- Two celebrities,
one an international icon...
- This is it, the final curtain call.
- The other, a reality TV queen...
- **** happens, and then you die.
- Michael Jackson and Anna Nicole Smith
shared a tragic bond.
Both were dependant on prescription drugs.
- He said, "Marlon, never, never
get hooked on painkillers.
Don't let them do that to you."
- I don't think Anna could set limits
because she didn't think she needed to.
- Both fatally overdosed.
- We were waiting for the toxicology report.
- In both cases their doctors faced criminal trials...
- This was not just a simple open and shut case.
- But the outcomes were very different.
- We, the jury, find the defendant--
- Were the deaths of Michael and Anna Nicole
accidents or foul play?
- If it weren't a celebrity, this is not a case
that ever would be charged.
- Did these physicians cross the line?
- I got carried away and had some drinks,
and we ended up kissing.
- Celebrities, doctors, and powerful drugs,
when does a tragedy become a crime?
- The case is about the blurred lines.
It's about the most powerful drug known to man,
and that's fame. - I'm Soledad O'Brien.
This is "Mysteries and Scandals: Bad Medicine."
Prescription drug abuse has reached epidemic levels.
Today more people under the age of 50 die
from opioids and prescription meds
than car crashes or guns,
and this deadly crisis shows no signs of slowing down,
and Hollywood is no exception.
But inside the star bubble,
the lethal problem often comes with a unique
and terrifying twist.
It's been called the "V.I.P. Syndrome."
Physicians become so dazzled by their famous patients,
they cross the line from caregiver to enabler.
The risks are huge for patients and for doctors.
They can lose their license or even go to prison.
When the world learned of Michael Jackson's death,
everything seemed to stop.
What was even more disturbing, the King of Pop
was found dead under mysterious circumstances.
Accidental overdose,
or did Jackson's death involve foul play?
- June 25, 2009, 12:21 p.m.
- Four minutes later, paramedics arrived
at 100 North Carolwood Dr. in Los Angeles.
- Lieutenant straight comes up to me and says,
"Hey, Scott, something happened to Michael Jackson.
"He's down at Ronald Reagan UCLA Hospital.
Why don't you go check this out?"
As soon as we got to the hospital,
I mean, it was just... chaos.
Michael!
- At 3:30 p.m., everyone's worst fears were confirmed.
- My brother,
the legendary King of Pop, Michael Jackson,
passed away on 2:26 p.m.
- This has got to be the worst day of my life.
- The King of Pop is dead.
- Marlon Jackson agreed to speak about the impact
of his brother's tragic death.
- I found out hearing it on the radio,
and then I started making phone calls.
You're in a state of shock, first of all,
especially when it's unexpected,
and then you try to figure out what happened.
- "What do you mean he's gone?
"Like, what are you talking about?" You know?
You know, we thought everything was, you know, was fine.
- Part of the security team for Mr. Jackson informed myself
that Dr. Murray was the only person inside the residence
at that time with Michael.
- Detectives would later learn
Dr. Conrad Murray, a cardiologist,
was Michael Jackson's personal physician.
- Went to look for Dr. Murray,
and he had vanished.
He couldn't be located anywhere in the hospital.
- Investigators had questions
and so did Michael's fans.
- For fans, Michael Jackson's death was a total shock.
They were looking forward to,
and they were cheering him on for this big comeback tour.
- This is it. I mean, this is really it.
This is the final--this is the final curtain call.
- "This is a Tour" was supposed to be in London,
and it was 50--50 dates.
He was definitely committed. Michael Jackson was excited.
- I think that "This is it" was,
"Okay, this'll be my last thing that I'm gonna be doing,"
you know, and so he wants to try to give it the best,
do the best that he can do.
- Michael Jackson needed this big comeback.
- He was deeply in debt
and really needed to sort of right the ship financially.
- This tour was potentially worth
hundreds of millions of dollars,
and all of this pressure rested
on Michael Jackson's shoulders.
- While fans mourned the loss of their idol,
authorities began searching for answers at Jackson's home.
- And at this time, this is a death investigation.
You're talking about Michael Jackson
in the care of a physician.
There's no signs of foul play,
so our job is really at this time
to shadow the coroner's investigator.
