14 DAY TRIAL // Six years after the body of struggling actress Lana Clarkson was found in Spector’s 30-bedroom mansion, and only after a second trial, the once famous music producer was found guilty and convicted of second degree murder, the Los Angeles Times informs. In finding the 69-year-old Spector guilty, the jurors have just set a first in more than 40 years in which no celebrity was found guilty and sentenced for murder.
The Spector case, which generated much controversy and was highly covered in the media, came at a closure when the jurors voiced their verdict: “guilty.” According to the aforementioned publication, Spector gasped upon hearing the sentence, while his wife, 41 years his junior, started to weep silently. The man’s attorney, however, told the media that Spector saw a guilty verdict coming his way and had already made preparations for an appeal.
The attorney also asked the judge that Spector be released on a $1 million bail until May 29, when he was to start serving his sentence. Because of the magnitude of the case, as well as on account of the fact that several women testified in court that Spector had a long history of abuse and gun use when under the influence, bail was denied. The music producer, who worked with acts like the Beatles, The Ronettes and Tina Turner back in the ‘70s, must serve at least 18 years of his sentence before being eligible for probation, the same media outlet says.
Lana Clarkson’s body was found in 2003 at Spector’s house. When police arrived on the scene, she was dead on a chair, shot in the mouth, with the producer leaning over her with a gun in his hand. Initially, the defense attorney tried to paint Clarkson as a liable woman who was desperate to be famous and even more desperate because her moment had gone. Clarkson, it was argued, had shot herself in one final act of desperation when Spector told her to leave the premises.
Further testimony in the case, though, painted a different picture of the charming music producer. Several women were brought to the stand, and all of them argued that Spector would become extremely violent after a couple of drinks. Many said they had been threatened with a gun and brutally beaten when they said they would leave him and move on with their life. Clarkson, it seems, planned to do just the same, which is why the producer shot her to death before she had the chance.
“I am elated. The verdict was not shocking because the evidence against him was so overwhelming but I am very glad because nobody knew for sure what would happen. A crazy psychopath is off the streets. He thought he was too powerful to get caught, but justice has finally been done.” Edward Lozzi, a former publicist and longtime friend of Clarkson, said after the hearing.