Cathy Evelyn Smith

The trial of Cathy Evelyn Smith in the 1982 drug overdose death of comedian John Belushi was delayed for two weeks today, amid hints that little progress has been made in plea bargain negotiations. Smith's attorney, Howard Weitzman, declined to comment on reports that Smith might be willing to accept prison time as part of a plea agreement. Los Angeles prosecutors said they expect the case to be resolved without a trial.

Decades after writer-director Nelson Lyon released the X-rated sex comedy "The Telephone Book" in 1971, the film was hailed as a neglected masterpiece. By then Lyons was a former "Saturday Night Live" writer long known for a darker connection: He went on a drug-fueled binge with John Belushi during the comedian's final days in 1982. "He was blamed for Belushi's death, and it ruined his career," said Dennis Perrin, author of "Mr. Mike," a 1999 biography of former "Saturday Night Live" head writer Michael O'Donoghue, who had been Lyon's writing partner.

James Nelson, a longtime Los Angeles Municipal Court judge whose career included high-profile preliminary hearings involving Richard Ramirez, the serial killer known as the Night Stalker, and Cathy Evelyn Smith, who was charged in the death of comic John Belushi, has died. He was 83. Nelson died Feb. 26 in his sleep after a family gathering at his home in Pasadena, said his wife, Dorothy, a senior judge on the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. He had a stroke and underwent bypass surgery a couple years ago. In 1985, Nelson ruled that Smith must stand trial on a second-degree murder charge in the 1982 drug overdose death of Belushi, the former "Saturday Night Live" star.

James Nelson, a longtime Los Angeles Municipal Court judge whose career included high-profile preliminary hearings involving Richard Ramirez, the serial killer known as the Night Stalker, and Cathy Evelyn Smith, who was charged in the death of comic John Belushi, has died. He was 83. Nelson died Feb. 26 in his sleep after a family gathering at his home in Pasadena, said his wife, Dorothy, a senior judge on the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. He had a stroke and underwent bypass surgery a couple years ago. In 1985, Nelson ruled that Smith must stand trial on a second-degree murder charge in the 1982 drug overdose death of Belushi, the former "Saturday Night Live" star.

Cathy Evelyn Smith, a former rock backup singer who admitted injecting comic John Belushi with drugs before he died in 1982, was sentenced to three years in prison today by a judge who called her "the source of the poison." Superior Court Judge David Horowitz said, however, he believes the true responsibility for Belushi's death from a fatal dose of cocaine and heroin must be attributed to the comedian himself.

The woman convicted of injecting comedian John Belushi with a fatal dose of cocaine and heroin in 1982 was scheduled to voluntarily return to her native Canada Thursday evening, one day after she was paroled from state prison. Officials of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service said Cathy Evelyn Smith, 40, waived her right to a deportation hearing, at which she could have tried to convince an immigration judge to allow her to stay in the United States.

A preliminary hearing for Cathy Evelyn Smith, accused of murder in the 1982 drug overdose death of comedian John Belushi, has been postponed to Sept. 9 before a new judge. Los Angeles Municipal Court Judge Brian D. Crahan, announcing that he would be unavailable to hear the case immediately because he is about to begin serving a two-month stint on the Court of Appeal, declared a mishearing today in order to reassign the case to Judge James F. Nelson. Smith's attorney, Howard L.

Cathy Evelyn Smith, the woman convicted of injecting comedian John Belushi with a fatal dose of cocaine and heroin in Hollywood in 1982, was paroled after serving half of a three-year prison term. Smith, 40, a former drug addict and rock groupie, left the California Institution for Women at Frontera in the custody of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, which will hold her pending a hearing on possible deportation to her native Canada. Smith was originally charged with murder.

Rejecting defense arguments that Cathy Evelyn Smith should "not be held responsible for the death of a man who was on a suicide mission," a Los Angeles Superior Court judge Friday refused to dismiss second-degree murder charges against the Canadian woman in the 1982 drug overdose death of comedian John Belushi. Smith, 38, appeared to fight back tears as Judge David A. Horowitz set a May 28 trial date, after a 40-minute hearing on defense attorney Howard L. Weitzman's motion to dismiss the case.

