No fingerprints found

Steven Bixby did test positive for gun residue

February 17, 2007

By MIKE ROSIER
Index-Journal staff writer

ABBEVILLE — There were four shotguns, three rifles, three handguns and enough munitions inside for a small Armageddon — or exactly what witnesses say 4 Union Church Road exploded into on the night of Dec. 8, 2003.
The dwelling of Rita and Arthur Bixby found at that Abbeville address was no mere home.
It was a miniature armory. That’s what law enforcement agents testified to Friday during the double-murder trial of Steven Bixby, who is accused of killing two lawmen during a 14-hour standoff on that fatal winter day.
Once State Law Enforcement Division agents secured the surrenders of Steven and Arthur Bixby in the late evening hours that Friday, they found a bevy of weaponry and bounty of ammunition inside the home that had held the body of Sgt. Danny Wilson for about 12 hours.
There was at least one firearm in each room.
At least two had more than one.
A day after listening to a captivating audio tape of a violent gun battle between the Bixbys and law enforcement, pictures taken of the house’s interior immediately following the end of the standoff — along with the stacks of weapons and boxes of ammunition — were shown to the jury.
Jurors were shown guns. Many of them.
Then there were the bags and canisters of ammunitions.
All of which made for a treasure trove of forensic evidence for SLED Crime Scene Investigator Jeff Parrott back in 2003. It took Parrott seven hours to process the home.
“Obvious gunfire took place there,” Parrott said. “There were weapons laying everywhere. Every room (in the house) had some sort of firearm or munitions.”
Unfortunately for law enforcement, of the evidence investigators were most hoping to find, they gathered the least amount of — identifiable fingerprints.
There were no usable fingerprints on any of the 10 known firearms found in the home. Parrott confirmed that because of the amount of tear gas — a powder that dries up the oil and water (sweat) that produces fingerprints — employed by agents during the gun battle, he found the lack of fingerprints to not be unusual.
“It was one of the worst cases I’ve seen,” Parrott said.
Parrott spent the longest amount of time on the witness stand on Friday — some four hours all told — including a lengthy cross-examination where he was grilled on his facts by defense attorney Mark MacDougall.
He described the area where Wilson had lain just inside the home as a “saturating” site, or where blood had collected on the officer’s clothes moved to the floor during the standoff.
Parrott also said bloody “feathering” existed between the door and the place where agents removed Wilson’s body hours later, which would be consistent with his body having been transplanted from the front porch into the home.
“Bloodletting started outside the door,” he said.
This potential series of events was backed up by forensics. Wilson’s blood was on a plastic lawn chair outside (confirmed Friday by DNA testing, which also placed his blood on pants worn that day by the defendant Steven Bixby), and Wilson’s body contained glass shards — suggesting a secondary target such as a window was hit before the bullet struck Wilson.
Investigators later found the officer’s badge — missing its South Carolina state seal — in a toaster oven in the Bixbys’ kitchen.
In addition, a spent .7-millimeter rifle casing was found under debris inside the home, directly in front of a window in the living room.
Analysis of the bullet was inconclusive, however, and served as yet another blow to the prosecution’s case. The bullet could not be linked to the only rifle that agents confirmed was fired (at least 14 rounds were accounted for Friday) during the standoff, but only to a rifle of that type.
One positive turn for the prosecution was the fact gunshot residue tests administered to Steven and Arthur Bixby confirmed both men had fired shots that day.
“We found round lead particles on both the palms and the backs of both hands (in both tests),” SLED Trace Evidence Investigator Joseph D. Powell told the jury. “With that amount of residue, you either shot a gun or were working in a lead smelting plant.”
The morning’s expert testimony by forensic pathologist Dr. Brett Woodard, who performed the autopsies on the slain officers, gave the jury disturbing physical descriptions of the wounds sustained by Wilson and Constable Donnie Ouzts, who also died in the standoff. Jurors also viewed the now-dried, but still blood-stained shirts of the two officers, along with other of their personal effects they carried that day.
Woodard described how the bullets entered each of the men, explained the damage they created while inside the body and determined each gunshot as the cause of death.
Both men were killed by a “rifle-type” weapon.
“There was an entry wound in the (right) back and an exit wound in the front near a left shirt pocket,” Woodard said of Ouzts’ wound. “There was also a reopened wound related to recent cardiac bypass surgery, marked by an incision. That incision gave way under the pressure of the bullet.”
The bullet that struck Ouzts did so in the back near his spine and right shoulder blade, traveling across the body at an angle — from right to left — hitting his liver and passing through his heart. Death was nearly instantaneous.
Wilson was hit just inside of his protective vest, on his left side near his left armpit and left pectoral muscle.
“It was a rather large, irregular wound,” Woodard said.
The bullet traveled through Wilson, striking his aorta artery and breaking his backbone. According to testimony, following the gunshot, Wilson would immediately have lost all feeling below the wound and died shortly thereafter from trauma to the aorta and severe loss of blood.
He would have lost consciousness almost immediately after the gunshot wound was inflicted.
Woodard also testified that Wilson’s left arm was raised when he was shot. This evidence suggested Wilson could have been knocking on the door when he was hit by the bullet — among other possible scenarios that were offered later in cross-examination by the defense.
One claim forwarded by the defense was that Wilson might have forced the door to the Bixby home — because of the presence of a bloody boot impression on the front door. The door was examined and the shoes of Wilson and Donnie Ouzts and boots of Steven Bixby were all discarded as potentially having made the impression in the door.
The state’s prosecution could actually wrap its case today when it is scheduled to call upon its final few witnesses.
An argument has yet to be made as to whether the jury will view the Bixby home and scene of the standoff.
As such, Tenth Circuit Judge Alexander Macaulay has offered no ruling on the matter — which could be discussed when the attorneys meet at 9 a.m. this morning before the arrival of the jury for trial at 9:30.

