Spector 'victimised' women, court told
An actress shot dead at Phil Spector’s mansion was the last of several women victimised by the legendary music producer in a decades-long series of alcohol-fuelled confrontations, a prosecutor told jurors today as the murder trial began.
Prosecutor Alan Jackson’s opening statement made it clear the case against Spector will rely heavily on the testimony of other women dating to the 1970s.
Jackson outlined what he called a pattern of behaviour in which Spector would become exceedingly drunk, take a woman to one of his homes, refuse to let her leave and then threaten her with a gun when she refused to stay.
“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,” Jackson told the nine-man, three-woman jury.
The prosecutor showed a photograph of Clarkson slumped in a chair, her face covered with blood.
Spector appeared tense during the televised proceeding. His attorneys were to present their opening remarks later.
Spector, 67, whose “Wall of Sound” transformed rock ’n’ roll in the 1960s, lives in a castle-like mansion. It was there that he took Clarkson, who wound up dead in the foyer with a gunshot through her mouth.
Clarkson, 40, best known for her role in the Roger Corman 1980s cult classic “Barbarian Queen,” had gone home with Spector from her job as a nightclub hostess. He met her only hours before she died.
A chauffeur who drove the pair to Spector’s mansion has told of hearing a gunshot and seeing Spector emerge from the house holding a gun and saying, “I think I killed somebody.” Spector later said he believed the shooting was an “accidental suicide” by Clarkson.
“Lana Clarkson was the last of a long line of women victimised by Phillip Spector over the years,” the prosecutor said.
Jackson said the jury will hear from four women, including a personal manager for Joan Rivers, a professional photographer of rock stars, a personal assistant who worked for Spector and a woman Spector dated.
The issue of whether those women would be allowed to testify was a contentious one during pre-trial proceedings. The judge agreed to it but said it was “a slippery slope.”
Before opening statements began, a lawyer representing some of the women asked that their identities be kept secret and that they not be televised or photographed.
Media lawyer Kelli Sager argued that the women’s identities were already revealed in many forums and there was no precedent for giving certain witnesses special treatment. Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler agreed.
“I’ve considered the nature of the testimony of the victims,” the judge said. “These are not victims of sexual crimes. You have failed to state sufficient reasons why these victims should not come to court and testify like everyone else.”
It took about eight months for authorities to charge Spector with murder. They are proceeding on a theory of “implied malice,” alleging he did not intend to kill Clarkson but caused her death by reckless behaviour and taking an extreme risk.
If convicted of second-degree murder, he could face 15 years to life in prison.
