The Virgie Arthur Story: Where Are the Journalists?
May 4th, 2007 at 6:35 pm (Anna Nicole, Howard K. Stern, Larry Birkhead, Dannielynn, Virgie Arthur)
In the last couple of weeks, I have seen three televised interviews with Virgie Arthur, and in all three a crucial element was lacking – and that was a substantial story, or anything approaching investigative reporting.
A brazen and out-of-control media took journalism to a new low when the subject was Howard K. Stern, but now that same media has put on blinders and kid gloves for Arthur. Not only are they not investigating, they’re not asking even the most obvious questions – and I want to know why.
I suspect that Arthur is granting interviews only to “friendly” media sources, who provide questions in advance so that answers can be rehearsed. That’s probably to be expected. What’s less expected is the total grinding halt of investigative journalism, even in the absence of a personal interview.
I would not wish upon Arthur, or anybody else, the spree of ugly and malicious gossip that was so carelessly spent on Stern. My involvement in the Anna Nicole story came about solely because I found that type of reporting repugnant. The news should be trusted to bring the public accurate information – when it fails to do that, and instead embarks on a campaign of pumping up facts with fictional theories, the news is tainted and can no longer be relied upon as a source of good information.
So, no, I don’t wish Arthur’s backstory or present motives to be a source of raw speculation. I don’t desire that broadcasters exchange one media victim for another – I simply want them to do the job of investigative journalism. I want them to tell the Arthur story with integrity. I want facts and – call me demanding – I want some substance.
What I don’t want is another fluff piece that seems almost desperate in its attempts to not ask any crucial questions.
As a writer, a survivor of abuse, a news buff, and simply as a part of the public that has heard this case played out in the media, I want to know more –
*About the cycle of abuse in the Arthur, Hogan and Hart families.
*About the criminal records of members of those families.
*About who specifically Anna was speaking of when she said she was abused.
*About who Dannielynn may be in contact with should she visit Texas
I want to know more about Virgie’s marriages, particularly her first three. I want to know about all of the half-siblings and stepchildren Anna had contact with growing up, in and out of Arthur’s home.
I want to know about three year old Donald Hart, Jr’s head injury. Internet buzz says that a gun went off when a purse was dropped, lodging a bullet in Jr’s forehead. If this is true, was it a service revolver, an automatic? Single or double action? Was it cocked? Was the safety off? What was the trigger pull? 2.5 pounds? 3.5 pounds? I want to know if the injury was in fact caused by a gun, or if there’s some other explanation. If the story is true, I want to know the circumstances. (Virgie’s testimony to Seidlin regarding the injury is in comment 15).
In her interview with Greta VanSusteren, Virgie accused those in Anna’s after-family life of being “hanger-ons.” I want to know how Virgie would view those in her own family who reportedly hung on to Anna in Houston – including Virgie’s own sister Kay Beale and her daughter Shelley. Didn’t they, as well as Beale’s husband, live in Anna’s Houston apartment, room and board-free? Did Shelley Beale not beseech Anna for money and dental expenses? And what of the reports of the step-sister with cancer? Was the family not angry that Anna did not contribute money for medical expenses?
What of Donna Hogan’s report that Virgie turned down an opportunity for a televised reunion with Daniel because it didn’t pay enough? True or not?
Speaking of Daniel, what attempts if any did Virgie make to see him after he turned eighteen? What record, if any, does she have of previous correspondence with him? Virgie has maintained that she “knows” Daniel did not do drugs. Where did this “knowledge” come from?
Virgie claims she spoke with people “around Anna” to ask how she was doing. No reports from people employed by or around Anna have verified this claim. Whom did she speak to? When?
Virgie says that she last talked with Anna after Daniel died. Reports have said that this was not a conversation, but a message left on an answering machine. Which is factual? Virgie says that Anna was “obviously drugged up” during that talk or message – would Virgie, or anybody, be able to differentiate between deep grief and drugged up during a brief call or a taped message?
Virgie says it was the drugs and Howard K. Stern that kept her away from Anna. Yet Anna had a history of drug use, including one overdose and a DUI, prior to meeting Stern. In addition, Anna testified at the Marshall hearing that she was estranged from her mother at nineteen years of age. At fifteen, Anna left Arthur’s home to live with the Beale’s. It would seem that neither estrangement or drugs was new. What is Virgie’s response to this?
Virgie claimed that Anna called Howard her “purse-holder” or some other demeaning phrase. What kind of so-called purse-holder could wield such power and control over Anna that she would forsake her family for him?
Virgie claims that Howard lost no one. That he did not lose Daniel or Anna because they were not his to lose. Yet, Howard was in Daniel’s life for twelve years to Virgie’s six, spending twice as many years caring for him and watching him grow.
Howard was with Anna for her last twelve adult years and was, according to Anna, her best friend and trusted companion. Virgie was with Anna for the first fifteen years of her childhood, and had not seen her for over ten years. Anna had no kind words for Virgie and, in fact, called her evil. How does such an estranged mother’s loss trump that of her long-time, in-person, companion, lover, and fiancé?
Virgie says that when Anna called as “Vicki” that meant she was fine. When she called as “Anna”, Virgie knew something was wrong. Yet, it has been steadfastly reported by other family members that “Vicki Hogan” called herself “Nikki Hart” for a time as a child – and that when she was very young and into her teens, she often fantasized of having not just a different name, but a different mother. As a child, Anna expressed her desire and belief that she was either Marilyn Monroe’s daughter, or the daughter of Virgie’s sister, Kay Beale. Did Virgie believe that her daughter was fine then? Did she have any concern about the state of her and her Anna’s relationship in those years? What was it that Anna was so desperate to escape from even as a child?
Many books about Anna Nicole Smith are in the works. Maurice Brighthaupt and Joyce Wagner have promised future readers “new details” about the life of Anna, including her childhood. I would think that if anything was truly new or relevant, this would be the time to bring it forth – when Virgie Arthur is attempting to wrangle some control from Larry Birkhead in the matter of his daughter, Dannielynn. I don’t believe either of these books will provide the full-story of Anna’s life – nor would I believe a book written by a Splash-sponsored Arthur.
What I would believe are some hard facts – the kind that investigative journalists, with all the resources afforded them by their media companies, usually bring to a substantial public interest story.
It was my first question in this article, and now my last: Where are the investigative journalists in this story?