Anna Nicole Smith Investigation Continues

The former Playmate’s mysterious death continues to be investigated.The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office has confirmed that six raids, in relation to the death of Anna Nicole Smith, took place on Friday, though the office was not involved. Among those being investigated are Dr. Sandeep Kapoor and Dr. Khristine Eroshevich. Both prescribed medications to Smith, and had their offices and homes searched by the California Department of Justice.Dr. Kapoor prescribed methadone to Smith, a drug that is commonly used during drug detox. Smith apparently used it to help her sleep after the sudden death of her son. Dr. Eroshevich, Smith’s psychiatrist, had prescribed all of the 11 medications found in Smith’s hotel room on the day she died. Dr. Eroshevich is among those considered suspicious, as she had accompanied Smith on her trip to Florida and was in the area during the time of death. Over 600 pills were found missing from prescriptions that had been filled less than 5 weeks before.It is unclear what exactly is being looked for or if any of those with properties searched are considered suspects in the death of Smith.

Anna Nicole's doctor served with search warrant

Anna Nicole Smith’s psychiatrist received a rude awakening on Friday morning when her home was raided by police investigating the death of the tragic model/actress.California authorities served Dr. Khristine Eroshevich with one of several search warrants as they upped their investigations into the death of Smith, who died of a fatal overdose in a Florida hotel back in February.Ironically, Smith’s longtime companion, Howard K. Stern was with the doctor when the members of the justice department arrived at her home, according to TMZ.com.Stern was in Los Angeles after appearing on the Larry King Live show on CNN on Wednesday.Eroshevich is also under investigation by the Medical Board of California after admitting to prescribing a haul of drugs for her celebrity patient in the days following her son Daniel’s death last year.

"Anna Nicole Smith Did Not Abuse Drugs"

Los Angeles (eCanadaNow0 – Anna Nicole Smith did not abuse drugs, her lawyer and self-described husband Howard K. Stern told Larry King on Wednesday.

"She, through doctors, got some prescription medications for ailments that she did have," he said. "And when people criticize her, people are trying to make it seem like Anna was drugged out for 12 years since I knew her. And that's absolutely false." And yes, he is talking about that Anna Nicole Smith.Howard was on the talk show to kick-off a legal battle against writer Rita Crosby, whose ANS tell-all, Blonde Ambition, accuses him of being gay for Anna's baby's father, Larry Birkhead.

As an example of one of the many times that Saint Just Say No was stone-cold sober, Howard points to that supercreepy video of her pregnant, wearing clown makeup and pushing a baby carriage around her house."Anna is pretending to be a little girl," Howard says. "I think in the video, she even says that her name is Lucy, which is a character that she played in her most recent movie called Illegal Aliens. She's clearly playing around with a little girl and it is just edited to make me look bad and to make Anna look bad."

