Prosecutor portrays Anna Nicole Smith as addict who pressured defendants for drugs

Prosecutor portrays Anna Nicole Smith as addict

LOS ANGELES — A prosecutor portrayed Anna Nicole Smith Monday as an out-of-control drug addict who pressured doctors into prescribing pain killers and sedatives.

Deputy District Attorney David Barkhurst was the first lawyer to deliver his closing argument to jurors after eight weeks of testimony. His initial emphasis was on addiction, a central dispute between the prosecution and defense.

Superior Court Judge Robert Perry has told jurors a person who seeks drugs primarily to control pain is not an addict.

But Barkhurst suggested Smith’s complaints of pain were an excuse to get drugs.

“Anna Nicole Smith had an addiction problem,” he said.

Howard K. Stern and Drs. Sandeep Kapoor and Khristine Eroshevich have pleaded not guilty to conspiring to provide excessive prescription drugs to the former Playboy model while knowing she was an addict.

They are not charged in her 2007 accidental overdose death in Florida.

Barkhurst focused his initial remarks on Kapoor, an internist whom the prosecutor accused of doing inadequate tests before giving Smith the heavy duty opiate Dilaudid that she requested.

“The issue in this case is whether the doctors were acting in good faith,” Barkhurst said. “They were no longer treating her pain. They were feeding her addiction.”

The argument appeared to cast Smith as a coconspirator, even though she has not been officially given that designation by prosecutors.

Barkhurst conceded Kapoor once treated Smith for painful cracked ribs. But the drugs were provided for too long, he said.

“She’s seeking the medication she enjoys to make her feel good,” the prosecutor said.

There was no testimony during the trial that Smith ever sought euphoria from prescription drugs. The defense maintains she suffered from chronic pain and a number of ailments that sent her to doctors in search of relief.

Barkhurst said Smith’s drug-induced euphoria was evidenced in a video he played from the American Music Awards in which she slurred her words and became confused.

He anticipated defense arguments would focus on Smith’s pain after giving birth to her daughter in the Bahamas, and her distress when her son Daniel died of a drug overdose.

“Life happens,” Barkhurst said. “People give birth by C-section every day. People suffer losses.”

Barkhurst also said Eroshevich and Kapoor “ignored all boundaries” of professional behavior by having social relationships with Smith. The prosecutor showed one picture of Eroshevich naked in a bathtub with Smith, and another of Kapoor kissing her neck.

“These doctors were not using their medical judgment. They abandoned their responsibility and abused their power to write prescriptions,” he said.

Deputy District Attorney Renee Rose said her closing argument might last through the day on Tuesday.

“I think that’s just too long,” Judge Perry said, citing the likely toll on the jury. “When you start repeating and repeating over and over, it’s cumulative and has no effect.”

Three defense attorneys also were expected to offer closing arguments before the case goes to the jury.

Defense attorneys Steve Sadow for Stern, Brad Brunon for Eroshevich and Ellyn Garafalo for Kapoor were expected to say the defendants cared deeply for Smith and were trying to help her with legitimate medical concerns.

Last week, the judge dismissed two charges against Stern of obtaining drugs for her by fraud and deceit, including use of false names. He also dismissed part of a conspiracy count against Stern and Kapoor, ruling there was insufficient proof the two men conspired to obtain controlled drugs through fraud and deceit.