Police Enter Mansion Where Smith Lived

Members Of Crime Scene Unit Could Be Seen Snapping Photos Of Property

(AP)  Police on Thursday entered the oceanfront home that was shared by Anna Nicole Smith and her companion, Howard K. Stern, until the former Playboy playmate's death.

Two uniformed police arrived in a patrol car and passed through the gate, followed a short while later by a van marked "crime scene unit." One of the officers then escorted the three men from the van into the home through a side entrance, and declined to answer questions from reporters.

Later, members of the crime scene unit could be seen taking photos of the property, which is called "Horizons."

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Anna Nicole Smith: The Latest Photos

Photos: Anna Nicole Smith

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It was unknown if Stern was home at the time.

Stern filed a burglary report after claiming that a computer, home videos and other items were taken from the mansion before he returned from Florida, where the 39-year-old former model collapsed and died on Feb. 8.

2Reginald Ferguson, assistant commissioner for the Royal Bahamas Police Force, said the officers "must be" investigating a burglary report filed by Stern, but he said he had not been aware that officers had come to the mansion, and had no other information.

Ford Shelley, the son-in-law of a South Carolina developer who claims ownership of the property, said he entered the property a day after Smith's death to "secure" it after he heard that someone had been removing items.

Inside a refrigerator in a bedroom, Shelley said he saw a bottle of methadone — a substance that was found in her son Daniel's system after he died in the Bahamas on Sept. 10. Shelley declined comment on Stern's allegations that he stole personal property while inside the mansion.

As for Thursday's police visit, Shelley said "there was no break-in at that house, so that doesn't affect me at all."