Testimony all part of the job for real-life CSI

February 17, 2007

By MIKE ROSIER
Index-Journal staff writer

ABBEVILLE — It’s the part they don’t show on TV.
At least that’s what this reporter gathered from State Law Enforcement Division crime scene investigator Jeff Parrott — the real-life CSI, not the glamorized television version — after he was excused from testimony Friday in the double-murder trial of Steven Bixby at the Abbeville courthouse.
After taking the stand for more than four hours of intense and grueling “under-oath” testimony — and being grilled by defense attorney Mark MacDougall for a typographical error on a report he made three years ago — the investigator smiled.
Despite all the pressure of delivering on details he performed hundreds of cases ago (he usually processes between 150 and 200 per year), Parrott was still as cool as the other side of the pillow on a windy fall night.
One would be hard-pressed to imagine television’s “CSI” grim head-honcho Grissom sitting there and taking it from some swaggering defense attorney in a pair of Gucci loafers.
But for Parrott — an easygoing and unassuming man more concerned with doing his job than how he looks while doing it — taking the heat in court is all part of the job.
“It’s not too bad,” he said.
On the stand, Parrott testified as to what he saw when he entered the Bixby residence after the standoff in December 2003.
The interior was what amounted to a war zone.
Bullet holes pock-marked the walls. Guns and spent cartridges were spilled across the floors throughout.
It took Parrott seven hours to process the crime scene, and just as he finished he hopped on a Huey helicopter to go to Anderson Area Medical Center, where Dr. Brett Woodard was finished with the autopsy reports made on law officers Donnie Ouzts and Sgt. Danny Wilson.
But what about those ravenous defense attorneys? You might have something derogatory to say about them.
Nope. They’re doing their job, too.
“They’re doing what they’re supposed to do,” Parrott said.
He can tell that this reporter is still unconvinced.
“Really,” he said. “I don’t mind.”
What happened to the dog?
During testimony given by numerous SLED agents on Thursday, it appears there was a fourth party inside the Bixby home during the standoff.
Besides Steven and Arthur Bixby and the body of Sgt. Danny Wilson, agents testified to seeing a small dog entering and exiting the main bedroom in the home — an animal belonging to Rita and Arthur Bixby.
Defense attorneys tried to discredit the agents’ testimony by pointing to the fact that no mention of any dog being present had made it onto any of the men’s statements taken following the standoff in 2003.
Maybe the agents didn’t think the dog was that important then. Perhaps they had other things on their minds.
However, the agents (many of whom were on the S.W.A.T team’s “entry squad”) all maintained their stories on Thursday, with at least one of them saying the dog led them to one of the suspects — Arthur Bixby.
Agents looked in the direction of the room early on as a possible location for either of the Bixby men, as they thought the dog would choose to remain close to any humans inside during all the commotion.
They were exactly right.
But in the midst of the heavy gunfire and fighting that night, the dog somehow vanished.
No one can recall ever seeing the dog after the standoff, or add any information to the possibility of its eventual whereabouts or condition.
During the time that an audio recording was played on Thursday, including dead-silent lulls between loud bursts of gunfire, no sound or the presence of a dog is ever audible.

