More than four years after an actor and part-time waitress was found dead of a single gunshot wound in the hallway of Phil Spector’s palatial home, the legendary 1960s record producer was on Wednesday described as ”sinister and deadly” on the first day of his trial in Los Angeles.
Deputy district attorney Alan Jackson told the jury that an alleged confession by Spector — ”I think I killed somebody” — was ”a confession that still echoes in this courtroom today. We are confident that you’ll be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that Phil Spector is guilty of the murder of Lana Clarkson.”
Jackson, addressing the jury of nine men and three women, describing Spector as someone ”who, when he’s confronted with the right circumstances, when he’s confronted with the right situations, turns sinister and deadly … The evidence is going to paint a picture of a man who, on February 3 2003, put a loaded pistol in Lana Clarkson’s mouth and shot her.”
The prosecutor showed a photograph of Clarkson slumped in a chair, her face covered with blood.
For the defence, Bruce Cutler insisted that Clarkson’s death was a ”tragic accident”. The gun, he told the jury, ”was in her mouth, by her own hand. The decedent fired the gun herself … a self-inflicted gunshot wound can be an accidental suicide.”
Earlier, the click of Spector’s heels heralded his arrival to take his place under fluorescent lights on the ninth floor of a nondescript courthouse in central Los Angeles. Taking a lesson from Michael Jackson, Spector (67) wore an off-white frock coat over a matching waistcoat and open-neck purple shirt.
Standing to face the jury as they took their seats, he appeared grey-faced and nervous, his hands shaking. Seated behind him was his 26-year-old wife, Rachelle, and relatives of Clarkson.
Jackson took the jury through the prosecution’s version of events on the night of Clarkson’s death. Describing the moment when Spector entered the House of Blues, where she worked as a hostess, Jackson said: ”That was the time when Lana Clarkson would meet her killer for the first time.”
Jackson promised to introduce testimony showing that Spector had a history of threatening women with guns, but Cutler dismissed this suggestion, arguing it involved ”tall tales”, and that the present charges Spector faced were the product of the record producer’s success. ”Fame and success comes back to haunt you,” he told the jury.
The outcome could hinge on the testimony of Spector’s driver on the night, Adriano de Souza.
De Souza says that he heard the shot and saw Spector emerge from the house carrying a gun to declare: ”I think I killed somebody.” The driver then called the police. When they entered the mansion they found a lifeless Clarkson sprawled on a chair, her head tilted back, the bottom of her mouth blown off and a blue-steel, 36-calibre Colt revolver under her left leg.
Spector appeared dazed, according to police reports, alternately railing against the officers and apologising for the misunderstanding. His state could have been the result of shock, alcohol, the medication he was on, or the 50 000 volts of electricity he received when police fired a Taser gun at him after he allegedly failed to remove his hands from his pockets.
Cutler suggested that the defence will attempt to discredit De Souza, questioning his immigration status, his command of English and his attitude toward Spector. But the defence was dealt a serious blow during proceedings when the judge ruled that a key part of its case — statements made by Spector to police officers after his arrest — was inadmissible, because it had not been introduced by the prosecution.
Cutler told the judge: ”I feel like my pants are down and I’m naked.” He hinted that the ruling increased the likelihood that he would call Spector to testify.
As the prosecutor outlined the events of the night, Spector sat slumped in his seat, his head resting on one hand. He pleads not guilty.
Back story
Spector was born Harvey Phillip Spector in 1939. With his band the Teddy Bears, he recorded To Know Him Is to Love Him, which sold one million copies and topped United States charts in 1958. As a producer he worked with artists including The Beatles. Tales of his eccentric behaviour include gun-wielding outbursts and stories of his later years as a recluse in Los Angeles.
Lana Clarkson was born in California in 1962 and appeared in 15 films, including Scarface, and TV shows such as The A-Team and Knight Rider. When she met Spector at the House of Blues on Sunset Strip, she had been working as a hostess. — Guardian Unlimited Â