Doctors' homes and offices raided in Anna Nicole Smith case

State agents served search warrants Friday at the homes, offices and billing locations of at least two physicians who authorities believe played a part in providing prescription drugs to Anna Nicole Smith, who died earlier this year of a drug overdose.The operation came as Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown vowed to launch a statewide crackdown on the abuse of prescription drugs, a problem he said may be as extensive as the trade in illicit narcotics.The case also marks another twist in the legal wrangling surrounding the former Playboy Playmate, whose estate and custody of her infant daughter have already been the subject of high-profile proceedings.”The coroner’s report on her death was that [Smith] died of drug intoxication, and they listed the drugs,” Brown said in an interview. “I have long been concerned about prescription drugs . . . and I have a feeling the volume of so-called lawful drugs may equal the volume of illegal ones. But I do know lots of people are damaging their lives with chemicals, and lots of doctors are abusing their authority.”The raids in Los Angeles and Orange counties were part of a six-month investigation into whether drugs were unlawfully prescribed and dispensed to Smith, a 39-year-old model who was found dead Feb. 8 in a hotel in Hollywood, Fla.A source familiar with the investigation said search warrants were served on Dr. Sandeep Kapoor, who was reported to have prescribed methadone to Smith for pain management, and on Smith’s psychiatrist, Dr. Khristine Eroshevich.Kapoor and Eroshevich did not return calls to their offices Friday.But Eroshevich’s lawyer, Gary Lincenberg, said in an e-mail that he was making no further comments on the matter. He earlier told KNBC-TV Channel 4 that the investigation involved only whether Eroshevich’s prescriptions followed state law regarding controlled substances.”This has nothing to do with whether or not Dr. Eroshevich in any way contributed to Anna Nicole Smith’s death,” Lincenberg said.State medical officials opened an investigation of Kapoor in February after reports that he allegedly prescribed methadone to Smith under the alias Michelle Chase. Kapoor has said he cannot discuss details of Smith’s treatment because of patient confidentiality.The celebrity website TMZ.com posted a document that it said was the prescription order issued by Kapoor for Chase at Key Pharmacy in Valley Village. The website also posted a document that it claimed was the shipping bill from Key Pharmacy to Vicky Marshall — a combination of Smith’s birth name, Vickie Lynn Hogan, and the last name of her late husband, Texas oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall — in the Bahamas.State Medical Board officials said that among the issues they were examining was the legality of prescribing medication to someone using an alias.Ira Freeman, owner of Key Pharmacy, said his business was not searched Friday, but that he was interviewed by authorities in March or April. He said there was no reason for a search warrant to be issued for his pharmacy because state officials already have prescription records for dangerous drugs.”I have cooperated totally . . . and have spent many hours with state and federal authorities,” said Freeman, who would not say what investigators asked him nor comment on whether they were interested in any prescriptions by Kapoor.Sandi Gibbons, a spokeswoman for Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley, said six of the search warrants were served in the county.At a news conference in downtown Los Angeles, Brown did not specify who was targeted in the operation or what evidence was seized, saying only that the state’s actions were related to “doctors who provided medical treatment or prescription drugs for Anna Nicole Smith or her associates.”Brown said investigators developed evidence that pointed to violations of the state medical code and possible criminal conduct, although he declined to say what that might be or whether it could result in charges filed in connection with Smith’s death.Although he would not discuss the investigation in detail, Brown said it included interviews with witnesses throughout the United States and abroad, as well as the review of more than 100,000 computer images and files, patient profiles and pharmacy logs.Among the cooperating agencies are the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and authorities in Florida and the Bahamas.Brown said he ordered an inquiry into circumstances surrounding Smith’s death after the autopsy and other public reports made it clear that the celebrity had drugs “prescribed in huge quantities in California by California professionals.”Brown said he directed his law enforcement division to “be more vigilant and spend more resources” to root out prescription drug-related crimes.He also said investigators would make better use of the attorney general’s prescription database, which shows who is prescribing, selling and receiving potentially dangerous drugs and the quantities involved.Medical Board spokeswoman Candis Cohen said the state does not keep statistics on how many doctors it investigates annually for illegally writing prescriptions for pain medications.But in fiscal year 2005-2006, the board reported that 40 physicians were disciplined for so-called “inappropriate prescribing,” including prescribing the wrong drug, one a patient does not need or an improper dosage.If doctors are found to have violated state guidelines, Cohen said, they may be subject to a variety of penalties, from a public reprimand or probation to revocation of their medical licenses or even referral for possible criminal charges.On the enforcement front, Cohen said the Medical Board now conducts its investigations in conjunction with the California attorney general’s office. The process, the result of a state law that went into effect in 2006, streamlines and speeds reviews of alleged physician misconduct.Kapoor, a 1996 graduate of Boston University, was licensed as a physician and surgeon in California two years later, and the Medical Board website indicates that he is in good standing. Eroshevich, a 1975 graduate of Ohio State University College of Medicine, has her license renewal pending.andrew.blankstein @latimes.comtim.reiterman@latimes.com

Doctors' properties searched in Anna Nicole Smith probe

– Armed with eight search warrants, police searched the homes and businesses of two of Anna Nicole Smith’s doctors Friday as part of an investigation into the medical treatment she received before her sudden death, officials said.

