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Stern himself has been accused of enabling Smith's drug habit. Stern's camp vigorously disputes all such accusations. "He was in love with her, why would he kill her?" says Bonnie Stern. "My brother never fed her a drug in her life. Never! Howard couldn't control the situation. It was up to Anna. When someone wants to do something, you can't stop them."
Stern has his own theory on what killed Smith. His sister says he blames all of the compounding stresses in her life – Daniel's death and the upcoming inquest, Birkhead's paternity suit, the dispute over ownership of her home in the Bahamas. "Howard thinks she just finally gave up the will to live. Her body just couldn't take it anymore," says Bonnie. "The heartbreak of Daniel's death was devastating. She was having nightmares about Daniel." In her final interview, filmed this month with Entertainment Tonight, a distraught Smith said she feared that Daniel was trapped in purgatory.
