Spector walks free after murder trial as jury fails to agree verdict

Published on Thursday 27 September 2007 01:03

MUSIC producer Phil Spector walked free from court yesterday as the judge declared a mistrial after the jury failed to decide if he killed an actress.

Jurors had to reach a verdict on who pulled the trigger of a revolver that went off in Lana Clarkson's mouth. There was no fingerprint evidence.

Prosecutors in Los Angeles now have the option to seek a new trial and a hearing was set for early next month.

Spector, 67, faced between 15 years and life imprisonment if found guilty of murdering actress Clarkson at his home in February 2003.

He denies the charge, and at the high-profile trial his lawyers argued her death was suicide rather than murder.

The jury had been deliberating since 10 September in a trial that lasted more than four months.

The foreman said they were split 10 to two - but it was not clear which way they were leaning.

The jury had already announced once that it had failed to come to a unanimous decision, on 18 September, when the panel was split seven to five.

"At this time, I will find the jury is unable to declare a verdict and I will declare a mistrial in this matter," Fidler said.

Spector, who came to court dressed in a black suit and red tie, showed little emotion as the judge told the jury they could go home.

Prosecutors said outside court that they intended to retry Spector for the shooting.

"We will begin immediately to prepare for a new trial," Los Angeles County District Attorney's spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons said.

Ms Clarkson, 40, died when a gun went off in her mouth as she sat in the foyer of Spector's mansion in the early hours of the morning.

She had met Spector just a few hours earlier at her job as a nightclub hostess and went home with him for a drink after work.

Defence lawyers argued that Ms Clarkson had personal problems and died of a self-inflicted wound that was an accident or a suicide.

However, Spector's Brazilian chauffeur Adriano De Souza said that on the night of her death he heard a "pow" and that Spector came outside with a gun in his hand and said: "I think I killed somebody."

The jury also heard from five women from Spector's past who testified that he long ago threatened them with guns when they tried to leave his presence.

No prosecution forensic expert was able to place the gun in Spector's hands.

But blood spatters on his coat and in his pants pockets were analysed by prosecution experts to suggest that it showed he was the gunman.

Spector did not testify, and prosecutors stated no motive for him to kill her other than her apparent decision to leave the house.

The defence offered forensic evidence that Clarkson killed herself - either intentionally or by accident.

Spector rose to fame in the 1960s with the "Wall of Sound" recording technique, which revolutionised pop music, and he worked with some of the biggest names in show business, including The Beatles.

But by the time he met Clarkson, he had aged into an eccentric, reclusive millionaire.

Clarkson was a statuesque beauty who idolised Marilyn Monroe but was beaten down by Hollywood rejection.

She was best known as the star of such B-movies as "Amazon Women on the Moon" and "Barbarian Queen".

But as her career floundered she became depressed and she was forced to take a job as a nightclub hostess to make ends meet.