By Anthony Bruno
(Continued)
12 Guns
After the police had arrived at Spector's home on February 3, 2003, the record producer told them that Clarkson's death had been an accident or a suicide. At his trial the defense team sought to present those statements to the jury, but Judge Fidler refused to allow their inclusion unless the defendant took the stand and described them himself. "Those statements are not coming in, my ruling stands, it's final," Fidler said. "If he wants to testify, subject to cross-examination, that's the only way the statements will be admitted." Putting the erratic Spector on the stand would be a considerable risk for the defense.
-Spector's-home.jpg) |
| Phil Spector's Home |
As the trial proceeded, the jury of nine men and three women heard expert testimony regarding the crime scene and the items that were found at Spector's mansion, including an empty tequila bottle on the coffee table in the living room, an empty brandy snifter and a half-empty snifter, and a pair of false eye lashes on the powder-room sink just off the foyer. Detective Mark Lillienfeld testified that he found a leather briefcase engraved with "PS" on a chair a few feet from Clarkson's body. Inside was a "three-pack" of Viagra. Chauffeur Adriano DeSouza had previously testified that Spector came out of the house to retrieve that briefcase from his car shortly after he and Clarkson had arrived.
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| Colt Revolver |
The police had retrieved 12 firearms in Spector's house. Judge Fidler prohibited the prosecution from introducing eight of those weapons, ruling them irrelevant to case. Prosecutors were allowed to present the murder weapon, a .38 Colt Cobra with a two-inch barrel, which was found on the foyer floor under the victim's left leg. They were also allowed to show the jury two handguns found in the master-bedroom closet because they were loaded with Smith & Wesson +p ammunition, a unique type of bullet also found in the gun that killed Clarkson. An unloaded 12-gauge pump-action shotgun also found in the house was admitted into evidence. The shotgun is similar to a weapon previously described by witness Kathy Sullivan. Detective Lillienfeld testified that a holster that fit the murder weapon was found inside a partially opened bureau drawer in the foyer.
According to Lillienfeld, the murder weapon had been wiped of blood, and a bloody cloth diaper had been found in an upstairs bathroom.
Lillienfeld told the jury that he found 14 working telephones in Spector's home, including a landline in the foyer and two cell phones in Spector's briefcase, which was a few feet from Clarkson's body. Spector did not call 911 on the night of Clarkson's death.
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