PEOPLE
Phil Spector's Murder Trials: Inside the Producer's Infamous Crime That Rocked Hollywood in 2003
Songwriter and producer Phil Spector was convicted of killing actress Lana Clarkson in his California home in 2003
By Emily Blackwood Published on July 18, 2024 11:30AM EDT
Phil Spector was both a prolific producer and a convicted killer.
An icon in the music industry, Spector produced multiple hits for big-name artists like The Ronettes, The Beatles and Tina Turner. He developed a production formula called the “Wall of Sound” that eventually earned him a spot in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989. So fans were shocked to see his name in tabloid headlines as a prime murder suspect decades later.
In 2009, the songwriter was found guilty of second-degree murder in the 2003 shooting death of Lana Clarkson. Spector met the 40-year-old actress, who starred in the 1985 cult film Barbarian Queen, on Feb. 3, 2003, at the House of Blues VIP room in West Hollywood, where she worked as a hostess.
The following morning, she was found dead in Spector's foyer with a gunshot wound to the mouth. The producer was quickly arrested and later charged with her murder.
Spector maintained his innocence, and his legal team claimed that Clarkson killed herself with his 38-caliber pistol because she was depressed over a breakup. While his first trial in September 2007 failed to reach a verdict, Spector was retried in October 2008 and found guilty. He was sentenced to 19 years to life in prison and died of COVID-related complications on Jan. 16, 2021, at the age of 80.
Most recently, his case was explored in the latest series of Netflix's Homicide: Los Angeles. Episode 1, titled "Hunting Phil Spector," revisits his fatal crime and the years-long prosecution against him.
Here's everything to know about Phil Spector's crime and lengthy murder trial.
Who was Phil Spector?
Spector started in the music industry at 17 when he wrote his first hit song, "To Know Him Is to Love Him," for the Teddy Bears. The tune sold 2.5 million copies, and four years later, Spector was running his own music company, Philles Records.
He is credited with revolutionizing the music industry with his "Wall of Sound," which blends layers of instruments and vocals. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Turner in 1989.
From 1968 to 1974, the producer was married to Ronettes front-woman Ronnie Spector, though the singer has alleged the relationship was abusive. “Phil’s abuse was mental, not physical; telling me how useless I am, and I’ll never sing again and I’ll never be successful again without him,” she recalled to PEOPLE in 2018. “All those things made me say, ‘You wanna bet?’ ”
Who did Phil Spector murder?
While she may have been a hostess the night she met Spector, Clarkson was a well-known working actress. According to the Los Angeles Times, she started modeling and acting as a teen after her father died in a mining accident. She played small parts in major '80s sitcoms like Night Court and Three's Company before landing the lead in action-packed sword and sorcery pictures like Barbarian Queen.
Though a wrist injury prevented her from performing for the last year of her life, the directors of the 2022 Showtime docuseries Spector maintained that Clarkson was more of an actress than tabloid headlines made her out to be.
“You couldn’t hear anything about this case without the tag ‘B-movie actress’ coming before ‘the victim, Lana Clarkson,’ ” Sheena M. Joyce, who directed the series with Don Argott, told the Los Angeles Times. “It was this little moniker that was another way to denigrate her. It creates a narrative of longing for the A-list and a desperation that would drive her to that house that night. The suggestion is that she was somehow asking for it or got what was coming to her.”
Her mom, Donna Clarkson, even told the outlet that her daughter was considering leaving the House of Blues job because it interfered with her auditions.
Why did Lana Clarkson go to Phil Spector’s house?
The night of the murder, Spector had been out with a female companion. In 2007, investigative journalist Dominick Dunne reported in Vanity Fair that the producer had been drinking and appeared to be "heavily medicated."
Clarkson reportedly didn't recognize him — and even mistakenly addressed him as "miss" — until a waitress named Sophia Holguin informed her that he was a very important man who tipped well.
After Spector had his driver take his female companion home, he asked Holguin to accompany him back to his residence in Alhambra, Calif., dubbed the Pyrenees Castle for its palace-like structure. She declined, so he asked Clarkson instead. She allegedly reluctantly agreed to go for one drink.
How did Phil Spector kill Lana Clarkson?
Around 5 a.m. on Feb. 3, 2003, