Spector in the Celebrity Dock As Murder Trial Starts

More than four years after an actor and part-time waitress was found dead of gunshot wounds in the lobby of Phil Spector's palatial home, the legendary 1960s record producer was yesterday described as "sinister and deadly" on the first day of his trial in Los Angeles.

The latest in the city's procession of celebrity defendants took his place at five minutes past 10 under fluorescent lights on the 9th floor of a nondescript courthouse in downtown Los Angeles. The click of his heels heralded his arrival in the courtroom. Taking a lesson from Michael Jackson, Mr Spector, 62, wore an off-white frock coat over a matching waistcoat and open-necked purple shirt.

Mr Spector, standing to face the jury as they took their seats, appeared nervous and grey-faced. Seated behind him was his 26-year-old wife, Rachelle, and family members of Lana Clarkson, the woman found dead in his house.

In his opening statement, deputy district attorney Alan Jackson addressed the jury of nine men and three women, describing Mr 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 - inside her mouth - and shot her to death."

Mr Spector pleads not guilty. His lawyers were due to make their opening statement later yesterday.

The trial stems from events a little over four years ago. In the early hours of Monday February 3 2003, Mr Spector's stand-in chauffeur, Adriano DeSouza, was in the producer's black Mercedes outside the grandly named Pyrenees Castle, when he says he heard what sounded like a shot. As he got out to investigate, Mr Spector emerged from inside in a white jacket carrying a gun. "I think I killed somebody," he said.

What happened up to that point is known only to one person, Mr Spector, and it is quite possible that he doesn't really remember. When police, called by the driver, entered the mansion, they found a lifeless Ms 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. In the gun were five live cartridges, under the hammer was a spent cartridge.

Mr 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 used a Taser on him after he allegedly failed to remove his hands from his pockets. "What's wrong with you guys?" officer Beatrice Rodriguez quoted Mr Spector as saying in her report. "I didn't mean to shoot her, it was an accident."

Mr Spector was arrested. But 12 hours later, he was released on bail in the company of his lawyer, Robert Shapiro, a former member of the OJ Simpson defence team. He was charged that November.

Mr Spector and Ms Clarkson had met a few hours earlier at the House of Blues nightclub, where she was a hostess. The club was Mr Spector's fourth stop and Ms Clarkson his third partner of the night. After refusing Mr Spector admission to the VIP area, Ms Clarkson was told by the management to treat him "like gold". When he suggested a nightcap, she agreed.

The trial is expected to last two months. Judge Larry Fidler, an advocate of judicial openness, has allowed cameras into the courtroom, which could increase the level of interest. But Mr Spector is not OJ or Jackson. His fame largely rests with those in the music business and those from another era. To today's young music fans, Phil Spector and the Wall of Sound carry little weight.

The jury includes a fair cross-section of Los Angeles life: one is a producer who has worked for NBC on the Jackson and OJ trials; another is a senior film executive, a third is a clerk at the court where the trial is being held. Mr Spector's defence counsel, Bruce Cutler, brings a reputation as a brash New Yorker, famous for his work on behalf of alleged mob capo John Gotti.

Backstory


Phil 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 1m copies and topped US 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 LA.

Lana Clarkson was born in California in 1962 and appeared in 15 films, including Scarface, and TV shows such as The A-Team and Knightrider. When she met Spector at the House of Blues on Sunset Strip, she had been working as a hostess.