Still No Daddy for Dannielynn

Tue., Apr. 3, 2007 2:23 PM PDT by Gina Serpe

While the world waits with bated breath—not to mention big bucks riding on office pools—the father of Anna Nicole Smith's daughter is about to be revealed.

Though whether that revelation comes next week or—implausibly but, in this saga, not impossibly—next month is anyone's guess. We just know for sure it's not happening today.

A closed-door hearing in the drawn-out paternity battle between Howard K. Stern and Larry Birkhead concluded today in the Supreme Court of the Bahamas without any bombshells. Another hearing was set for next week.

But while signs indicate that the results of court-ordered DNA tests may soon be revealed, none of the principal players in drama is talking.

Primarily, because they can't.

According to Bahamian legal code, lawyers, officials, and anyone who was lucky enough to snag a seat in one of the most closely watched courts in recent memory is prohibited from discussing any details of the case, even down to what's on the day's agenda.

Which is why, from here on out, it's simply a waiting game to find out the results of the DNA swabs.

Anticipation for a major ruling was running high going into this morning's hearing, especially after Stern on Monday dropped a last-ditch motion trying to block the baby's results from being released.

Smith's lawyer/companion was fined $10,000, and the hearings were scheduled to resume. With no more appeals pending, the court could render its judgment at any time and determine whether Dannielynn Hope Marshall Stern will be adding Birkhead to her list of monikers.

Stern, who has been caring for the child since Smith's Feb. 8 death, took the child in for a cheek swabbing on Mar. 21. However, when the results do come in, they will not necessarily prove that Stern is the father—they will simply prove whether or not Birkhead is.

Dannielynn's DNA will only be tested against the photographer's, as well as that of less likely paternal candidate Prince Frederic Von Anhalt. Stern was never ordered to give a sample because he is already listed as the father on the girl's Bahamian birth certificate.

As for the tests themselves, they were reportedly sent out to the DNA Diagnostics Center in Fairfield, Ohio, under the auspices of one Dr. Michael Baird. He is expected to present the results in court, perhaps during next Tuesday's session, though he has remained mum on any immediate travel plans.

At least one involved party, however, doesn't appear too worried about the technicality of DNA results.

Last month, and virtually every month prior, Birkhead has spoken out about his certainty over his fatherhood, going so far as to announce that he is already getting a nursery ready in his Los Angeles home.