But after a two
month trial, a Los Angeles jury acquitted a second doctor on all charges in
what was seen by the defense as a victory for physicians who treat patients
with chronic pain.
Smith's companion and lawyer Howard K. Stern was convicted
on two counts of conspiracy for using false names to obtain prescription drugs
for his lover, but was acquitted on seven more serious charges. Smith's psychiatrist
Khristine Eroshevich was convicted on four counts.
A Jan. 6 date was set for
sentencing, and a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles District Attorney said the
pair could get anything from probation to three years in prison. The three were
not charged in the 2007 death of Smith, known as a model, TV star and for
marrying an 89-year-old oil billionaire, 63 years older than her, in the 1990s.
She died at age 39 from an accidental prescription drug overdose.