- What detectives discovered was alarming.
- It just looked like
a hospital environment if you will.
- As detectives searched the bedroom,
they stumbled upon a clue
that would eventually crack this case wide open.
- There was one vial that was empty
that appeared to have rolled
underneath the bed by the nightstand.
It was called "propofol."
- I don't think anybody really realized
what the propofol was used for.
- Two days later, law enforcement got an answer
from Dr. Conrad Murray.
- So it was arranged that we would meet in Marina del Rey,
I interviewed Dr. Murray.
- Part of Dr. Murray's job
was to help his famous patient get some much needed rest...
- But getting Michael Jackson to sleep was a challenge.
For years the star suffered
from extreme bouts of insomnia.
- Murray starts telling us that he administered
so many milligrams of diazepam,
lorazepam, midazolam,
over a period of time.
None of these seemed to have any effect on Michael.
- And I asked Dr. Murray, "He wanted his milk?
"What do you mean, he wanted his milk?
Warm milk, cold milk, what are you talking about?"
- Dr. Murray was giving Michael Jackson
these nightly treatments of propofol
under the belief that it was helping him rest
and get prepared for his comeback shows.
- Propofol is a general anesthesia
to put someone to sleep for surgery.
It is a very powerful drug.
- Remember, detectives found
only one small vial of the drug.
If propofol was part of the star's nightly regimen,
there had to be more bottles located somewhere.
- I asked him, "Well, where's this propofol at?"
He explained that it was on an upper shelf in a closet
in these particular bags.
We go in to the house,
and in the closet area we removed the bags,
and we open them up,
and then there's just this inordinate amount of propofol.
What in the world is this doing in here?
- According to police records,
the discovery seemed to contradict
what Murray told investigators.
- But trying to wean Michael off of propofol,
you wouldn't have the size of the bottles
that we were recovering.
- Propofol is typically given in a hospital setting.
At home we can't monitor patients
with the appropriate machines that are required.
- There was medicine
and machinery that was at his place
that was only supposed to be in a hospital setting,
and I thought that the system
had checkpoints to protect
because doctors have a responsibility
to protect their client, and to me that wasn't the case.
- The coroner's office conducted
a preliminary autopsy,
but the official cause of death
couldn't be determined without a toxicology report.
- And that's the key piece of evidence in this,
what that toxicology report's gonna state.
His cause of death as being related to
an overdose of propofol and/or something else.
- With questions mounting,
detectives examined the relationship
between the King of Pop and Dr. Murray.
- In 2006, he was called in
when Michael was living in Las Vegas.
He was called in for the children.
They had some colds or flu.
- Michael Jackson was so impressed with him
that he wanted to hire him as his own physician.
- Conrad Murray was brought on board
to be Michael Jackson's personal physician
during the "This is it" shows.
He would be paid $150,000 a month,
both while he prepared for the tour and during the shows.
- In addition to a big monthly salary,
the doctor's gig came with an attractive bonus.
- There was that persona thing and being next to a celebrity
and that status and every thing that comes with it.
- That raises a red flag.
Was this the kind of relationship
where you just pay to get exactly what you want
even if it means it's not what's best for the patient?
- During that search of Murray's car,
we came across a contract
between him, Michael, and AEG,
and Murray had signed it,
but Michael had not signed it yet.
- And neither had the concert promoters, AEG Live.
While the doctor enjoyed the prestige
of working for a famous star, he hadn't been paid.
- We started looking at Dr. Murray's financials.
We find out that he was in financial dire straits,
so this $150,000 a month,
oh, my God, you know, you have a yes-man here.
And ultimately we learn that other doctors were approached,
and they said "no."
- Authorities were convinced Dr. Murray
played a role in Michael's death,
but officially it wasn't a criminal investigation.
- We were waiting for the toxicology report.
That's something we definitely needed
before they ruled this case a homicide.
- But during the investigation,
it became more evident that this was not just
a simple open and shut case.
- Was Dr. Murray to blame for Michael Jackson's death?
Did Michael's fame warp the doctor's medical judgment?
And later, what about Anna Nicole Smith?
Was fame a factor in her tragic end?
Did Anna Nicole's doctor go too far?
