Witness retracts claim that she saw defendant inject Anna Nicole Smith

Woman retracts previous claim at Anna Nicole trial

LOS ANGELES — A key witness at the Anna Nicole Smith drug conspiracy trial has retracted a previous statement that she saw Smith’s boyfriend Howard K. Stern inject the former Playboy model.

Quethlie Alexie, who worked as a nanny for Smith in the Bahamas, acknowledged Friday under tough cross-examination in Los Angeles that she signed an affidavit saying she saw Stern, a defendant in the case, inject Smith with a white substance.

However, Alexie retracted that claim and a number of other statements.

Stern, Dr. Khristine Eroshevich and Dr. Sandeep Kapoor have pleaded not guilty to multiple charges, including providing Smith with excessive opiates and sedatives. They are not charged with her drug overdose death in 2007.