Boyfriend and Two Doctors of Anna Nicole Smith to Stand Trial

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert J. Perry ordered Friday that Anna Nicole Smith's boyfriend and two of her doctors to appear in court on charges of providing an addict with drugs.

Entertainment Tonight News reports that Howard K. Stern, Dr. Khristine Eroshevich and Dr. Sandeep Kapoor will stand trial on Dec. 11 after all three pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The decision was made after a three-week preliminary hearing in which Judge Perry stated that he felt the prosecutors had proven that Smith was an addict, and that there was enough suspicion that the defendants had committed illegal acts.

"I do find the people have met the task of convincing this court there is strong suspicion that the defendants committed the act," said Perry.

A number of witnesses spoke about the defendants' excessive feeding of prescription drugs to Smith. According to The Associated Press, a nanny who worked for Smith claimed to have seen Stern persuade Smith to take enough drugs that she would be sent into a stupor, sometimes sleeping for three days at a time afterwards.

A pharmacist also testified that he had to refuse to fill a drug order written by Smith's doctors because he felt that the combination was "pharmaceutical suicide." An expert witness confirmed that there was no legitimate medical reason for her to be taking so many drugs.

The L. A. Times writes that the defendants are also accused of filling prescriptions for Smith under aliases. Although the pill bottles found in the hotel room where she died were filed under these fake names, the medical examiner ruled her death an accident. However, a task force that spent two years investigating how Smith obtained the drugs that killed her has convinced prosecutors to press charges.