- Did I really overstep boundaries here?
- From the start, authorities believed
the death of Michael Jackson was not a simple overdose,
that Jackson's personal physician,
Dr. Conrad Murray, was responsible.
Still, the case couldn't be classified as a homicide
without the official toxicology report,
so while detectives pursued their investigation,
Michael's family tried to make sense of the tragedy.
- You don't get over it.
You learn to deal with it on the day to day basis.
Each day gets a little better and a little better,
but it never goes away.
I remember when one time I was in the hospital,
and I heard some nurses talking about "Let's give--"
They were talking about another patient,
but "Let's give them that Michael Jackson stuff,"
and I was like, "Whoa, are you serious?"
I didn't say anything. I got quiet,
but I didn't say anything,
but it really hurt me.
- During the summer of 2009,
investigators were busy tracking down every lead,
including a number of pill bottles
found in Michael's room
prescribed by another physician,
Beverly Hills dermatologist Dr. Arnold Klein.
- I responded to Dr. Klein's office.
I advised him that I needed to see the medical records
for Michael Jackson.
- When the assistant coroner showed up,
Dr. Klein was MIA.
- Any time somebody avoids me, it makes you wonder,
"Are they that busy, or why aren't they here?"
- Dr. Arnold Klein was
the dermatologist to the stars.
Klein loved being around celebrities,
loved Michael Jackson, loved all the attention.
Dr. Klein became close to Michael Jackson's life
after that Pepsi commercial
when Michael Jackson's hair caught on fire.
- He was in such severe pain.
When your head is on fire, your scalp is burning.
Percocet, OxyContin, and Vicodin,
they prescribe these medicines.
I remember Michael telling me, he said,
"Marlon, never, never get hooked on painkillers.
Don't let them do that to you."
- After the 1984 accident,
Michael struggled with prescription drugs
which was a concern for his siblings.
- Our family is really no different
than any other family.
We're concerned about each other,
and some of my family did,
you know, go to Michael and sit down
and talk to him about the painkiller
that he was addicted to from this commercial shoot
because you love him.
You want to make sure he's okay.
- Over the years Jackson used drugs
to combat insomnia and anxiety,
but for pain he relied on the powerful narcotic Demerol.
The star first received shots of the painkiller
while recovering from his accident,
and later in connection with cosmetic procedures.
- Demerol was a part of what Michael Jackson received
with Dr. Klein.
Michael Jackson apparently had
a fairly low tolerance for pain.
Some of the procedures that he received
involved things that were happening close to his eyes,
so he had to be sedated.
- Law enforcement turned to a former member
of Dr. Klein's office
who was also part of Michael's inner circle.
- Debbie Rowe was a nursing assistant
in Dr. Klein's Beverly Hills office.
She developed a friendship with Michael Jackson.
They were married, had two children together,
Michael Jackson's eldest children, Prince and Paris.
- The ex-Mrs. Jackson dropped a big clue.
- She brought up the drug book and the other documentation
that Dr. Klein would conceal the identity
of some of his high-profile celebrity clients.
I was able to look at the book that showed Michael Jackson
and, I believe, three or four of his aliases.
- Dr. Klein's drug book and Michael's medical records
provided some disturbing facts.
- We learned that probably in three months
prior to Michael Jackson's death,
Arnold Klein administered
excessive Demerol to Michael Jackson.
- Michael Jackson is getting Demerol for acne.
He's getting it for very minor skin treatments.
- Demerol is an opioid.
We typically use Demerol after surgery.
The FDA has classified it as "highly addictive,"
and it should be used with caution.
- According to Michael Jackson's medical charts,
he received injections of Demerol
ranging from 100 milligrams to 200 milligrams.
- The typical dose of Demerol
is typically 12.5 milligrams or even 25 milligrams.
Higher doses of Demerol are typically given
in a monitored setting
in the emergency room after an injury.
- My instincts told me that Dr. Klein
was facilitating
Michael's addiction.
Years of usage, the amount of drugs,
I couldn't understand why Michael would need
that much Demerol for acne treatments,
and you know, it just-- it made no sense.
- This was a perfect symbiotic relationship.
Michael Jackson wanted medication.
Dr. Klein wanted celebrity.
