Pizzas galore!

During the trial the prosecution called several of Spector’s former girlfriends to the witness stand. They all said that they had previously been threatened at gunpoint by the producer, usually when they wanted to leave his home. However, the scientific evidence at the scene of the shooting was inconclusive, with the prosecution claiming that Spector had cleaned himself and the weapon.

In a move now typical in celebrity murder trials the defence tried their best to make Ms Clarkson out to be an unsympathetic character. They portrayed her as a drunk, a depressive, and a failed actress. They produced diary entries that suggested she might have considered suicide in the months before her death, and they showed the jurors a long and at times excruciatingly unfunny showreel called Lana Unleashed, on which the actress had alleged spent $40,000.

Ms Clarkson was found to have fabricated letters of praise for Lana Unleashed from various TV executives.

“You’ve done it, kid!” read one of the quotes attributed to Marc Hirschfeld, a senior casting executive at NBC.

“I would never say that,” Mr Hirshfeld later told the jury. The prosecution countered that Ms Clarkson was a naturally dramatic character, who had found new work as an actress four days before her death.

The inability of jurors to reach a verdict in the case is likely to further weaken confidence in LA’s “celebrity justice” system. It is frequently claimed that multi-million-dollar defence teams – in Spector’s case, fronted by a lawyer who once represented the notorious mobster, John Gotti – are able to convince jurors that “beyond reasonable doubt” means “beyond scientific doubt”.

The popular TV show CSI: Miami, which features a team of forensic detectives who solve crimes with the latest DNA technology, is thought to have further convinced jurors that a crime must be scientifically proven to merit a guilty verdict.

The judge in the trial might also have confused matters. After a deadlock last week between jurors, he was forced to issue new instructions, which were criticised as confusing by the defence.

Wall of silence

February 3, 2003: Actress Lana Clarkson is discovered dead in Phil Spector’s mansion. Spector tells friends that the shooting was “an accidental suicide”, and later tells Esquire Magazine: “She kissed the gun. I have no idea why”. Police rule out suicide, and Spector is investigated for murder

September 27, 2004: After Spector is indicted for murder, he rails against “the Hitler-like DA and his stormtrooper henchmen”

April 23, 2005: Judge allows the inclusion of evidence by prosecutors that Spector had previously threatened women with guns, a claim he denies

March 19, 2007: The trial begins, with jury selection in Los Angeles

August 22: Spector’s former lover, Devra Robitaille, said that at a party he held a gun to her head saying “If you leave, I'll blow your f***ing head off”

September 8: Final arguments

September 18: Jurors tell the judge that they are unable to reach a verdict, split by five to seven

Source: CBS, Times archive

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