Frazzled Phil Spector awaits his fate as murder trial comes to a close

Phil Spector Murder case goes to Jury

This morning at about 10:30 Pacific time, the case against Phil Spector for the murder of actor Lana Clarkson was handed to the jury for deliberation. The 1st trial ended in a hung jury in 2007 when some idiot (whom I suspect was hoping for a book deal) couldn't quite see the difference between murder and suicide.

All we can do now is wait. Hopefully not too long.

Please go to Sprockets website Trials & Tribulations for details of the entire 2nd trial.
Sprocket: you rock!


Frazzled Phil Spector awaits his fate as murder trial comes to a close

By Liz HazeltonLast updated at 2:02 PM on 26th March 2009


Pasty-faced and with tousled hair hanging lank over his shoulders, a haggard Phil Spector awaits to hear his fate.

The iconic music producer is accused of shooting dead actress Lana Clarkson at his lavish mansion in the Hollywood hills hours after meeting her at a nightclub.

He has always maintained his innocence but the case, which has rumbled on through six years and two trials, has clearly taken its toll. Today the reclusive producer is a shadow of his former self.

The 67-year-old's face appears to be collapsing in on itself - as does his hair, usually coiffed into flamboyant styles. Not even dabs of blusher on his cheeks could hold back the ravages of time.

'Spector looks catatonic,' Royal Oakes, a legal analyst, claimed on U.S. television. 'You couldn't imagine anyone who seems more disengaged or disinterested. He seems heavily medicated. 'But how his overall appearance would affect the verdict is anyone's guess.'

Earlier this week the court heard closing statements in a six-month trial. Truc Do, prosecutor, told the jury Spector was a 'demonic maniac' who had flown into a jealous rage after Miss Clarkson, 40, attempted to leave his house on the night of February 3, 2003.

'This case is about a man who has had a history of playing Russian roulette with the lives of women,' she said, displaying images of five others who claimed Spector had confronted them with guns. 'Five women got the empty chamber. Lana got the sixth bullet."

The prosecution say Spector shot Lana Clarkson: His defence team claim she killed herself.
'Behind the VIP was a very dangerous man, a man who believed that all women deserve a bullet in their head.' Spector's defence, however, claims that any evidence is purely circumstantial, - and the Clarkson herself pulled the trigger.

On a large courtroom screen, attorney Doron Weinberg listed 14 points of forensic evidence, including blood spatter, gunshot residue and DNA, that he said were proof of a self-inflicted wound.

He urged jurors to ignore the prosecution's efforts to paint Spector as a bad man with a violent history, saying prosecutors told a story while the defense told the facts. 'Every single fact says this is a self-inflicted gunshot wound,' Mr Weinberg said. 'How do you ignore it? How do you say this could have been a homicide?'

The defence claims struggling actress Miss Clarkson killed herself because she was depressed over the state of her career. When she died, she was sitting in an ornate chair in the hallway of Spector's house.

The producer was arrested on the night of her death and released on $1m bail. His first trial ended in 2007 with a hung jury. If he is found guilty of second-degree murder, he faces up to 15 years in prison.