The two of them got together. Both got what they needed.
- Michael Jackson's bodyguards testified that
he would come in to Arnold Klein's office
for these shots of Demerol,
and he would come outside loopy.
- At the exact same time
that Michael Jackson's receiving all this Demerol,
he's having trouble getting through rehearsals,
and keep in mind this is his major comeback tour.
- The show's director, Kenny Ortega, was concerned.
- Kenny Ortega spoke with Michael.
"You don't look too good. You're shaking.
You're cold. Are you getting enough rest?"
- On June 19th, Ortega suggested
Michael leave the rehearsal and return home.
- Things have gotten so bad
that the promoters and the director feel like
they have to have a come-to-Jesus meeting
with Michael Jackson and his doctor.
- A meeting took place at Michael Jackson's home.
- Kenny Ortega was the one doing the talking
to Dr. Murray, and Dr. Murray just snapped.
He said, "Look, you stick to directing.
"Don't pretend to be a doctor.
"I'm the doctor. I'm telling you he's fine.
Michael's gonna be fine."
- Michael Jackson's treatments, him receiving propofol,
really was a secret between him and Conrad Murray.
- But Dr. Murray wasn't privy
to all of Michael Jackson's secrets.
- Dr. Murray's contention was that he did not know
that Dr. Klein was treating Michael Jackson
and that he was giving him Demerol.
- One of the side effects of Demerol is insomnia,
and that was the very medical issue
that Dr. Murray was trying to treat with the propofol.
- On June 21st, four days before his death,
Michael Jackson's health took a sharp turn for the worse.
- Michael Jackson starts complaining about
these unusual symptoms.
He's cold on one side of his body,
hot on the other side of his body.
Some experts say that's a sign of Demerol withdrawal.
- The next day on June 22nd,
Michael Jackson went back to see his dermatologist.
- Three days before his death,
records show he received treatment from Dr. Klein.
This is the last record of him receiving any sort of Demerol.
- On June 24th,
Michael appeared to be in perfect form.
- The last rehearsal was amazing.
You could tell he was more seasoned
like he was in his moment
and just pumps us up.
We were just so excited even to get to London
and to actually have a real moment with Michael.
He just told us that he was happy
that all of us were there, and we're a family now,
and don't ever let this change anything.
Like, we just felt like this is forever.
- Just 12 hours later, one of the world's most gifted
and celebrated artists was dead.
It would take nearly two months
before the official toxicology report was completed
and investigators could determine
"Was Michael's death a homicide?"
- In the weeks following Michael Jackson's death,
law enforcement tried to pin down what happened
during the early morning hours of June 25, 2009.
Nearly two months after the star was pronounced dead,
the toxicology report was finally released.
- The toxicology report ruled that
it was acute propofol intoxication.
- "Just overloaded, literally overloaded,
could've dropped an elephant," was the doctor's words.
- What's interesting here is not only
what the toxicology report revealed,
that propofol was in his system,
but what it didn't reveal.
- Didn't show Demerol, which is not uncommon
if somebody had been taking Demerol
'cause it doesn't always show up
because it washes out through their system.
The level of propofol was off the charts.
- The coroner's findings changed everything.
- Once the toxicology report is brought to our attention,
it was ruled a homicide
with, you know, the emphasis being
primarily on propofol, not Demerol.
We're not looking at Dr. Klein,
and it put the spotlight on Conrad Murray
who we'd been looking at really from day one.
- Dr. Klein
helped Michael become an addict,
but Dr. Murray's the one that administered propofol
in an unsafe environment.
That was what killed Michael.
- In February of 2010,
nearly eight months after Michael Jackson's death,
Dr. Conrad Murray was arraigned.
- The state really threw the book at Conrad Murray.
He was charged with involuntary manslaughter.
- I mean, this was extremely unusual
to have any sort of doctor
being held criminally liable for the death of a patient.
- What about Dr. Klein,
the dermatologist who prescribed Demerol to Jackson?
Did he play a role in the star's death?
- The defense wanted to present Dr. Klein as a bad guy
and that he was turning Michael Jackson
into this Demerol addict,
and he was suffering withdrawal.
