Background: I’ve previously discussed the Larry Birkhead vs. Anna Nicole Smith/Howard K. Stern/Anna’s mother/many others custody battle–to learn more, see my co-authored column Anna Nicole dispute shows system’s flaws (Chicago Sun-Times and others, 3/10/07) or click here.
The Birkhead case was an excellent example of the way mothers and their allies are able to prevent fathers from having access to their babies and playing a role in their lives. Were this not a high-profile case, Birkhead may well have ended up like the legions of fathers in my email In Box–allowed no role in the lives of the children who love them and need them. Birkhead is pictured with his little daughter Dannielynn.
I stumbled upon this the other day, and I’m know way behind on it, it’s nevertheless outrageous. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Anna Nicole Smith’s mother Virgie Arthur, who tried to steal custody of Larry Birkhead’s baby daughter Dannielynn from him after he got custody from Howard K. Smith, has private investigators spying on Larry Birkhead so she can find fodder to gain custody.
The full article, originally published in mid-June, is below.
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Birkhead Laughs Off Parenting Investigation
Anna Nicole Smith’s ex-boyfriend Larry Birkhead is laughing off reports he’s under investigation as a deadbeat dad — because he knows he’s doing his best as a single father.
The photographer took charge of the late model’s baby girl Dannielynn in April after a lengthy paternity battle. He has since won custody of the child, pending a new legal challenge from the baby’s maternal grandmother Virgie Arthur.
In a bid to strengthen her case, Arthur — Smith’s estranged mother — has called in a team of private investigators to keep an eye on Birkhead and report back if he slips up as a dad.
But Dannielynn’s biological father isn’t worried: “They can follow me to Chuck E. Cheese’s and the toy store and the diaper store or wherever.”
Birkhead helped his cause as a single father by appearing on Fox News and CNN earlier this week with his baby girl in his arms.
Both news anchors Larry King and Greta Van Susteren commented how natural he looked as a father and how much he seemed to love his child.
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