On September 26, 2007, Music producer Phil Spector's first trial
for the murder of actress Lana Clarkson ends in a mistrial. On February 3,
2003, police responded to a 911 call and found the 40-year-old Clarkson dead of
a gunshot wound in the foyer of Spector's mansion in Alahambra, California.
Spector, who pioneered the "Wall of Sound" production technique in
the 1960s and worked with numerous top musicians, including the Beatles and Ike
and Tina Turner, met Clarkson earlier that night at The House of Blues in West
Hollywood, where she was a hostess. Clarkson, who had appeared in various B
movies, agreed to go back to his home that night for a drink. The legendary
record producer had a reputation for carrying guns and being eccentric and
domineering.
Spector was arrested for the murder and then freed on $1
million bail. Jury selection began in March 2007, with opening statements the
following month. During the trial prosecutors argued that Spector shot Clarkson
because she resisted his advances. The prosecution put a series of women on the
stand who testified that Spector had threatened them with guns in the past.
Spector's chauffeur, who had driven the pair back to the mansion that night, testified
that Spector came outside with a gun in his hand and told him, "I think I
just killed somebody."
The defense claimed Clarkson, depressed about her career and
struggling with money problems, had shot herself, accidentally. There was no
forensic evidence to prove Spector had held the gun, although there was a spray
of blood on his clothing. The defense argued the blood pattern showed Spector
was too far away to have shot Clarkson. On September 18, 2007, after
deliberating for a week, the jury came back deadlocked, 7-5. However, Judge
Larry Paul Fidler refused to grant an immediate mistrial and instead gave the
jurors new instructions and ordered them to resume deliberations. The jury
returned on September 26 to report they were still deadlocked, 10-2, with the
majority voting to convict Spector. Shortly after Judge Fidler declared a
mistrial, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office announced plans to
seek a retrial. Spector was convicted of murder in 2009 and sentenced to 19
years to life in prison.
Michael
Thomas Barry is a columnist for
CrimeMagazine.com and is the author of Murder & Mayhem 52 Crimes that Shocked
Early California 1849-1949.
The book can be purchased from Amazon through the following link:
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