard K. Stern, Anna Nicole Smith's lover and attorney, and Virgie Arthur, the estranged mother of Anna Nicole Smith. But as the judge came back from his 15 minute deliberation, the final resting place of Anna Nicole Smith was set to be decided.

CNN had quoted Judge Larry Seidlin, who told the courtroom, "I request that you all stay here and in the next 15 minutes I'm going to be back. I'm going to pronounce the disposition of this case. I hope that when you hear it, you handle it with the respect and dignity Anna Nicole will want." With that, a media frenzy ensued as reporters waited to hear the verdict, while attorneys and interested parties sat nervously. As Circuit Judge Larry Seidlin re-entered the courtroom, the decision as to where Anna Nicole Smith's final resting place would be was announced.

While the case had primarily been fought between Howard K. Stern, who wanted the body of Anna Nicole Smith buried next to her deceased son, Daniel, in the Bahamas, and Virgie Arthur, who wished to take Anna Nicole Smith's body back to Texas, Judge Larry Seidlin steered a middle ground in delivering his verdict. As Judge Seidlin fought back tears, he told the court that the guardian of Anna Nicole Smith's infant daughter should get custody of the former Playboy Playmate's body to bury her. While that ruling left some ambiguity as to what will happen with the body, CNN quoted the emotional judge, who added, "I want her buried with her son in the Bahamas. I want them to be together."

With the ruling from Judge Seidlin, attorney Richard Milstein, the guardian of Anna Nicole Smith's 5-month-old daughter, Dannielynn, gained what so many other parties had fought over: custody of the body of Anna Nicole Smith. But while Judge Seidlin had made it clear what he wanted to see happen to the body of Anna Nicole Smith, it was not immediately clear just what course of action Richard Milstein would take. Before he ruled on the case, CNN quoted Judge Seidlin, who said to all the parties involved that, "I feel for you, I absolutely feel for you. I've reviewed absolutely everything. I've suffered with this."

Though the ruling from Judge Seidlin finally resolves the matter of where Anna Nicole Smith is to be buried, a bigger legal case still looms, one that must determine who is the father of Dannielynn Stern, the infant daughter of Anna Nicole Smith. Howard K. Stern has been listed as the father on the baby's birth certificate, but a former boyfriend of Smith's, Larry Birkhead, also claims to be the father. Judge Seidlin was quoted by CBS as he addressed the issue earlier in the day. "Submit to the DNA and find out who the father is. Enough baloney."

Anna Nicole Smith died on Feb.8 after being discovered unconscious and unresponsive at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida. 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.