Anna Nicole Smith storms out of court in inheritance case
Anna Nicole Smith has stormed out of court during her late husband's inheritance trial, leaving the judge threatening to have her investigated for perjury.
The trial pits Pierce Marshall against his disinherited brother, J Howard Marshall III in a war over the estate of their multimillionaire father.
J Howard Marshall II died in 1995, 14 months after he married the former stripper Playboy centerfold when he was 89 and she was 26.
Smith, now 33, exploded in anger Wednesday when an attorney for Pierce Marshall, her 61-year-old stepson, asked her to post bond to ensure she would be back on February 12 to resume her testimony.
Smith dropped out of the trial a month ago after a federal bankruptcy judge awarded her $475 million, about a quarter of the estimated value of the estate.
However, she was still compelled to testify because of a countersuit by Pierce Marshall, who says she unlawfully interfered with his inheritance.
Smith's three days of testimony this week have brought life to the trial, with episodes of crying and pouting from the model and sarcastic exchanges between her and Pierce Marshall's attorney, Rusty Hardin.
Judge Mike Wood at one point threatened to slap Smith with a contempt of court citation if she didn't stop repeating a string of unsubstantiated accusations against Pierce Marshall - including claims he had both his father and his father's former mistress killed.
"She is continually using this as an opportunity to make up stories, and she can't do that," Wood told Smith's attorney, Tom Cuningham, while Smith was still on the stand Wednesday. "Try to explain to her she can't say these things."
Wood said he found reprehensible Smith's accusation that an anesthesiologist, acting on Pierce Marshall's order, delivered a lethal dose of medication to Jewell DiAnne "Lady" Walker, who had been J Howard Marshall's previous companion.
"I don't think there's a question she committed perjury on several elements of what she was saying," Wood said.
Smith has insisted she didn't lie to the court, though she admits she has no proof to back up the claim. She also has accused Pierce Marshall of shredding documents that showed his father had promised her half the estate.
When Hardin asked Smith for documents proving her late husband wanted her to have half his estate, Smith responded: "I'm sorry. I'll have to get back to you."
Pierce Marshall is appealing the federal bankruptcy court's award. His attorneys have also claimed the late oilman's estate is actually worth only about $60 million.
The judge denied the request that Smith post bond.
