Stepson Denies Costing Ex-Playmate Millions

The stepson of Anna Nicole Smith denied Thursday that he had a hand in cutting the former Playboy playmate out of an inheritance of millions from his late oil tycoon father.

Pierce Marshall, 63, testified in U.S. District Court that his father decided how his estate would be divided despite his own role as co-trustee in the elder Marshall’s living trust.

Marshall is appealing a previous decision to award Smith more than $400 million of his father’s estate. Marshall’s testimony, expected to conclude Friday in a Santa Ana courtroom, was the latest step in a lengthy battle over J. Howard Marshall II’s millions.