What's Next for Anna Nicole's Body?

This is a partial transcript from "On the Record," February 13, 2007, that has been edited for clarity.

GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, HOST: Tonight, the body of Anna Nicole Smith remains in a south Florida morgue unclaimed. But how long will the body stay there, and who will get it?

Joining us is Broward County medical examiner Joshua Perper. Dr. Perper performed Friday's autopsy. Welcome, Doctor.

DR. JOSHUA PERPER, BROWARD COUNTY MEDICAL EXAMINER: Hi.

VAN SUSTEREN: Doctor, you're in sort of a precarious position in that no court has yet told you who can claim this body, is that right, sir?

PERPER: That's correct. At this time, there are two claims, the claims of the mother and the claim of Mr. Stern, and we need a court order to decide who is the proper next legal next of kin.

VAN SUSTEREN: Have they actually made — how has Howard K. Stern made the claim? Has he filed a paper with you, made a phone call? How was that done?

PERPER: Well, they made a verbal claim. However, they'll have to apply to the court in order to obtain a court order which would direct me, the medical examiner's office, to the person who is entitled legally to receive the body for purposes of burial.

VAN SUSTEREN: Do you know if any application has been made through the court by either Anna Nicole's mother or Howard K. Stern to claim that body?

PERPER: I think in the late afternoon, I was notified that there was such application, yes.

VAN SUSTEREN: And do you know which one of the two parties has actually made the application?

PERPER: I think that Mr. Stern, but I'm not sure.

VAN SUSTEREN: Is there any — I mean, like, there was supposed to be a court hearing. At least, there was a court hearing last week in California asking that the body not be released until, I think, February 20. Are you aware of that court order, sir?

PERPER: Yes. We received this court order last Friday, and I wrote a letter to the court indicating that the reason for holding the body is not valid or not justified because we took plenty of sampling for DNA testing.

VAN SUSTEREN: All right. So the California court said, basically, they wanted to hold the body so that the DNA can be done so, that it could help in the paternity, but you've got enough DNA so that that's not necessary, is that...

PERPER: Right.

VAN SUSTEREN: That's the story? OK.

PERPER: That's correct. And the judge is going to call me tomorrow in order to discuss this matter with me. We were notified today.

VAN SUSTEREN: All right. Is this unusual? I mean, do you routinely have bodies this long? I mean, it's now been about five days. But if we went up to the 20th, that would be quite a long time.

PERPER: Well, it's not unusual because sometimes family members for various reasons don't contact us soon enough.

VAN SUSTEREN: I take it you have enough room, and if need be, if you don't get a court order, that you can accommodate the situation.

PERPER: We couldn't accommodate the body for months, but that's not going to sit well with the condition of the body, which is going to eventually deteriorate.

VAN SUSTEREN: All right. Well, the courts should move very quickly, Dr. Perper, and give you some instruction. So I'm all in favor of you getting those instructions very quickly. Of course, no one's asking me. But Dr. Perper, thank you, sir.

PERPER: You're welcome.

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