Phil Spector's Murder Trial to Begin

By Jeralyn, Section Crime in the News
Posted on Mon Mar 19, 2007 at 12:01:57 AM EST
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Four years after the shooting death of actress Lana Clarkson at his Los Angeles home, record producer Phil Spector finally goes on trial for murder Monday morning.

His legal team includes New York lawyer Bruce Cutler, who previously represented John Gotti.

Clarkson was working as a hostess at the House of Blues on the Sunset Strip when she met Spector at the club and agreed to accompany him to his estate for a drink at 3 a.m., according to grand jury testimony.

Spector made conflicting statements that night, first telling his driver and police that he accidentally shot the woman and saying later that she took a revolver from him and committed suicide, court documents say. Spector pleaded not guilty.

As for the likely defense, no one seems quite sure.

"We don't know exactly what the defense is going to be, but there are lots of issues," says Laurie Levenson, a professor at Loyola Law School here. "Who pulled the trigger? What was Spector's mindset and mental state at the time? Did the gun malfunction? Was it human error?"

Bruce Cutler, argued unsuccessfully that Spector's declarations that he fired the gun should be withheld from the jury because Spector was suffering withdrawal symptoms from seven prescription drugs. Prosecution and defense scientists will give dueling testimony about how Clarkson died, court documents indicate.

Spector is now 66, and could get up to life in prison if convicted.

Police seized 11 guns from Spector's home. Fidler is allowing prosecutors to introduce testimony from four women who told the grand jury about separate incidents in which Spector pointed a gun and threatened them after they rejected his sexual advances. The women's stories are "probably the most devastating evidence against him," Levenson says.

But, he didn't shoot and kill the other fours, so why would he have killed Clarkson? I think that shows it may have been an accident.

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Phil Spector's Murder Trial to Begin | 6 comments (6 topical)

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An accident? (none / 0) (#1)
by CMike on Mon Mar 19, 2007 at 02:03:05 AM EST

Isn't threatening someone with a gun felony assault? And if you kill someone while you are engaged in a felony, regardless of your intent, isn't that murder?

Re: Specter (none / 0) (#2)
by terryhallinan1 on Mon Mar 19, 2007 at 04:17:14 AM EST

he didn't shoot and kill the other fours, so why would he have killed Clarkson? I think that shows it may have been an accident.

Isn't this pretty much the same as Alan Dershowitz's logic that showed OJ wasn't the Real Killer because he beat his wife?

The bizarre case of the Perfect Victim was duplicated in essence recently in Austria. In both cases apparently, victims died before the captors found a pliable subject.

Some serial killers do not kill all their victims.

I have no idea what evidence the defense might have but that might not be their strongest argument.

Best, Terry

what surprised me most (none / 0) (#3)
by cpinva on Mon Mar 19, 2007 at 08:43:28 AM EST

was the number of guns taken from the house. it was a small arsenal of weapons, far more than you'd expect from someone like specter. at least, i wouldn't have.

something tells me we'll never know what actually happened that night.

Has it been... (none / 0) (#4)
by desertswine on Mon Mar 19, 2007 at 09:53:47 AM EST

four years? What took so long?

This may be inappropriate, but (none / 0) (#5)
by roboleftalk on Mon Mar 19, 2007 at 11:58:40 AM EST

she went to his home from a bar at 3 a.m. and rejected his sexual advances--that is--that he had to resort to his modus of threatening with a gun? That doesn't seem likely to me.

Just Asking. (none / 0) (#6)
by ding7777 on Mon Mar 19, 2007 at 02:32:48 PM EST

did these others women say yes after being threatened?

Fidler is allowing prosecutors to introduce testimony from four women who told the grand jury about separate incidents in which Spector pointed a gun and threatened them after they rejected his sexual advances.