The Region - News from Feb. 14, 1985

Cathy Evelyn Smith pleaded not guilty to a charge of second-degree murder stemming from the drug overdose death of former “Saturday Night Live” star John Belushi. Through her attorney, Howard L. Weitzman, Smith also entered innocent pleas in Los Angeles Municipal Court to 13 counts of furnishing Belushi with cocaine and heroin in the days immediately before his death on March 5, 1982, in a $200-a-day bungalow at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood. Smith, 38, a former backup vocalist, rejected on Monday a plea bargain under which the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office would have allowed her to plead guilty to a reduced charge of involuntary manslaughter and three of the 13 drug counts. Judge Ramona Godoy Perez scheduled a preliminary hearing for Smith on March 12 in Los Angeles Municipal Court.