- And their contention was that
Michael Jackson's use of Demerol
in his treatments from Dr. Klein
were contributing to his sleep issues,
and that Dr. Murray didn't know about them,
and that it could be part of the cause of death.
- But before the trial even started,
the defense suffered a major setback.
- Judge Michael Pastor took a look at the toxicology report
and determined because there was no Demerol
found in Michael Jackson's system when he died,
what's the relevance of having the doctor
who prescribed the Demerol testify?
All that's going to do is try to pin the blame on someone
when there's no evidence and no factual support for it.
- On September 27, 2011,
two years after Michael Jackson's death,
Dr. Conrad Murray walked into court
to face a jury of his peers.
- The evidence in this case will show misplaced trust
in the hands of Conrad Murray cost Michael Jackson his life.
- The main point that the prosecutors focused on
was that Dr. Murray was operating
well outside the bounds
of what would be accepted for a physician.
Propofol is only supposed to be administered in a hospital.
Dr. Murray was doing this with improper equipment,
and he had left the room.
- During the interview with Dr. Murray,
he said after he administered propofol,
Dr. Murray had stepped away to utilize the restroom,
and he was gone two, maybe three minutes at the very most.
- When he came back, Michael Jackson had stopped breathing.
- Cell phone records revealed Dr. Murray
was on the phone for nearly 45 minutes.
- Your Honor, at this time subject to receipt
of the remaining exhibits. The People are prepared
and would ask to rest at this time.
- Dr. Murray's legal team had a completely different take
on what happened that night.
- The gist of the defense was that Dr. Murray
was doing the best he could under difficult circumstances
with a very difficult patient,
and that he wasn't trying
to kill Michael Jackson.
He was just trying to keep a handle
on this very chaotic situation.
- When the ruling came back
that Arnold Klein couldn't testify,
they basically last minute
had to come up with another strategy,
and it came down to blaming Michael Jackson instead.
- The defense believes that the evidence will show you,
and Dr. Murray left the room,
Michael Jackson self-administered
an additional dose of propofol,
and it killed him.
- To self-administer?
It's impossible.
- We don't anticipate anyone
to have any type of decision making capacity
under propofol sedation.
- But you look at what other defense could there be?
- Blaming the victim for his own death,
that is a very, very difficult type of theory to win on.
- After deliberating for nearly two days,
the jury reached a verdict.
- We, the jury, find the defendant,
Conrad Robert Murray,
guilty of the crime of involuntary manslaughter.
- Dr. Murray was sentenced to four years.
He ended up serving two years in jail.
- As for Dr. Klein,
his problems were far from over.
- His entire professional practice had fallen apart.
Once he became associated with Michael Jackson's death,
no one in Hollywood wanted to touch him anymore.
- He eventually had to declare bankruptcy,
and he had to start selling artwork
that his famous patients had given him
just to keep afloat,
and he kind of just died in obscurity.
- In 2013, Dr. Conrad Murray was released from prison.
- I'm very remorseful that Michael has passed away.
Michael was a friend.
I felt as I was protecting Michael all the time.
- If you take an oath
that you're going to be the best doctor,
you still need to do what's right, and he didn't.
- These doctors who are over prescribing prescription drugs
is really out of hand now.
A lot of doctors who really care,
but some will do what they do to make that patient happy.
If we come up with something that maybe, you know,
try to get some legislation passed
that can hold people accountable.
It's not gonna bring my brother back,
but it may save some other lives.
- Today, Conrad Murray continues to maintain
he's an innocent man.
Dr. Murray isn't the only celebrity physician
to face charges.
The death of Anna Nicole Smith
prompted a lengthy criminal investigation.
We'll hear from one of her doctors
accused of bad medicine.
- Much like the case of Michael Jackson,
the death of TV reality star Anna Nicole Smith
raised troubling questions
about physicians and celebrities.
Was Anna the victim of her own reckless choices,
or was she the victim of wrongdoing by her doctors?
- At 2:49 this afternoon
we were advised by hospital personnel
that Anna Nicole Smith had died.
- When the detectives go back to the Hard Rock Hotel
and they examine Anna Nicole Smith's room,
they find a veritable medicine chest
of prescription drugs.
- The cause of death is combined drug intoxication.
- As far as the authorities in Florida were concerned,
the case was over...
