CELEBRITY SCALES: Anna Nicole’s Deadly Secret? : Star-Studded Legal Commentary for the Celebrity Obsessed

Salacious new revelations have emerged that the late Anna Nicole Smith was investigated by the FBI for allegedly plotting the murder of E. Pierce Marshall, the son of Smith’s deceased billionaire husband J. Howard Marshall.  J. Howard, a Texas oil tycoon, died a little more than a year after he married Smith.  These shocking new revelations only add brighter dramatic color to the tragic life and death of the former Playboy Playmate.  A case against Smith’s former lawyer and companion Howard Stern and some of her former doctors in connection with her untimely death in 2007 at age 39 from an overdose of prescription drugs, is ongoing.

According to the Associated Press, it is alleged that Smith was thought to be outlining a scheme that would push Howard Marshall’s son out of the picture so that she would become the sole beneficiary of his $400 million estate.  Sections of the 100 pages of released materials, a fraction of Smith’s full FBI file, confirm that the blond bombshell was in fact examined by agents in 2000 for an alleged murder-for-hire scheme.  While portions of these materials are whited out, no evidence of her involvement in such a plot is detailed.  At the time of the murder investigation, Anna Nicole was waged in a bitter legal war with Pierce Marshall for his late father’s fortune.  The investigation of Smith ended when it failed to produce enough evidence to constitute a valid case.

Although the FBI’s probe into the alleged murder-for-hire scheme was halted, the information that was obtained does raise intriguing questions concerning whether Anna Nicole was indeed actually planning to take such duplicitous actions and what the legal consequences of such a scheme would have been for her as well as other individuals who may have been involved.

While it still remains unclear how the Anna Nicole Smith investigation came about, Anna told the FBI she believed it was brought on by a former lover seeking revenge after she ended their relationship.  According to FBI documents, Anna Nicole was questioned by agents about the murder plot on July 3, 2000.  When told why she was being questioned, Smith cried and denied ever making such plans.  Anna Nicole also defended herself by stating that such a scheme would never work in her favor because the money would be locked in a trust fund where she would be unable to gain access to it.

During the course of its investigation, the FBI taped Smith’s telephone conversations and conducted searches of her home.  The FBI documents reveal that the searches of Anna Nicole’s home led to the confiscation of a handgun, a knife and oddly, a black and orange hat referred to as a “Dr. Seuss” hat.  These three items were returned to Anna Nicole seven months later.

Is it possible that Anna Nicole Smith could have been involved in planning such a heinous crime?  Anna Nicole’s sister Donna Hogan told “Inside Edition,” though she loves her late sister, the claims of a murder plot wouldn’t “shock or surprise” her.  According to “Inside Edition,” Smith’s ex-boyfriend Mark Hatten, who served time for threats against Smith, may have revealed the alleged murder plot.  In 2003, Hatten told “Inside Edition” in an interview,

“She wanted me to take care of it for her…If I wasn’t going to do it personally, to get a contract going to kill Pierce Marshall.”

“So Anna Nicole asked you to kill the son of her ex-husband?”

“Absolutely, numerous times,” he said.  “She’d get jacked up on pain pills and then this would come out and she’d start saying ‘Mark you gotta kill him, I’m Anna Nicole I can’t do it, you gotta take care of this for me.  I’ll do anything for you, we’ll be set.’ ”

Despite these claims by Hatten, a letter in Anna Nicole’s file from April 2001 stated that the FBI “determined that there is insufficient evidence to establish that there was a murder-for-hire plot by Ms. Smith to kill Pierce Marshall,” officially closing the case.

Hypothetically, if there had been sufficient evidence to implicate Anna Nicole in such a plot, the ramifications for the embattled star would have likely been severe.  Depending on the circumstances and extent of her involvement with such a scheme and the state in which the prosecution would have taken place, Smith and her co-conspirators could have possibly been charged with conspiracy to commit murder or even murder had such a plan actually been carried out successfully against Pierce Marshall.

Although different states have different laws concerning the prosecution of conspiracy suspects, all U.S. states have a provision in the law for conspiracy.  In most states, an individual cannot be prosecuted for conspiracy unless at least one of the people involved has taken an overt action toward carrying the plan out.  In the instance where two or more people develop a murder “hit list,” this would be charged as conspiracy to commit murder, even if the individuals involved didn’t take it seriously.

This story, similar to the many others surrounding Anna Nicole Smith’s roller coaster life and death, is made for tabloid headlines.  Unless additional evidence surfaces which would incriminate Smith, the speculation regarding Anna Nicole Smith’s involvement with a murder-for-hire scheme remains just speculation.  Unfortunately, neither Anna Nicole Smith nor Marshall’s son, who died in 2006, survived long enough to address the veracity of these scandalous claims that have now been openly divulged to the public.

Matt Semino is a New York attorney and legal commentator.  He is a graduate of Columbia Law School , Cornell University and is a Fulbright Scholar.

Follow Matt Semino on Twitter: @MattSemino

Contact Matt Semino at Matt@MattSemino.com