American Notes Justice

John Belushi sank into a coma and died in March 1982, his body devastated by lethal dosages of heroin and cocaine, his arms disfigured by the red splotches of needle injections. A preliminary hearing started last week in Los Angeles Municipal Court to determine if Cathy Evelyn Smith, 38, a former singer and Belushi's companion during his final days, should be tried for second-degree murder in the 33-year-old comedian's death. Prosecution witnesses, among them former Saturday Night Live Writer Nelson Lyon, said they saw Smith give Belushi repeated drug injections.

Smith's lawyers argued that their client was acting on Belushi's direction. They also contend that the drug dosage that actually killed Belushi could have been administered only by Belushi himself or by someone other than Smith. She may wind up being tried on 13 counts of illegally supplying drugs, but the murder charge may not stick. Many friends watched Belushi plunge into his drug nightmare, and it is unfair, says Defense Lawyer Howard Weitzman, to single out Cathy Smith. Said he: "The guilty person, unfortunately, is dead."