- This case is an accidental overdose
with no other criminal elements present.
- But back in Los Angeles,
law enforcement wasn't so sure.
- Many of the prescriptions were written in California.
It's just like drug money. You follow the money,
so they follow the prescriptions
and put together the case.
- The path of the pills led authorities
to two physicians in California.
- One of the physicians was 35-year old
Dr. Sandeep Kapoor, Anna Nicole's internist.
In October of 2007,
Dr. Kapoor found himself caught in the spotlight.
- Come on outside with your hands up.
- I noticed the whole house was swarming with DEA agents,
police.
They were searching the whole house.
- For detectives, the search paid off big.
- When investigators found Dr. Kapoor's personal journal
in his house, they think they had the smoking gun.
- The diaries had one page
that related to Anna Nicole Smith
out of 800 pages.
- This journal is potentially damning for him,
and it raised the possibility
that Anna Nicole could bring him down.
- But what exactly did the diary reveal?
More about that later.
Meanwhile, it took nearly two years for
the district attorney's office to construct their case.
- There were two factions at the DA's office,
one of which wanted
to prosecute the case as a homicide case,
which had certain problems including the fact
that she didn't die here, so from my view,
they ginned up these other charges,
and therefore they moved forward
with an over-prescribing case.
- In 2009, law enforcement was ready to file charges.
- People think those drug dealers on the street corner
are the only threat. As a matter of fact,
people with their medical degrees
are a growing threat.
- The three individuals were Dr. Sandeep Kapoor,
Dr. Khristine Eroshevich, a psychiatrist,
and Anna's lawyer and lover, Howard K. Stern.
- It all centered on the claim
that Anna Nicole Smith was an addict
and drugs were prescribed to an addict
without legitimate medical purpose,
and tied into that were the allegations
that drugs were being prescribed
under an assumed name in order to avoid detection.
- Howard Stern was the best known of the defendants
from the reality show.
A lawyer, a boyfriend,
Howard Stern was the gatekeeper
in Anna Nicole Smith's life.
The state alleged that Howard
was conspiring with the doctors
to get this medication
for somebody he knew full well was an addict.
- The big question was "why."
- The umbrella motive was that they were all pandering to her.
- What prosecutors wanted was to send a message
that doctors can't be blinded by the fame and the money
and ignore every thing that they should be doing.
- Both doctors and Howard K. Stern
denied the charges. - If weren't a celebrity,
this is not a case that ever would be charged.
- Bring it on, big boy.
- She was this small town girl
with aspirations and dreams of fame and success.
I don't think Anna could set limits
because she didn't think she needed to.
- Over time, Anna's self indulgence took a toll.
- Anna Nicole had very serious health problems off and on.
- Her boobs were painful,
and she had several different surgeries and augmentations.
- She had migraine headaches,
and for these problems
she took legal prescription medication.
- In 1996, the model's problems
became too much for her to handle.
- I got addicted to pain pills.
I called and put my own self into Betty Ford
and got my own self well.
- Fast-forward to 2004.
Anna met Dr. Sandeep Kapoor, a pain medication specialist.
- I inherited Anna Nicole from a practice that I took over.
Dr. Covener told me that,
you know, "She's a celebrity.
Be careful how you approach her,"
that she could be manipulative.
You can't let her get away with trying to run her medical care.
- But did the physician over prescribe
as the state would later argue?
- Dr. Kapoor was not over prescribing drugs
to Anna Nicole Smith. - She had been
on a stable pain regimen of Methadone.
I really just continued her care,
picked it up, and kind of went with it.
- But they were, on paper,
unusually high dosages
of drugs like Methadone.
She had been taking these medications so long
that she had built
a significant tolerance to them.
- For excessive medications, it's not necessarily
the number of pills that we prescribe,
but more so the dose
as well as the combination of medications.
- The scripts were one issue,
but Dr. Kapoor's behavior
with his famous patient was another.
- Anna called me and said,
"I know that you go to Gay Pride every year.
I've been asked to be in the float.
Will you be my guest and come with me?"
I was, you know, maybe a little star-struck and excited.
- According to court documents,
the real party didn't start until later
that evening at a West Hollywood nightclub.
- I got carried away and had some drinks.