Lady Eagles fall

Rock Hill’s ‘A’ game ends Greenwood’s playoff run

February 17, 2007

By RENALDO STOVER
Index-Journal sports writer

There’s one thing that can be said about the 2006-07 edition of the Lady Eagles basketball team. You have to bring your “A” game to beat them.
The Rock Hill Lady Bearcats did just that on Friday night in their 68-63 victory at Greenwood High School, which included a 26-point third quarter.
“We’ve been talking all week in practice just about the kids stepping up. It’s playoff time and it’s time to play hard and step it up and that’s what they did tonight,” Lady Bearcats coach Eric Rollings said. “Greenwood is an unbelievable team and they’re exceptionally quick. If you would’ve told me that 63 points wouldn’t have been enough to win tonight, I don’t know what I would have said. Look at the score, 68-63 in a girls’ game is unbelievable and that shows you the caliber of the two teams playing.”
The Lady Bearcats (21-4) were led by Shandrice Erby, who finished with 20 points.
Brittney Lebby (17) and Markeisha Hicks (15) also reached double figures in the win.
The Lady Eagles trailed by two points (33-31) early in the third quarter, until Vijya Corbett’s lay-in tied pulled the teams even (33-33).
Corbett finished with 14 points, while Syteria Robinson scored a team-high 19 points. Jacena Thompson hit double figures in her final game in a Lady Eagles uniform, finishing with 13 points.
The Lady Bearcats answered with a 6-0 run that ended with 4 minutes, 10 seconds remaining in the quarter following Robinson’s fourth 3-pointer of the game.
Not to be outdone, Brooke Lucas and Shakendra Hicks hit back-to-back 3-pointers for the Lady Bearcats to extend their lead to 45-36 at the 3:22 mark.
The 14-6 run by the Lady Bearcats to start the quarter prompted Lady Eagles coach Susan Thompson to call a timeout following Hicks’ 3-pointer.
Following the timeout, Corbett pulled the Lady Eagles to within six (45-39) when she hit a 3-pointer with 3:01 remaining in the quarter.
The lead was still six points (47-41) as the chants of ‘defense’ came from Lady Eagles’ fans.
Erby quieted the chants with another jumper, but the Lady Eagles continued to fight back.
Down 10 points, Corbett’s fourth 3-pointer of the game cut the lead back to seven (51-44) with less than two minutes remaining in the quarter.
The Lady Bearcat’s led by nine points going into the final quarter thanks in-part to Gordon’s 10 third-quarter points. The Lady Eagles were able to cut the lead to four points (60-56) after Shay Andrews hit one-of-two free-throws with 4:10 remaining, but would not get any closer as the Lady Bearcats held on for the win.
“I think our team played real well and they fought hard. It was a good battle but there were just some breaks through the whole game and it didn’t go Greenwood’s way,” Thompson said. “We’ve got a lot of young girls coming back. We’ve got a great core to start next year and Jacena still gets to play in the North-South All-Star game.”
The Lady Bearcats led, 8-5, with 5:59 remaining in the first quarter following two free-throws by Erby.
The lead grew to 11-5 following Markeisha Hick’s 3-point play.
Corbett ended the Lady Eagles drought after hitting a 3-pointer at the 4:56 mark, but Erby responded with a 3-pointer for the Lady Bearcats, giving them a 14-8 lead with 2:48 remaining in the opening period.
Thompson was able to slip behind the Lady Bearcats’ defense for an easy two points in the paint at the 2:24 mark.
Once again, the Lady Bearcats responded with a 3-pointer by Erby, taking a 17-10 lead.
Robinson helped the Lady Eagles tie the game, 17-17, at the end of the first quarter, thanks to two 3-pointers in the final two minutes.

