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"I hate to be the one that told you this, but I told you so," said Larry Birkhead after finding out his DNA matched Dannielynn's.
Larry Birkhead is the father of Anna Nicole Smith's baby, according to DNA tests, and the late reality TV star's former boyfriend emerged from a court hearing Tuesday to proclaim that his daughter would soon be home.
"I told you so!" Birkhead said as he jubilantly announced the DNA results after the closed hearing. Then he hugged his rival, Howard K. Stern. Smith's lawyer-turned-companion has been caring for baby Dannielynn since her sudden death in February.
The hearing left unresolved who will have custody of the girl. Another custody hearing was scheduled for Friday.
Stern said he would not fight for custody.
"I'm obviously very disappointed but my feelings toward Dannielynn have not changed," Stern said, adding Birkhead can come to his Bahamas home to visit Dannielynn at any time.
A joyous Birkhead said, "My baby's going to be coming home pretty soon."
Even Smith's mother, Virgie Arthur, who had also sought custody, seemed appeased by the DNA results. "I'm happy that Dannielynn will know who her real father is," she said outside court.
An expert in genetic evidence said DNA analysis proved Birkhead is Dannielynn's father. Dr. Michael Baird, who analyzed the results of a March 21 DNA test, announced the results outside court. "Essentially, he's the biological father," Baird said.
Birkhead, a Los Angeles photographer, began seeking custody before Smith, 39, collapsed and died in a Florida hotel Feb. 8.
The baby, whose full name is Dannielynn Hope Marshall Stern, was born five months before her mother's death. She could inherit millions from the estate of Smith's late husband, J. Howard Marshall II. The former model had been fighting the Texas oil tycoon's family over his estimated $500 million fortune since his death in 1995.
Source: AP