Phil Spector Found Guilty Of Second-Degree Murder Of Lana Clarkson (Photos)

Posted on April 13, 2009

Rock music producer Phil Spector was found guilty of second-degree murder in the shooting death of film actress, Lana Clarkson, at his mansion six years ago. Read more on Phil Spector’s conviction below.

The jury returned the verdict after about 30 hours of deliberations. They reportedly had the option of choosing involuntary manslaughter, but did not choose that route.

The jury also found Spector guilty of using a firearm in committing a crime.

Weirdo Phil Spector showed no emotion or reaction to the verdict. His attorney argued that he should remain free on bail pending the May 29 sentencing, but Judge Larry Paul Fidler denied the request.

Second-degree murder carries a penalty of 15 years to life in prison, and the gun charge carries up to three years in prison.

Spector’s young wife, Rachelle, cried as the decision was announced. This was the second trial for Spector. The first jury deadlocked 10-2, favoring conviction in 2007.

Lana Clarkson, 40, the star of the 1985 cult film “Barbarian Queen,” died of a gunshot fired in her mouth as she sat in the foyer of Spector’s mansion in 2003. Clarkson had met Spector only hours earlier at her job as a nightclub hostess.

Prosecutors stated Spector had a history of threatening women with guns when they tried to leave his presence. But the defense claimed she killed herself.

The murder case was a flash from Hollywood’s distant past, a reminder of the 1960s when Spector reigned as the hit maker supreme with such songs as the Righteous Brothers’ “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’” and the Ronettes’ classic, “Be My Baby.”

Spector, 69, who had long lived in seclusion at his suburban Alhambra “castle,” was out on the town in Hollywood when he met Clarkson on Feb. 3, 2003, at the House of Blues. Clarkson was a tall, attractive, blond actress, who had just turned 40 and unable to find acting work. She was currently working as a hostess.When the club closed in the wee hours, she accepted a chauffeured ride to Spector’s home for a drink. But then three hours later she was dead.

Spector’s chauffeur, the key witness, said he heard the gunshot, then saw Spector come out holding a gun and heard him say: “I think I killed somebody.”

Defense attorney Doron Weinberg disputed whether the chauffeur remembered the words accurately. In closing arguments, Weinberg listed 14 points of forensic evidence including blood spatter, gunshot residue and DNA, which he said were proof of a self-inflicted wound.

“It’s very difficult to put a gun in somebody’s mouth,” he said.

“Every single fact says this is a self-inflicted gunshot wound,” Weinberg argued. “How do you ignore it? How do you say this could have been a homicide?”

But prosecutors said Spector was dangerous, a man that became a “demonic maniac” when he drank and had a history of threatening women with guns. They also contended blood spatter evidence proved that Clarkson could not have shot herself.

Just like the first trial, testimony was given from five women who told of being threatened Phil Spector when he was drunk, even held hostage in his home, with a gun pointed at them and threats of death if they tried to leave.

Clarkson’s mother and sister sat through both trials and Spector’s young wife, Rachelle, sat across the courtroom from them.

What do you guys think of Phil Spector’s conviction? He certainly looks like a freak, but do you think he killed Lana Clarkson?

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