He was killed because they were going to the police about forged documents.

Speaking of reality stars, two decades ago some money changed hands to make sure a death was ruled natural causes.

It was the second time money had to change hands in that case.

The person was killed because they were going to the police about forged documents.

E. Pierce Marshall
Son of J. Howard Marshall and step-son of Anna Nicole Smith

J. Howard Marshall

He was an American businessman, academic, attorney, and government official. He was involved with and invested in the oil industry via academic, government and commercial endeavors. He owned 16% of Koch Industries. Marshall was married to model and celebrity Anna Nicole Smith during the last 14 months of his life. His estate became the subject of protracted litigation, which was reviewed by the Supreme Court in Marshall v. Marshall and Stern v. Marshall.

E. Pierce Marshall

He was the beneficial owner of 16% of Koch Industries, which he received as an inheritance from his father, J. Howard Marshall II. He spent the last 15 years of his life as a defendant in lawsuits by his stepmother, Anna Nicole Smith, and his brother, J. Howard Marshall III, who both sought part of his father’s fortune after being left out of the will and testament.

Anna Nicole Smith – Busty 1990s pinup model, actress and widow of J. Howard Marshall II.

J. Howard Marshall II – A billionaire oil investor who died in 1995 at the age of 90 while legally married to Anna.

Fred Koch – Founder of Koch Industries who died in 1967 – father of Charles, David, Bill and Fred Jr.

Charles, David, Bill and Fred Jr – The four sons of Fred Koch. Charles is currently the 18th richest person in the world with a net worth of $56 billion. David’s widow Julia Flesher Koch is the 19th-richest person on the planet and the fourth richest woman in the world. Fred Jr. died in February 2020. He was not a billionaire at the time of his death. Bill Koch is alive, and he is “only” worth $2 billion, for reasons we’ll get to later.

J. Howard Marshall III – One of J. Howard’s two sons (his only children).

E. Pierce Marshall – J. Howard II’s other son.

Elaine Marshall – E. Pierce’s wife.

Howard K. Stern – Anna’s lawyer.

Daniel Wayne Smith – Anna’s son who was born in 1986.

Dannielynn Birkhead – Anna’s daughter who was born in 2006.

Larry Birkhead – Dannielynn’s father.

Judge In Decades Old Anna Nicole Smith Case Announces He’s Had Enough

There was a time when you couldn’t click on the news without hearing about Anna Nicole Smith. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the country was captivated as the former Playboy model made it all the way to the Supreme Court to fight her late husband’s family for a share of his billion dollar estate. After her untimely death, the fascination with the high profile case died down – but the matter didn’t go away. This month, a Texas judge, Judge Mike Wood, who has had the case on his docket for nearly two decades finally had enough: he wants out.

Anna Nicole didn’t start out in the spotlight. Born Vicky Lynn Hogan, she was a high school dropout who had dreams of becoming a household name. Her big break didn’t come when was named Playmate of the month (1992) or when she landed a Guess jeans contract (1993) but when she was stripping at a Houston night club. There, Anna Nicole met billionaire J. Howard Marshall. In 1994, after pursuing Anna Nicole, the 89-year-old oil tycoon married the 26-year-old model. But Anna Nicole didn’t get her happily ever after: he died a year later without ever including Anna Nicole in his will.

In 1995, Anna Nicole teamed up with Marshalls’s younger son, Howard III, who had been disinherited, to challenge the will. Marshall’s oldest son, Pierce, believed that Anna Nicole only wanted his father’s money, and vowed to prevent Anna Nicole from getting anything from the estate. Initially, a Texas probate court found in favor of Pierce, ruling that neither Anna Nicole nor Howard III should receive anything from the estate.

As the Texas case proceeded, Anna Nicole filed for bankruptcy in California, alleging that Pierce had interfered with her potential inheritance. That court ruled in Anna Nicole’s favor, awarding her a whopping $474 million. The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit subsequently threw out the entire award, claiming that a federal bankruptcy court had no right to hear the matter since it had been previously decided in a Texas state court.