The former Playboy Playmate died of an accidental drug overdose at a Florida hotel in February. She was 39.

California Attorney General Jerry Brown said his office launched the investigation March 30 after an autopsy showed that Smith had a large combination of drugs in her system, prescribed in California, that led to her death.

No arrests have been made, Brown said.

Authorities are looking at the prescription and dispensing practices of doctors and pharmacies used by Smith and her associates, Brown told reporters.

The attorney general refused to provide information on the number of warrants, the names on the warrants or possible charges. He said the warrants were served in Los Angeles and Orange County.

"I’m not going to speculate on who will go to jail and who won’t. But you can be sure that if a judge issues a search warrant to go into someone’s home, there is some serious evidence," Brown said. "We’re not setting any limits on this investigation."

"The department will conduct a very fair and thorough investigation and wants to protect the identity of cooperating witnesses," he added.

Authorities searched the homes of two doctors, a business owned by one of the doctors, four businesses owned by the other doctor and a storage shed used by one of the doctors, two officials familiar with the investigation told CNN.

The sources identified the doctors as Khristine Eroshevich, Smith’s psychiatrist, and Dr. Sandeep Kapoor, who has been the target of an investigation by the California Medical Board.

Kapoor, of Studio City, California, prescribed methadone for Smith during her pregnancy with her daughter, Dannielynn, according to Dr. Joshua Perper, Broward County, Florida, medical examiner. The child was born September 7, 2006.

In March, Kapoor’s attorney, Ellyn Garofalo, said, "Dr. Kapoor’s treatment of Ms. Smith was at all times medically sound, and he will continue to cooperate with any formal requests from authorities."

Howard K. Stern, who was Smith’s live-in companion and attorney, was at Eroshevich’s home when law enforcement officials arrived, said Stern’s lawyer, L. Lin Wood.

Wood said in a written statement that Stern, who arrived in Los Angeles from New York early Friday, was at the home because he had left his dogs there. He didn’t elaborate.

Other agencies aiding the investigation are the California Department of Insurance, Seminole Tribal Police in Florida and the Royal Bahaman Police, Brown said. Smith had been living in the Bahamas with Stern, and is buried there.

According to Brown, justice agents have reviewed more than 100,000 computer images and texts, analyzed patient profiles and pharmacy logs, and interviewed multiple witnesses nationwide and abroad in an effort to confirm or disprove accusations of unethical practices, officials said.

An unresponsive Smith was found in a room at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino near Hollywood, Florida, on February 8. She was taken to a hospital but could not be revived. Several prescription medications — in Smith and Stern’s names — were found in the room, law enforcement sources said.

Perper, the medical examiner, said the medications found in Smith’s system included several prescription drugs, among them three antidepressants or anti-anxiety drugs.

Also found in toxicology testing was human growth hormone, Benadryl, Klonopin and chloral hydrate, a sedative, Perper said. That was the lethal component, when mixed with the other drugs, he added.

Perper said the drugs in Smith’s system basically shut down her respiratory and circulatory systems.

The medical examiner said he did not believe that Smith tried to kill herself, as some had suggested, because of the large amount of chloral hydrate remaining in the bottle, and the normal levels of the other medications in her system.

During the autopsy, doctors found evidence that Smith had an abscess on her left buttock that had been perforated by a needle, probably when she took injections of either the growth hormone or vitamin B-12, the medical examiner said.

The perforation allowed bacteria to get into Smith’s blood, which caused a high fever in the days before her death. She was being treated with Tamiflu and Cipro, one an antiviral medication and the other an antibiotic.

The official autopsy report also noted that Smith suffered from chronic thyroiditis, which can cause "fatigue, depression, sensitivity to cold, weight gain, forgetfulness, muscle weakness, puffy face, dry skin and hair, constipation, muscle cramps, and increased menstrual flow," according to a Department of Health and Human Services Web site.

