Blonde Ambition

BY

Copyright © 2007 by Rita Cosby

All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Grand Central Publishing
Hachette Book Group USA
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New York, NY 10017

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www.HachetteBookGroupUSA.com.

First eBook Edition: September 2007

1. Timing Is Everything 1

2. Next of Kin 28

3. Life After Death 42

4. Shopping 62

5. Committed and Buried in Debt 76

6. Residency and Eviction 93

7. Breaking News 116

8. The Anna Nicole Show 124

9. The Body 140

10. The Fight for Anna 158

11. Rest in Peace 177

12. DNA 194

13. A Dramatic Ending 214

In 2007, I was the first to break the official news to the world that Anna Nicole Smith was dead. At the time, I was a journalist with NBC. Hours after the tragic news came down, I was on plane after plane, following the story back and forth from Florida to the Bahamas. As a seasoned host and reporter, I've covered infamous manhunts, murder trials, and met with saints and sinners all over the globe. I've talked personally to Pope John Paul II and peeled back the "truth" from Scott Peterson and Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh.

   But nothing could've prepared me for the chaos and media frenzy surrounding the story that is Anna Nicole. As the continuing drama has unfolded, I've talked to hundreds of people connected to the case. Sometimes nothing is as it seems. What you saw on television was a far cry from what was really happening behind closed doors. This is that story.

Vickie Lynn Marshall, better known to the millions of people worldwide as Anna Nicole Smith, took her last breath at the Hard Rock Hotel in Hollywood, Florida, on February 8th,

2007 in room 607. That much is certain.

   But beyond that there exists a deceptive web of conflicting stories, misdirection, tragic mistakes, and an illusion of truth among a host of unwitting yet willing partners. The death of the former stripper turned reality star is as perplexing as her life.

   This is the story of untold secrets. It proves that truth is stranger than fiction, and reality is sometimes unreal.

Just after 1 p.m. on February 8, 2007, Brigitte Neven noticed that Anna Nicole Smith's chest wasn't rising and falling like a normal sleeping person. Something wasn't right. In fact, something was terribly wrong, which Brigitte soon realized when she tried to shut Anna's agape jaw and it wouldn't close. It was stiff.

   Brigitte Neven is, in fact, the woman who actually found Anna Nicole Smith's lifeless body. The story you might have heard was that she was discovered unconscious by her "private nurse." Brigitte is not a nurse. There was a nurse in the room, Tasma Brighthaupt, wife of Anna's bodyguard, Maurice "Big Moe" Brighthaupt, but "Tas" was at the foot of Anna's king size bed, intently working on her computer, unaware of the deadly silence lying in the bed behind her. This day, like many in the previous few months in the life of the woman who was famous for being famous, would be spent in bed.

   Anna Nicole Smith had a routine: she would start her day with a shot around 9 a.m. of "longevity drugs"—a varying combination of vitamin B12, immunoglobulins, and human growth hormone. The combination of drugs is said to maintain energy, decrease body fat and improve mood and motivation. She'd then go back to bed and sleep into the afternoon, wake up, eat something, drink something, take something, watch a little TV, and sleep some more. Then, repeat. The last few years, and in particular the last few months since the death of her beloved son Daniel, her life was an endless cycle of depression and sadness, blurred and numbed by a dangerous combination of drugs and alcohol.

   But this day was unlike the others. Something had happened. Something had pushed the voluptuous beauty over the edge. And now she was free-falling from the living to the dead.

In advance of Anna and Howard's arrival in Florida, Moe received several packages in the mail addressed to Howard as he had on other occasions when Anna and Howard were expected. Private investigators hired by an interested party told me that Moe said he received the packages at his house, addressed from the husband of Anna's friend/psychiatrist Dr. Khristine Eroshevich, who was traveling with Anna from the Bahamas. Moe noted that labels on the boxes indicated they came from a pharmacy, and on Monday night, he gave the packages to Howard at the Hard Rock.

   That morning, before their trip to Florida, Anna had started the day with a dance lesson in the Bahamas to prepare for an upcoming event and music video for TrimSpa, the diet supplement for which she was the paid spokesmodel. Anna called Mrs. Gerlene Gibson, the go-to woman in the Bahamas if you're a celebrity and have babysitting needs. She asked her to come to the house and take care of five-month-old Dannielynn for a few days. Gerlene Gibson is the mother of Shane Gibson, the Bahamian Minister of Immigration, who had helped Anna secure her permanent residency in the Bahamas.

   After hugging Mrs. Gibson and kissing Dannielynn goodbye, Anna was driven to the airport and boarded an afternoon flight to Florida, along with Dr. Khristine Eroshevich and Howard K. Stern, her lawyer and the man publicly claiming to be the father of her newborn. According to statements taken by Broward County medical examiner, Dr. Joshua Perper, Anna was upbeat and feeling well, looking forward to shopping for a few days in Florida before picking up a newly purchased boat and returning to the Bahamas later in the week.