And we ended up kissing.
- The videos and photos were a huge part of the decision
to charge the case.
The state believed Dr. Kapoor was having an affair with her,
that he was impressed with Anna Nicole Smith's celebrity
and would give her anything she wanted.
- Remember that diary
recovered at Dr. Kapoor's house?
Could the physician's own words have sealed his fate?
- When I got home, I wrote in my journal about the day.
My own kind of warning to myself was that, you know,
did I really overstep boundaries here?
I gave her Methadone and Valium.
Can she ruin me?
- Dr. Kapoor was right to be worried.
His night out with Anna Nicole Smith had consequences,
but did his actions prove he was guilty of a crime?
- Two years before her death in the spring of 2005,
Anna Nicole Smith and her internist, Dr. Sandeep Kapoor,
were photographed partying at a West Hollywood nightclub.
What was behind this doctor-patient relationship?
- The prosecution had alleged that I was having
a sexual relationship.
- I suggested that Dr. Kapoor do an interview
to defuse one of the basic theories
of the prosecution's case,
which was: "Dr. Kapoor was feeding her drugs
so that she continued to sleep with him."
It was as far from the truth as anything could possibly be.
- I've been openly gay for many years,
but not quite as open as the whole country knowing,
and my father didn't know, either.
- While Dr. Kapoor wasn't romantically linked to Anna,
there was still the matter of his personal journal.
- I mean, "I gave her Methadone and Valium.
Can she ruin me?"
So those words were essentially used
as my admission of guilt,
and to me it was just being honest and saying,
you know, I kind of screwed up,
and I shouldn't have done that.
But I never crossed that line
with Anna Nicole Smith ever again.
- Dr. Kapoor continued as Anna's physician,
but in 2006 the doctor found himself
in the center of another Anna Nicole drama.
- Let me stop all the rumors. Yes, I am pregnant.
- In her video post, it was clear
Anna was thrilled about
becoming a mom for the second time.
Her teenage son, Daniel, was the love of her life.
- You love me? - Yeah.
- Aww.
I love you, too, that much also.
- She had said she wanted to get off everything
so that she has a clean pregnancy.
- Anna Nicole had taken herself off her medications.
She was in withdrawal.
- On Dr. Kapoor's advice,
Anna checked in to the hospital.
- The hospital plan was to keep her on a regimen
of low-dose of pain medications
and try to slowly wean her off.
- But after a few days,
Smith unexpectedly checked out of the hospital
and left the country with Howard K. Stern.
- All of the sudden I hear that she's in the Bahamas.
Anna Nicole had told me that she wanted
to have her baby there
and get away from the media.
- I knew Daniel was flying in,
and I was like, "Great."
- And then of course everything happened with Daniel.
- Her daughter, Dannielynn, is born,
and then three days later,
her son, Daniel, dies, all at the same hospital.
- And Howard called me, and I was put on the phone
with Anna, crying,
"Why did God take Daniel? Why didn't he take me?"
- The coroner's report later revealed
20-year old Daniel died of a lethal combination
of antidepressants and Methadone.
- Literally she just slept in my arms and cried and said,
"I just don't know how I'm gonna do this without Daniel."
- In a deep depression, Anna turned to psychiatrist
Dr. Khristine Eroshevich,
a former L.A. neighbor and friend.
After Daniel's death,
the doctor spent time down in the Bahamas.
- I think that Dr. Khris, because she truly loved
Anna so much,
she wanted to help her alleviate the physical pain
and then numb the emotional pain.
- As detailed in court papers,
Dr. Eroshevich had prescribed
a series of powerful medications.
- There was a laundry list of medications,
Dilaudid and muscle relaxants
and Ativan, at large doses.
- According to legal documents,
the psychiatrist wrote multiple prescriptions
for Anna using false aliases.
- In California it is against the law to prescribe
a controlled substance using a fake name or an alias,
but in Hollywood there is the argument
that a celebrity's privacy is more important.
- According to court documents,
Anna's long-term confidant, Howard K. Stern,
assisted Dr. Eroshevich
in order to protect Anna's privacy.
- As a lawyer, Howard is obviously not
writing prescriptions,
but he is allegedly obtaining them
by using these fake names for Anna Nicole.