In 2006, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled for Anna Nicole (the case was Marshall v. Marshall). While the justices didn’t hand her a piece of the estate, they did allow her to continue to argue in court that she was entitled to the money. And continue to argue she did.

About a month after the Supreme Court decision, Pierce died. Six months later, Anna Nicole also died (her death was ruled a drug overdose). But the court cases didn’t stop there. Pierce’s widow, Elaine Marshall, continued the legal fight over the Marshall fortune on his behalf while Howard Stern (no, not that Howard Stern), Anna Nicole’s executor, continued the fight on behalf of Anna Nicole’s estate – and it was going back to the Supreme Court.

In 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the estate (downloads as a pdf), finding that “although Bankruptcy Court had the statutory authority to enter judgment on Vickie’s counterclaim, it lacked the constitutional authority to do so.” Writing for the majority, Chief Justice Roberts likened the story which “drags its weary length before the Court” to Dickens’ Bleak House and affirmed the ruling of the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit which had thrown out Anna Nicole’s original win.

That still didn’t put an end to the matter. In 2011, Anna Nicole’s estate filed a motion in U.S. District Court to bring sanctions against Pierce’s estate. U.S. District Court Judge David O. Carter ultimately sided with Pierce’s estate, denying Anna Nicole’s claims for more than $44 million in compensatory damages and an alternative $25 million for “discovery abuses” plus fees and costs. Noting that “Stern’s counsel has litigated this case with commitment and vigor from its inception,” the judge refused to allow the fees, finding “[t]here is simply no evidence before the court that justifies awarding sanctions against Pierce’s Estate.”

More than two decades after the elder Marshall passed away, his heirs are still fighting over his billions – including recent trips to court to sort out years old federal estate and gift tax issues. For much of that time, the matter has remained on Judge Mike Wood’s docket: Judge Wood is a probate judge in Harris County, Texas.

This month, as lawyers quarreled over a temporary restraining order (TRO) involving trusts that were created as part of the estate, Judge Wood finally had it.

“I am,” he told those in the court, “going off the handle officially. I am tired of this case. I’ve told you that from the beginning. I beg you to recuse me. I beg you to recuse me. I don’t want to deal with you people anymore. This is ridiculous. This is ridiculous.”

Judge Wood went on to say, “I am not going to spend a lot of time cutting at nits and gnats for people that are fighting over 20 billion, $10 billion that they didn’t earn. They didn’t create this wealth. It was created by a third party, and they’re just fighting over it. They can’t agree on anything. They can pay lots of lawyers. They can pay lawyers until hell freezes over. But they don’t want to agree to anything. They just want to pay lawyers.”

Judge Wood disputed that the parties actually wanted the case to end, advising them, “you’re going to have to figure out something to do because I just can’t — I’m not going to deal with you anymore. I’ve had it. I have had it. This is outrageous. This didn’t happen overnight. This wasn’t done four years ago. Pierce has been dead nine years.” He then declared at the January 11 hearing that “it’s just not the way I’m going to spend my life.” A week later, on January 18, Judge Wood officially recused himself from the case.

When asked about the hearing, Russell Post, a partner at Beck Redden who represented Elaine Marshall on appeal, stated simply, “Elaine Marshall is grateful for the court of appeals’ decision vacating the void temporary restraining order and she looks forward to a resolution of this matter.” Post referred me to Trey Cox and Chris Akin of Lynn Pinker who represents Elaine Marshall at the trial level, who declined to comment further.

Max Tribble, a partner at Susman Godfrey who represents Preston Marshall, says that they are “disappointed that the Court chose to recuse itself.” Noting that Judge Wood had a great deal of historical and institutional knowledge about the case – “more than anyone else” – Tribble called the decision “unfortunate.” However, he noted that he had confidence in the new judge, Judge Christine Butts, referring to her as a “smart judge” and expressing faith that she would be fair. – Source