Spector Defense Expert: Lana Clarkson Committed Suicide

LOS ANGELES – The first defense witness in the Phil Spector murder trial, a noted forensic expert on gunshot wounds, testified Tuesday that Lana Clarkson committed suicide by shooting herself in the mouth at the record producer's mansion.

Dr. Vincent DiMaio, a physician with a specialty in forensic medicine, was asked by attorney Christopher Plourd for his conclusion about how the actress died Feb. 3, 2003.

"She died of a self-inflicted wound," said DiMaio. "There is no objective scientific evidence that anyone else held the gun. Everything else is speculative."

He said the proof was in gunshot residue and blood on her hands as well as the nature of the wound in her mouth.

"She's got blood on her hands, gunshot residue on her hands, an intra-oral wound. Ninety-nine percent, it's suicide," DiMaio said.

Clarkson, 40, was a struggling actress who met Spector, now 67, at her job as a House of Blues hostess. According to testimony, she went to Spector's mansion for a drink when she got off work and a few hours later was dead from a single bullet fired into her mouth. Her body was found in a chair in a foyer, one hand resting on her purse and a bloody revolver at her feet.

Prosecutors claim Spector shot her; the defense says she committed suicide.

DiMaio said that since the 1970s he has performed thousands of autopsies, analyzed the manner of death in criminal cases and in his entire career has seen only three homicides with intra-oral wounds.

DiMaio, the former chief medical examiner in Dallas and San Antonio and author of scholarly books and treatises on gunshot wounds, said there may be speculation about motivations of a suicide victim but he suggested only science could tell the true story.

"Did she write something suicidal? Well, there's no suicide note. Seventy-five percent of the people don't write notes," he said.

He also noted that Clarkson had a 0.12 percent blood-alcohol level and Vicodin in her system. "People on alcohol do stupid things," he said.

Deputy Los Angeles County Medical Examiner Dr. Louis Pena testified earlier in the trial that he ruled the death a homicide, based on many factors including Clarkson's letters and e-mails which convinced him she was "a hopeful person."

Pena also cited evidence that the gun had been wiped and a large amount of Clarkson's blood was in the left pocket of Spector's pants, which could indicate the gun was placed in the pocket. He also cited Spector's statement to his chauffeur that night: "I think I killed somebody."

Before DiMaio took the stand, Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler angrily warned the defense that DiMaio would not be allowed to refer to a so-called life story found on Clarkson's computer which he called unreliable.

He has banned that evidence from the trial along with statements Spector made at a police station in which he told officers that Clarkson had killed herself. The judge ruled earlier those were unreliable because Spector had time to think about his explanation before making the statements.

He said he might consider allowing jurors to hear e-mails written by Clarkson in which she expressed despondency about her career in the months before her death.

Prosecutors did not formally rest their case, awaiting a chance to present evidence from former Spector lawyer Sara Caplan. She has been found in contempt and is facing jail for refusing to testify about possible evidence that has never been turned over to the prosecution.