Anna's doctors served warrants
2007-10-15 11:47
Los Angeles - Eight months and 3 700km away from where Anna Nicole Smith died of an overdose, California authorities raided homes and offices of the doctors who prescribed drugs to the former Playboy Playmate.
California Department of Justice agents on Friday 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.
In all, six locations were raided, said Sandi Gibbons, spokesperson for the Los Angeles County district attorney's office. Authorities did not name the doctors but their attorneys confirmed the searches.
Smith died of an accidental drug overdose in February at a Florida hotel. She was 39.
The department began investigating in March because "dangerous drugs... were part of the death of Anna Nicole Smith, and I learned that these were California doctors and California prescriptions," Attorney General Jerry Brown said at a news conference.
Brown declined to speculate on what charges the doctors might face if it was determined they improperly prescribed drugs, but indicated they might be serious. Noting the ongoing Medical Board investigation, Brown said there could be violations of the medical practice code.
"You don't go to a judge and get a search warrant for somebody's home unless you think some rather serious crime has been committed," Brown said.
Eroshevich's attorney, Gary Lincenberg, 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.
The Medical Board of California also is investigating both Kapoor and Eroshevich. According to documents, Eroshevich authorised all 11 prescription medications found in Smith's hotel room the day she died. Eroshevich had traveled with Smith to Florida.
More than 600 pills, including 450 muscle relaxants, were missing from prescriptions that were no more than five weeks old, according to the documents obtained by The Associated Press through a public records request.
Brown said he did not know if the criminal probe could lead to exhumation of Smith's body, which is buried in the Bahamas. He said investigators have learned "quite a lot" from Bahamian authorities but he declined to be specific on grounds that it might jeopardize the investigation.
- AP