Perper said the abscess and a possible case of flu were contributory causes in Smith’s death.

Smith’s son died in September 2006, just days after the birth of Anna Nicole’s daughter, Dannielynn. His death was ruled an accidental overdose of three medications, two of which were the antidepressants Lexapro and Zoloft, said forensic pathologist Cyril Wecht.

Perper said there was no evidence showing that the deaths of the mother and son were related, even though both involved drugs.

CNN’s Kevin Bohn contributed to this report.

Copyright 2007 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.

Anna Nicole Smith Raid Includes Khristine Eroshevich, Dr. Kapoor

The Anna Nicole Smith investigation seems to have no end despite the former Playboy Playmate’s passing earlier this year.  On Friday police raided homes and offices of the doctors that reportedly wrote prescriptions to the late model and actress.  California Department of Justice agents raided the office of Smith’s psychiatrist, Dr. Khristine Eroshevich, and the home and office of Dr. Sandeep Kapoor, who prescribed the painkiller methadone to Smith shortly before her death, reports the Associated Press.Dr. Eroshevich, Smith’s psychiatrist, had prescribed all of the 11 medications found in Smith’s hotel room on the day she died. Dr. Eroshevich is among those considered suspicious, as she had accompanied Smith on her trip to Florida and was in the area during the time of death. Over 600 pills were found missing from prescriptions that had been filled less than 5 weeks before.Dr. Kapoor prescribed methadone to Smith, a drug that is commonly used during drug detox. Smith apparently used it to help her sleep after the sudden death of her son.  A call to Eroshevich’s attorney, Gary Lincenberg, was not immediately returned. However, he told KNBC-TV that the investigation only concerned whether prescriptions to Smith were proper.”This has nothing to do with whether or not Dr. Eroshevich in any way contributed to Anna Nicole Smith’s death,” he said. Ellyn Garafalo, a lawyer for Kapoor, confirmed the doctor’s home and offices were searched but declined to comment further.

Elaine Marshall suspected in Anna Nicole death probe? Birkhead …

California – (Reuterus & Ass Mess): Elaine Marshall, the former daughter-in-law of Anna Nicole Smith's late octogenarian husband J Howard Marshall II, is being linked to a series of California authorities' raids connected to the former stripper's death this year.The source of this report is ambiguous but may be close to disgruntled litigant Virgie Arthur, Smith's estranged Texas-based mother.And now Larry Birkhead, father of Anna Nicole's daughter Dannielynn, is demanding official answers about reports that Elaine Marshall may have been under covert surveillance in the run up to the peroxide former stripper's death in Florida on February 8th.The news comes amid a California Attorney General's orifice probe into the activities of doctors and shrinks supplying the late Anna Nicole Smith with medication.Birkhead's lawyers have asked for confirmation that authorities may have unearthed "a bombshell of a link" between Elaine Marshall and some of Anna Nicole's medication supply sources.On Friday two of Smith's California-based doctors were served with search warrants in raids on six different locations including business premises and residences.Elaine Marshall is the widow of Everrett Pierce Marshall who feuded for years with Anna Nicole Smith over his father's billionaire oil fortune.E Pierce marshall died on died June 20 2006 at the age of 67.His widow has fought a fierce steadfast legal action to stop Anna Nicole getting any of her widow's legacy.At his Kentucky home today Larry Birkhead, legal guardian to potential multi-mlillion-dollar legatee daughter Dannielynn, is said to be determined to find out if the heroin-substitute medication methadone that Anna Nicole reputedly took on the day of her death had been tampered with in any way.So far California Attorney General's investigators are remaining tight-lipped.

