Anna Nicole's Enablers Plead Not Guilty

Left to Right: Dr. Sandeep Kapoor; Howard K. Stern; Dr. Khristine Eroshevich (Getty Images)

Anna Nicole Smith's closest confidant and two doctors who allegedly helped feed her a steady diet of prescription drugs all pleaded not guilty Tuesday morning to charges that they brought about Smith's 2007 death.

Howard K. Stern arrives at court (Getty Images)
Howard K. Stern (Smith's lawyer), Dr. Sandeep Kapoor (her medical doctor), and Dr. Khristine Eroshevich (her therapist), were each charged March 12 with 3 counts of conspiracy and various other related charges. Stern posed the most notable defense Tuesday morning when his lawyer argued that all charges against Stern should be dismissed because he is not a medical professional.

“Howard is not a doctor, not a medical practitioner and the statute does not apply to him,” lawyer Steve Sadow told the press.

The writing and distribution of prescription drugs lies at the heart of the case. Prosecutors accuse Stern, Kapoor and Eroshevich of conspiring to keep Smith nearly stupefied with a slew of medications, sometimes prescribed to aliases used by Smith. Both Kapoor and Eroschevich say the aliases were necessary to protect the privacy of their mutual client.

Smith died in a Hollywood, Florida, hotel room February 8, 2007, after accidentally mixing a lethal cocktail of prescription drugs. She died just five months after the death of her 20-year-old son, Daniel, leaving her infant daughter, Dannielynn, her sole inheritor.

The defendants are due back in court in June to set a date for a preliminary hearing.

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