This is what speaks to the charge
of falsely prescribing and conspiracy.
- Once investigators reviewed Anna's personal computer,
they had even more questions.
- What pops up are photos of a naked Dr. Eroshevich
in a hot tub
with Anna Nicole Smith in the Bahamas.
- In any profession where you're blurring a line
between the two parties,
is their judgment blurred because of their relationship?
- Dr. Eroshevich was a kind, caring person.
She was there to help her friend.
- Despite good intentions,
Anna continued to spiral.
- I, many times, saw Anna
open up and pop pills right in front of me.
For the rest of my life this is always gonna be with me.
Like, why didn't I say, "Hey, it's enough."
But because Anna always controlled everything,
you couldn't.
- In February of 2007,
Anna took what was supposed to be
a brief trip to Fort Lauderdale.
- Anna Nicole, Dr. Eroshevich, Howard Stern,
pack up, leave the Bahamas,
and go to Florida to look at a boat.
- I had no idea.
She was sick. She wasn't feeling good.
- After two days, Dr. Eroshevich
needed to return to Los Angeles.
Along with Howard K. Stern,
Anna holed up in her Florida hotel room.
She was clearly in distress,
but refused to go to the hospital.
- She hurt her head, and she said,
"I'm gonna lay down and rest.
Howard's out getting the boat."
- Anna Nicole's health was plummeting.
She was suffering extreme fever,
was taking ice baths,
and ultimately was found unresponsive on her hotel bed.
- When police searched Anna's hotel room,
they found ten different prescription drugs.
Prosecutors in California believed
that somebody should go to prison.
Would a jury agree?
- Two years after Anna Nicole Smith died of a drug overdose,
her physicians, Dr. Sandeep Kapoor
and Dr. Khristine Eroshevich,
and her longtime confidant, Howard K. Stern,
went on trial.
Jurors would have to decide,
did Anna's doctors and boyfriend break the law?
Anna's physicians faced charges of prescribing
controlled substances to an addict,
over-prescribing,
and using false aliases for their famous patient.
Howard K. Stern was accused as a co-conspirator.
All three defendants denied the charges.
- The theory of the defense was that this was an issue
about pain management,
not about recreational use of drugs
and not about over-prescribing.
There is a law in California which specifically says,
"You can't determine excessive prescribing
by counting the number of pills."
- The judge basically instructed the jury that,
if you find that someone is in chronic pain,
then there is a genuine medical purpose
for giving them these drugs.
- After nearly 13 days of deliberations,
the jury returned its verdict.
- The jury decides to clear Dr. Kapoor of all charges.
He's acquitted.
- This is really a victory,
not just for me to be acquitted of this,
but it's a victory for patients who suffer chronic pain.
- As for Dr. Eroshevich,
the psychiatrist was found guilty
of conspiring to obtain prescriptions
using a false name
and unlawfully prescribing Vicodin.
- Hindsight's 20/20.
I mean, yes, I maybe would've tried to be better
or tweak things or done something differently,
but she was a force to reckon with.
- For Howard K. Stern,
the jury returned a split verdict.
- Everything related to the appropriateness of
the medication I was acquitted of.
What the jury did find me guilty of
were two conspiracy counts
limited exclusively to my name
being used on medications for Anna.
Now, this was done to protect Anna Nicole's privacy,
and it was nothing more than that.
- In 2015, after a series of legal appeals,
the case finally came to an end.
- The judge throws out the conviction against Stern.
He throws out one of the convictions against Eroshevich,
lowers the other one to a misdemeanor,
slapped her with a $100 fine, and that's how it ended.
- The case is about the blurred lines,
and it's about the most powerful drug known to man,
and that's fame.
- Even though they say she died from a drug overdose,
forever in my brain,
she died of a broken heart.
- It's always tragic
when anyone dies of a drug overdose.
Fame can also be addictive,
and when physicians like Dr. Conrad Murray
are heavy-handed with their prescription pads,
it's clear celebs aren't the only ones
lured by the spotlight.
With more than 40 prescription drug deaths
in this country daily,
no one is immune to the opioid crisis
or to bad medicine.
For more on "Mysteries and Scandals," go to Oxygen.com.