Emerald’s season ends

February 17, 2007

By RON COX
Index-Journal sports editor

Poor shooting and a sick leader doomed the Lady Vikings’ playoff run.
While the Emerald High School girls basketball team made just one field goal in the fourth quarter, Pendleton made just enough free throws down the stretch to upend the Lady Vikings, 43-41, in a come-from-behind victory Friday night in the second round of the Class AA playoffs.
“The ball just would not go in the basket for us,” Emerald coach Anarie Duckett said. “We missed a lot of shots in the first half. We missed a lot of shots in the second half. And missed way too many free throws.
“They’re all in there (locker room) saying ‘It’s my fault. It’s my fault.’ But I said, ‘It’s not anybody’s fault. It’s as much my fault as anybody else.’ It just wasn’t our night.”
The Lady Vikings had a chance to tie or win with 2 seconds remaining. But senior Brittany Connor, Emerald’s leading scorer on the season who was slowed down by an illness, launched a 3-point attempt that hit the top of the backboard, as time expired.
“It’s a big win for our kids, coming here on the road,” Pendleton coach Tim Wood said. “It was a tough ballgame all night. It was a close ball game all night.”
The Lady Bulldogs made only four of 13 free throw attempts in the fourth quarter. But Pendleton, which moves on to face the Keenan-Walhalla winner in the third round, combined those four free throws with a field goal from leading-scorer Kayla Plantin to go on a 6-1 run over the final 4:45 of play.
The small spurt was enough to erase a two-point deficit and give Pendleton control of the game.
“I was thinking ‘if we just made a few more free throws, then we wouldn’t have had to worry about any last-second shot,’” Wood said. “But we made enough of them to hold on.”
Connor finished with six points and 12 rebounds, while teammate Anicia Dotson led all scorers with 23 points to go along with 15 rebounds. However, the Emerald freshman was scoreless in the fourth quarter.
Plantin led the way for Pendleton, scoring 17 points while providing eight rebounds, five steals, four blocks and four assists.
Emerald went more than 5 minutes without a field goal in the first quarter, and the Lady Bulldogs used that time to go on an 8-2 run, keyed by six from Plantin. The run put Pendleton ahead for the first time at 10-8, with 1:09 to play in the first quarter.
Emerald regained control of the lead, going up 14-10 early in the second quarter. But again the Lady Vikings went cold, going 7:30 without a field goal, while Pendleton went on an 11-2 run to take its largest lead of the night (21-15) with 1:25 to play before the half.
Dotson scored back-to-back buckets to close the half at 21-19.
Dotson then scored the Lady Vikings’ first 12 points of the third quarter. Connor completed a three-point play to put Emerald up 34-27 with 1:36 left in the third.

Obituaries

Edward Baylor

CAPITOL HEIGHTS, Md. — Edward Baylor died February 13, 2007 at his home. Born in Washington, D.C., he was the son of the late William and Charlesetta Nicholson Baylor. He was a Safety Specialist for the D.C. Government.
Survivors include his wife, Fredella Baylor, one daughter, Anger Baylor and one son, Edward Baylor, Jr., all of Fort Washington, Maryland; two sisters, Doris Pugh of Bowie, Maryland and Mary Early of Silver Spring, Maryland; three brothers, Register Nicholson of Ninety Six, William Baylor of West Virginia and Earl Baylor of Fort Washington, Maryland; and three grandchildren.
Services are 11 a.m. Monday, Feb. 19, 2007 at New Song Bible Fellow Church in Maryland. Marshall’s Funeral Home of Suitland, Maryland, is in charge of the arrangements. Courtesy of Robinson & Son Mortuary, Inc.

Doris Jean Cox

Doris Jean Calvert Cox, 69, resident of 158 Cherokee Drive, widow of Thomas Gary Cox, died Feb. 15, 2007 at Morningside Assisted Living.
Born in Greenwood County Feb. 26, 1937, she was a daughter of the late Joe Clifton and Leila Griffin Calvert. She was a graduate of Greenwood High School and the Greenwood College of Commerce. She was formerly employed by Abney Mills and Satterfield Construction Company and was more recently employed by Greenwood County.
She was a member of Jordan Memorial Baptist Church.
Surviving are cousins, Jo Ellen Still, Bobby Snelson, Mary Wilson, Charles Henderson, Jane Koenig and Elton Griffin; also, a special friend, Madge P. Parrish.
Graveside services will be conducted at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in Edgewood Cemetery, with Rev. Dr. Glenn Mosteller officiating.
The body is at Blyth Funeral Home, where the family will receive friends from 1 to 2 p.m. Saturday.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the American Lung Association, 1817 Gadsden Street, Columbia, SC 29201. For online condolences please visit www.blythfuneralhome.com.
Blyth Funeral Home & Cremation Services is assisting the Cox family.

