Record producer Phil Spector denies that he killed an actress found dead at his mansion in February, telling Esquire magazine the woman shot herself after grabbing a bottle of tequila.
”She kissed the gun. I have no idea why,” Spector, speaking to the media for the first time since the shooting, told the magazine for its July issue. ”I never knew her, never even saw her before that night. I have no idea who she was or what her agenda was.”
Esquire writer-at-large Scott Raab said on Wednesday he believed Spector’s ”kissed the gun” remark was not literal and meant that Lana Clarkson shot herself. Clarkson was shot in the face.
Spector (62) was arrested on February 3 for investigation of murder in connection with the death of Clarkson. He was released after posting $1-million bail. He has not been charged and authorities say they are investigating.
A sheriff’s statement issued in March said investigators had discounted suicide as a possible cause of death.
Spector told Esquire he did not know where Clarkson got the gun.
He said Clarkson was ”loud and drunk” before they left the House of Blues club in Hollywood, where she worked as a hostess.
”She asked me for a ride home. Then she wanted to see the castle,” Spector said, referring to his suburban mansion. ”She grabbed a bottle of tequila from the bar to take with her. I was not drunk. I wasn’t drunk at all. There is no case. She killed herself.”
Spector insisted he is innocent. He called the police himself.
”It’s ‘Anatomy of a Frame-Up,”’ Spector said. ”I didn’t do anything wrong. … If they had a case, I’d be sitting in jail right now.”
Jane Robison, a spokesperson for the district attorney’s office, said she could not comment on the article or the case because the investigation is under way.
Spector, a legendary name in pop music, has worked with such artists as the Beatles, Ike and Tina Turner, Ramones, Shirelles and Ronettes and is credited with creating the distinctive, heavily layered ”wall of sound” that gave an orchestra-like feeling to such pop classics as Da Doo Ron Ron and Then He Kissed Me. – Sapa-AP