Anna Nicole's doctor served with search warrant

Anna Nicole Smith’s psychiatrist received a rude awakening on Friday morning when her home was raided by police investigating the death of the tragic model/actress.California authorities served Dr Khristine Eroshevich with one of several search warrants as they upped their investigations into the death of Smith, who died of a fatal overdose in a Florida hotel back in February.Ironically, Smith’s longtime companion, Howard K. Stern was with the doctor when the members of the justice department arrived at her home, according to TMZ.com.Stern was in Los Angeles after appearing on the Larry King Live show on CNN on Wednesday.Eroshevich is also under investigation by the Medical Board of California after admitting to prescribing a haul of drugs for her celebrity patient in the days following her son Daniel’s death last year.

Legal fees eat Nicole Smith trust

The lawyer who represented Anna Nicole Smith’s infant daughterin the dispute over the starlet’s body is seeking nearly $US200,000($A222,000) for his work.

The amount would exhaust nearly the entirety of an estimated$US200,000 remaining in a trust for the girl, though she couldeventually inherit millions more, said lawyers for her father,Larry Birkhead, and Smith’s longtime companion, Howard K Stern.

“It is unconscionable for a trust established for a baby to bebilled at a large-firm hourly rate,” their lawyers wrote.

Smith, a former Playboy model who died on February 8 in aHollywood hotel, was the widow of Texas oil tycoon J HowardMarshall II. She had been fighting Marshall’s family for years overhis estimated $US500 million ($A554 million) fortune, which couldeventually go to the girl, Dannielynn Hope Marshall Birkhead.

Richard Milstein, who served as the girl’s court-appointedguardian ad litem, has filed court papers seeking $US198,493.98($A220,000).

Milstein did not return a phone call today seeking additionalcomment.

The matter is scheduled for a hearing on November 8.

The lawyers for Birkhead and Stern also said Smith’s estrangedmother, Virgie Arthur, should pay at least part of the bill, whichthe mother’s lawyer, Stephen Tunstall, called ridiculous. Tunstallagreed with them, however, over Milstein’s request, saying he “wentwild” in generating a legal bill.

"Not Dead" Anna Nicole Smith spotted on the surface of Uranus

Many thought that Anna Nicole Smith – the Playboy Playmate who was married to an octogenarian billionaire, who saw her son die while visiting her in hospital after having a baby, married her lawyer before burying her son and then died herself shortly afterwards in the Bahamas (phew!) – was dead. But no! NASA scientists operating out of the canteen at Cape Canaveral have discovered that the star is alive and well and apparently living a "normal" life on the planet Uranus.Professor Mosley Krapptawker explains: "Some of our highly paid scientist's were doing a random search of the solar system after a late night drink and drugs fuelled binge, when all of a sudden something peculiar and unexpected showed up on our monitors. Upon closer examination and a process of elimination we deduced that what we'd seen was Anna Nicole Smith licking her lips on the northwestern side of the planet Uranus. We were quite surprised, as I'm sure you can understand."Many theories have been put forward for the strange discovery. One being that Anna Nicole's corpse got mixed up with that of the body of James "Scotty" Doohan from Star Trek, who was to be buried in space. Journalists were later informed that Scotty could'nt be blasted into space due to a technicality and was returned to Earth. Was this a conspiracy to cover up the mistake of accidentally blasting Smith into the cosmos?All of this fails to answer the central question. How could Anna Nicole be alive? Professor Krapptawker has an explanation: "Miss Smith died with quite a substantial amount of prescription drugs and narcotics in her system. These drugs – under certain conditions such as low gravity and lack of oxygen – can have the effect of reviving a person and in fact bringing them back to life".But what of the appearance on Uranus?Miss Smith possible travelled for many millions of miles before getting sucked into the gravitational pull of Uranus. There she must have landed and continued to lead her life as normal".NASA and several other internation space agencies have put in motion immediate plans to launch "exploration" missions to Uranus to photograph the (human) star."We've been approached by the National Enquiror and several British and German tabloids for pictures of Miss Smith sunbathing nude on the planets surface", said Professor Krapptawker, "she appears to be unfazed by the whole fact of coming back to life and living on another planet. It's almost as if she is used to living in her own little world".