Former rock backup singer Cathy Evelyn Smith pleaded no contest today to involuntary manslaughter and three counts of furnishing controlled substances to John Belushi, but her lawyer said Smith "in no way concedes that she was responsible" for the comedian's 1982 drug overdose death but doesn't want to "drag his name through the mud.". Smith's attorney, Howard L.

"John Belushi's ghost is coming," a student whispered, creating a noisy buzz among her classmates as they gathered for assembly Friday at Hollywood High School. A dark-haired woman, once one of the most notorious people in Los Angeles, began her spiel: "It was March 5, 1982, when I got into a world of trouble. John Belushi was found dead at the Chateau Marmont, and how I got there was by a long circuitous route. "I had been a walking dead person. I don't want that to happen . . .

The woman convicted of injecting comedian John Belushi with a fatal dose of cocaine and heroin in 1982 was scheduled to voluntarily return to her native Canada Thursday evening, one day after she was paroled from state prison. Officials of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service said Cathy Evelyn Smith, 40, waived her right to a deportation hearing, at which she could have tried to convince an immigration judge to allow her to stay in the United States.

Cathy Evelyn Smith, the woman convicted of injecting comedian John Belushi with a fatal dose of cocaine and heroin in Hollywood in 1982, was paroled after serving half of a three-year prison term. Smith, 40, a former drug addict and rock groupie, left the California Institution for Women at Frontera in the custody of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, which will hold her pending a hearing on possible deportation to her native Canada. Smith was originally charged with murder.

Cathy Evelyn Smith, a former rock backup singer who admitted injecting comic John Belushi with drugs before he died in 1982, was sentenced to three years in prison today by a judge who called her "the source of the poison." Superior Court Judge David Horowitz said, however, he believes the true responsibility for Belushi's death from a fatal dose of cocaine and heroin must be attributed to the comedian himself.

Former rock backup singer Cathy Evelyn Smith pleaded no contest today to involuntary manslaughter and three counts of furnishing controlled substances to John Belushi, but her lawyer said Smith "in no way concedes that she was responsible" for the comedian's 1982 drug overdose death but doesn't want to "drag his name through the mud.". Smith's attorney, Howard L.

The trial of Cathy Evelyn Smith in the 1982 drug overdose death of comedian John Belushi was delayed for two weeks today, amid hints that little progress has been made in plea bargain negotiations. Smith's attorney, Howard Weitzman, declined to comment on reports that Smith might be willing to accept prison time as part of a plea agreement. Los Angeles prosecutors said they expect the case to be resolved without a trial.

Cathy Evelyn Smith, a former backup vocalist, companion to rock musicians and heroin addict, must stand trial for second-degree murder in the 1982 drug overdose death of comedian John Belushi, a judge ruled today. "Surely Mr. Belushi issued the invitation to this dance," Los Angeles Municipal Judge James F. Nelson said of the comedian's last five days of drug-taking with Smith.

The attorney for Cathy Evelyn Smith, accused of murder in the drug overdose death of John Belushi, indicated Friday that he may argue that someone else was responsible for the comedian's death. "I think the possibility exists that some other person, besides Cathy Smith, was responsible for Belushi's death," the attorney, Howard Weitzman, told reporters gathered outside court shortly before Smith was freed on $50,000 bail. "I guess 'some other person' could include Belushi," Weitzman said.

Rejecting defense arguments that Cathy Evelyn Smith should "not be held responsible for the death of a man who was on a suicide mission," a Los Angeles Superior Court judge Friday refused to dismiss second-degree murder charges against the Canadian woman in the 1982 drug overdose death of comedian John Belushi. Smith, 38, appeared to fight back tears as Judge David A. Horowitz set a May 28 trial date, after a 40-minute hearing on defense attorney Howard L. Weitzman's motion to dismiss the case.