D. Nuree Holcombe

FLORENCE — Dorothy Nuree Manning Holcombe, 77, died Friday, Feb. 16, 2007, in a local hospital after an illness.
Graveside services will be 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 18, 2007, in Forest Lawn Memory Gardens in Abbeville, SC, directed by Waters-Powell Funeral Home of Florence. The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday at Waters-Powell Funeral Home and from 2 to 3 p.m. Sunday at Calhoun Falls Funeral Home in Calhoun Falls, SC.
She was born in Abbeville, SC, a daughter of the late Elbert James and Selma Hilley Manning. Formerly of Calhoun Falls, SC, she was a member of Northside Baptist Church. She moved to Florence in 2004 and was a member of Unity Baptist Church.
Mrs. Holcombe was the widow of R.D. Holcombe.
Survivors include her son, Robert James (Cindy) Holcombe of Florence; and two grandchildren, Anna Holcombe and Avery Holcombe.
Memorials may be made to Northside Baptist Church, 201 Marion St., Calhoun Falls, SC 29628; or to Unity Baptist Church, 2990 Pamplico Highway, Florence, SC 29505.

James David Martin

ABBEVILLE — James David Martin, 65, of 73 Kristel Drive, husband of Shell Lee Smith Martin, died Friday, Feb. 16, 2007, at Abbeville Area Medical Center.
The family is at the home.
Brown and Walker Funeral Home is in charge.

Eugene Sanders

PITTSBURGH — Mr. Eugene Sanders, 81, widower of Sally B. Sanders, died Feb. 12, 2007 at Mercy Hospital in Pittsburgh. Born in Ware Shoals, SC, he was the son of the late Jessie and Magnolia Sanders. He was a US Navy Veteran of WWII and a member of Golden Star Masonic Lodge No. 43 in Pittsburgh, PA. He was a retiree of The Port Authority of Allegheny Co. in Pittsburgh. Surviving is a daughter, Frances V. Lee of Anderson, SC; a son, Eddie Sanders of Pittsburgh; a sister, Marie Shell of Ware Shoals; a brother, Earl Sanders of Florida; 5 grandchildren; 12 great-grandchildren; 13 great-great-grandchildren. Services are Sunday, Feb. 18, 2007 in the chapel of Parks Funeral Home at 2 p.m. Burial is Dunn Creek Baptist Church Cemetery, Ware Shoals. Officiating minister is Rev. Tommy L. Stanford, assisted by Rev. Boozer and Rev. Sylvester Grant. Pallbearers are Henry Shell, Robert Shell, Dennis McGrier, Darryl McGrier, Eddie Sanders and Troy Butler. Floral bearers are Nekimba Bryant, Gevara Anty, Alice Rich, Carmel Burns, Porshia Anty and Kelisha Jones. Viewing is Saturday from 1-8:30 p.m. at the funeral home.
Parks Funeral home is in charge of arrangements and service.

Phillip Skidmore

NINETY SIX — Clyde Phillip Skidmore Jr., 50, of 205 Frazier Road, husband of Reda Butler Skidmore, died Friday, Feb. 16, 2007, at Self Regional Medical Center.
The family is at the home of his mother, Betty Skidmore, 108 Lowell Street.
Services will be announced by Harley Funeral Home & Crematory, Greenwood.

Mary Jane Morrah Sutherland

McCORMICK — Mary Jane Morrah Sutherland, 88, of Bold Branch area, McCormick, widow of James Napier Sutherland, died Feb. 15, 2007.
Born July 5, 1918 in Willington, SC, she was a daughter of the late John W. and Sue Lou Clinkscales Morrah. She was a homemaker and member of Willington Presbyterian Church.
Survivors include a daughter, Rebecca S. and husband, Harold, McConnell of McCormick, SC; granddaughter, Missy McConnell Wines and husband, Tim Wines of McCormick; a great-grandchild, Timothy Graham Wines; 2 brothers, Thomas and David Morrah of McCormick; a sister, Rebecca Morrah Brock of McCormick; 5 nieces and nephews; a number of great-nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by a brother John W. Morrah Jr.
Graveside services are 2 p.m. Feb. 18 at Bethia Cemetery, Highway 28 North, Abbeville, with the Rev. Lee Kennerly officiating. Pallbearers are David Morrah Jr., Tommy Morrah, John Morrah III, Elvin Quarles, David Morrah III, Johnny Brinkley. Visitation is 7-8 p.m. Feb. 17 at Strom Funeral Home.
Memorials may be made to Hospice of S.C., 103 W. Pickens St., Abbeville, SC 29620.
Strom Funeral Home is in charge.

