The Strange Case of Anna Nicole Smith

The term ‘media circus’ has rarely been more apt than during the furore that surrounded the paternity test which would discover the identity of Anna Nicole Smith’s baby. No fewer than 3 men threw their hat into the ring and claimed to be the baby’s father, in a case that gripped America and saw paternity DNA tests thrust into the spotlight.

Paternity Test – An American Soap Opera

The paternity test pandemonium that surrounded the Anna Nicole Smith case was like a poorly scripted American soap opera and it really got tongues wagging across the United States. The three men who underwent the test were Larry Birkhead, Howard Stern and, strangest of all, Frederic von Anhalt, the husband of Zsa Zsa Gabor, also requested a test as he believed that he was the father. Matters were, of course, complicated by Anna Nicole Smith’s untimely death in the Bahamas and this merely served the purpose of adding to the drama and got America even more gripped on the case.

The Results

After the 3 men claiming parentage successfully petitioned to a judge to be allowed to take a paternity test, America waited with bated breath as the results of the tests edged toward being announced. A DNA test is by far the most accurate means of determining parentage and paternity test results can say with 100% accuracy if someone isn’t the father and with 99.9% accuracy if someone is the father. After court proceedings were bought to an end, the test proved that the father of Anna Nicole Smith’s baby was Larry Birkhead, a Los Angeles based photographer. The paternity test bought to an end one of the strangest cases in the history of DNA testing and the riddle of who fathered Anna Nicole Smith’s baby was solved.