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Phil Spector trial murder testimony

May 30, 2007, 11:20 GMT

The actress Phil Spector is accused of shooting dead was murdered, a court was told yesterday (29.05.07). Dr Louis Pena, the forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy on actress Lana Clarkson, testifies about the path of a bullet from a gun directed inside a mouth, during the Phil Spector murder trial at Los Angeles Superior Court, 29 May 2007 in Los Angeles, California. EPA/ROBYN BECK / POOL

Dr Louis Pena, the forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy on actress Lana Clarkson, testifies about the path of a bullet from a gun directed inside a mouth, during the Phil Spector murder trial at Los Angeles Superior Court, 29 May 2007 in Los Angeles, California. EPA/ROBYN BECK / POOLDeputy coroner Dr. Louis Pena, who performed the autopsy on Lana Clarkson's body, testified that somebody forced a .38 calibre Colt Cobra revolver into the 40-year-old's mouth at the music producer's Los Angeles mansion on February 3, 2003.Pena stated there were bruises on Clarkson's right arm and wrist, and bruising on her tongue.He said: "The bruise is very unique and is consistent with blunt-force trauma. Something struck the tongue."Clarkson's top front teeth had also been shattered by the recoil of the gun.The court was shown graphic images of the damage suffered to the victim's face and mouth.Pena explained that death was probably instantaneous as the bullet severed Clarkson's spine and lodged in her skull.He also suggested some blood was "wiped away from several areas of the gun", adding: "That tells me someone manipulated the gun."Pena - who examined the crime scene - also claimed there was no evidence to support the defence's suggestion that Clarkson had searched the property for the gun herself.He added only one drawer in Spector's mansion was left open containing an empty holster, indicating the person knew where to find the gun.Pena said: "I've never seen a case reported where somebody goes to a stranger's house and magically comes up with a gun and shoots herself. How would she have known where the gun is?"Pena also rejected the defence's claim Clarkson was depressed with a history of suicide attempts, saying he found her "to be a hopeful person" from the notes he read.Pena conceded Clarkson was taking two drugs commonly prescribed for depression, but said her medical records showed she had been given them for her migraines.During cross-examination Pena admitted he was not an expert in gunshot residue or blood spatter.He also conceded that is was possible for different forensic pathologists to arrive at alternative conclusions after looking at the same scene.Spector, 67, denies murder and his lawyers claim Clarkson accidentally shot herself.(C) BANG Media International

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AnonymousMay 30th, 2007 - 19:09:12

Guilty.

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larryMay 31st, 2007 - 01:05:25

It's strange, the Beatles' last song was just for Phil Spector.

Something in the way she moves
Attracts me like no other lover
Something in the way she woos me

I don't want to leave her now
You know I believe her now

Somewhere in her smile she knows
That I don't need no other lover
Something in her style that shows me

Don't want to leave her now
You know I believe her now

You're asking me will my love grow
I don't know, I don't know
You stick around now it may show
I don't know, I don't know

Something in the way she knows
And all I have to do is think of her
Something in the things she shows me

Don't want to leave her now
You know I believe her now

BANG!
'I think I killed somebody ...'

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