Otis Lee Turman

McCORMICK — Mr. Otis Lee Turman died at the home of a sister in Willington, South Carolina, on Feb. 14, 2007. He was born on Jan. 7, 1948, a son of the late Albert and Carrie Speed Turman. He was a resident of Stratford, CT, for twenty years and was a member of the First Baptist Church of Stratford. He was a graduate of J.S. Wright High School in Abbeville and attended Housatonic Community College in Connecticut, where he studied accounting. He was a Vietnam War Veteran and received the Bronze Star.
Survivors are two daughters, Kara Melissa Turman and Jessica L. Turman; ten sisters, Annie Lou Cruther, Daisy McCier, Catherine Cade, Bessie Cade (Charlie), Drucilla Thomas (Harry, Jr.), Shirley Cannady, Charlene Anderson (John), Louise Brown (Johnnie), Ora Lee Pratt (P.J.) and Geneva Madison (Jack); two brothers, Lewis Turman (Mary Lee) and Melvin Turman (Deloris); nieces, nephews and a special friend, Penny Biccum. Services are Sunday at 2 p.m. at Little Mill Baptist Church, with the pastor, Rev. Paul Saunders, officiating. Interment is in the church cemetery. Walker Funeral Home, directors.

Clyde Wiggleton

Clyde Wiggleton, 66, husband of Lois Wiggleton, of 110 Anderson St., Greenwood, SC, died Thursday, Feb. 15, 2007 at Spartanburg Regional Healthcare.
Born in Plum Branch, SC, he was the son of the late Herbert and Julia Mae Wells Wiggleton.
He was employed by Lloyd Roofing Co. for more than 30 years. He was a loyal and dedicated official of Pine Grove A.M.E. Church in Plum Branch, SC, and will be dearly missed.
A son Richard Freeman preceded him in death.
He is survived by his wife of the home; three sons, Donnie (Rose) Freeman of Hodges, SC, Willie H. (Barbara) Freeman of Greenwood, SC, and Bernard Freeman of Rock Hill, SC; one sister, Rosa Cade of Greenwood, SC; one brother, Charles Wiggleton of Augusta, GA; one daughter-in-law, Rosa Marie Anderson of Greenwood, SC; former daughter-in-law, Dorothy Freeman; and numerous family and friends.
Funeral services will be held on Monday at 11 a.m. at Pine Grove AME Church in Plum Branch, SC, with Rev. W.O. Vance, pastor and officiating. Interment will be at Greenwood Memorial Gardens.
Pallbearers will be nephews, and flower bearers will be nieces.
The body will be placed in the church at 10 a.m.
The family is at the home and will receive friends at Parks Funeral Home Sunday, 6-8 p.m.
Parks Funeral is in charge of the service.

Opinion

A life and death defined by an excess of excesses

February 17, 2007

Every life is one to respect. That’s guaranteed because we’re all God’s children. Sometimes, though, it’s impossible to understand, let alone respect the lifestyles of some of the rich and famous. Anna Nicole Smith, no doubt, was one of them.
Every newspaper reader and television viewer in South Carolina should be aware of the death of this tragic figure by now. If not, they must be somewhere hiding in a cave. Her death and the succeeding melodrama have been overblown in newspaper headlines and by TV news shows ..... over and over and over.
There is no question about the life Anna Nicole Smith led. It was flamboyant, to say the least.

ALSO, IT OBVIOUSLY was filled with sexual promiscuity, public nudity, drugs and relationships that even shocked some people who thought they were immune to such behavior. It would be surprising if there were not other facets of her life that would make the most jaded among us blush.
Hers was not a life to hold up as a role model for children. She was, though, a product of her times and circumstances. Nevertheless, it’s always sad to see anyone die under questionable conditions after what obviously was an often troubled life.
Whether we pitied her or scorned her, she was a public figure whose image, in all respects, guaranteed public attention. Still, there are questions.

DID HER DEATH AND circus-like aftermath warrant the excessive and crass news coverage it has received? Or, have expectations reached the point where too much of the public craves vicarious voyeurism to stimulate a demented intellectual appetite?
Sometimes enough is too much. Meanwhile, after all the legal wrangling and obvious falsifications by at least two men who claim they are the father, a child’s life faces what?
The tragedy and comedy of Anna Nicole Smith’s life and death are, perhaps, a reflection upon our changing values as much, or more, than they are on the personal tragedies involved.
Who is at fault? Maybe it’s in the mirror.