Spector 'held Gun to Former Girlfriend's Head'

Prosecutors in the Phil Spector murder case have asked a judge to allow testimony from a former employee and one-time girlfriend who said the record producer pointed a gun at her head in two separate incidents decades ago.

In court documents filed in Los Angeles yesterday, the deputy district attorney, Alan Jackson, said the testimony demonstrated a "long history of gun-related violence directed at women" and should be admitted as evidence during Mr Spector's upcoming trial on charges he killed actor Lana Clarkson in February 2003.

Mr Spector has pleaded not guilty and has been free on $1m (£500,000) bail since his arrest. If convicted, he could face life in prison.

Devra Robitaille, who worked at Warner Spector Records from 1974 to 1977, told investigators that one night Mr Spector placed a shotgun or rifle against her forehead when she tried to leave the producer's home after a party.

"Spector, who was drunk, made some sort of joke and then said: 'Just so you know, I'll blow your [expletive] head off' or 'If you try to leave, I'll blow your [expletive] brains out,"' according to the court documents.

Ms Robitaille told Mr Spector to "knock that off and put that away", and he eventually let her leave.

A similar incident occurred a decade later when she claims Mr Spector again put a gun to her head in the foyer of his home after a night of drinking. At the time, Ms Robitaille had taken a job as Mr Spector's part-time assistant.

Prosecutors plan to present testimony from four other women who claim the music producer threatened them with a gun.

In a separate motion, prosecutors also asked the court to admit into evidence a conversation Mr Spector reportedly had with a retired New York police officer at a holiday party at the home of the comic Joan Rivers in 1995 or 1996.

Vince Tannazzo, who was working security at the party, said he was asked to escort Mr Spector out after a commotion. While they were leaving, Mr Tannazzo said Mr Spector made numerous profane, disparaging and threatening remarks about women, according to the court filing.

"They all deserve to die. They all deserve a bullet in their [expletive] head," Mr Tannazzo quoted Mr Spector as saying. "That's why I got permits for all over. Wherever I go, I always keep a gun, because these [expletive], they're all no [expletive] good."

Mr Tannazzo told authorities a similar episode occurred at the same party the following year.

Prosecutors allege Mr Spector - creator of the "Wall of Sound" that revolutionised the recording of rock music - shot Ms Clarkson to death in the foyer of his home. She was working as a hostess at the House of Blues on Sunset Boulevard, LA, when she went home with Mr Spector that night, authorities said.

Jury selection was scheduled to resume on April 16.