Anna Nicole Smith Case Dismissed
Anna Nicole Smith died on February 8, 2007 after a prescription drug overdose
It seems that after all, Anna Nicole Smith’s boyfriend and lawyer, Howard K. Stern, is not guilty. The Los Angeles judge dismissed the charges against Stern.
Two conspiracy felony charges against Howard K. Stern were dismissed on Thursday. The judge decided that there wasn’t enough evidence for Stern to be charged with providing the star drugs, or at least to prove that his intentions were to commit fraud or deception when he obtained the prescription medication for his girlfriend. Two other conspiracy charges against Dr. Khristine Eroshevich were also dismissed by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Robert J. Perry.
The 63 years old doctor was accused of unlawfully prescribing the star a controlled substance. Eroshevich was Smith’s neighbor and also the star’s doctor. However, his sentence was also reduced and Eroshevich was placed on two years probation and sentenced to a $100 fine. Well, as imagined Howard K. Stern was very happy with the court ruling and he was also really emotional when talking abut his former lover, Anna Nicole Smith. “I was looking in the sky, thinking she was being vindicated,” he said adding that Anna Nicole wasn’t an addict who was taken advantage of by offering her improperly and also unnecessarily prescribed drugs. “She was an incredibly strong person and smart — nobody could take advantage of Anna,” Stern explained adding that she was suffering after the death of her son Daniel and was “in terrible pain.”
But, if Howard K. Stern was really pleased with the court ruling, we can definitely not say the same thing about the L.A. District Attorney’s office, who claimed in a statement released after the trial that the judge’s “decision denigrates the substantial investigative efforts conducted by the state Department of Justice and the Medical Board. It diminishes the huge social problem of prescription drug abuse facilitated by irresponsible caretakers and unscrupulous medical professionals.” However, it seems that the case is not actually over, as the same statement said that the D.A.’s office plans on appealing, CNN news reported.
Anyway, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Robert J. Perry already motivated his decision by saying that the prosecution failed to prove that Anna Nicole Smith’s boyfriend and manager was committing the crime, while being aware of the fact that it was illegal to provide prescription medicines for a celebrity under a fake name. The judge also said that during the hearings it was indicated that Stern only wanted to protect Anna Nicole, all being linked to her celebrity status. So, from this point of view, Stern was willing to protect the star when it comes to whole the story being made public and so to avoid the media find out that she was in pain and under treatment with several medications. The judge also ruled that Anna Nicole Smith wasn’t an addict. And so, the conclusion is that both Howard K. Stern and Dr. Khristine Eroshevich acted out of concern for Anna Nicole and they obtained a Vicodin prescription for the star under a false name only with the purpose to protect her privacy.
Anna Nicole Smith died on February 8, 2007. The former Playboy star was found dead in her hotel room at the Seminole Hark Rock Hotel & Casino, near Hollywood, Florida. She was 39 years old at the time of her death, the cause of the tragic event being a prescription drug overdose. Howard K. Stern and Dr. Khristine Eroshevich were charged with excessive prescribing of opiates and sedatives to an addict and also with obtaining the medicines by using a false name, but the charges against the two were dismissed. It had been reported that Anna Nicole was in severe pain and was suffering from depression after the death of her son. She had been having a drug related issue for years. Dr. Sandeep Kapoor, who had also been linked to the tragic death of Anna Nicole Smith, was acquitted by a jury in a hearing that took place in October 2010.
