By Tom Brown

FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida — A Florida judge on Thursday ordered that new DNA samples be taken from the body of Anna Nicole Smith but made no decision on whether her boyfriend or her mother has the right to bury the former Playboy Playmate.

Broward County Circuit Judge Larry Seidlin indicated athere would be no quick resolution on custody of the body of the billionaire’s widow and tabloid star who died a week ago in Hollywood, Florida, aged 39, after collapsing at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.

As a Florida medical examiner warned that the remains were decomposing and should be released immediately for burial, Seidlin ordered another hearing for Friday to decide whether Smith’s body should be embalmed.

"We’re going to figure out whether we’re going to embalm or not," Seidlin said.

Seidlin is presiding over a legal tug-of-war between Smith’s lawyer and companion, Howard K. Stern, her mother, Virgie Arthur, and Larry Birkhead, Smith’s ex-boyfriend.

Stern wants to bury Smith in the Bahamas, Arthur wants to bury her in Texas and Birkhead wants to ensure her DNA is preserved for his paternity battle.

Stern and Birkhead both claim to be the father of Smith’s daughter, 5-month-old Dannielynn Hope Marshall Stern. Stern has said Smith wanted to be buried in the Bahamas next to her son Daniel, who died five months ago at age 20 just three days after the birth of Dannielynn

"This is not going to be quick," Seidlin said.

In Los Angeles on Thursday, another potential father of Dannielynn threw his hat into the ring when actress Zsa Zsa Gabor’s husband filed court papers seeking to establish her paternity.

Frederic von Anhalt has claimed that he had a 10-year affair with Smith and believes he is the baby’s father — although a publicist for Gabor has denied those assertions.

The judge held court in his packed — and televised — chambers in Fort Lauderdale, which was adorned with old movie posters, including one of the Three Stooges comedy team and a pen-and-ink drawing of a scene from "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre," a classic tale of greed and mistrust among gold-diggers.

Seidlin ordered a mouth swab for potential testing of Smith’s DNA despite assurances from Broward County medical examiner Dr. Joshua Perper that more than enough DNA samples, including bone marrow and spinal fluid, had been taken.

Arthur, dressed in black, burst into tears several times as Perper detailed the extensive samples that had been taken.

The tears came soon after a lawyer for Stern, Krista Barth, said Smith had been estranged from Arthur since 1995 and had no real relationship with her mother.

Seidlin appointed an administrator to interview those involved in the case and make recommendations at another hearing on Tuesday. A separate hearing was scheduled for Friday in another Fort Lauderdale court on DNA issues.

Stern’s attorneys entered into evidence on Wednesday a paper signed by Smith under her real name, Vickie Lynn Marshall. It contained excerpts from her will, signed on July 30, 2001, which appointed Stern the co-executor of her will.

Stern also submitted affidavits from three people who testified that Smith wanted to be buried next to her son, Daniel, in the Bahamas, together with the remains of her late husband, J. Howard Marshall.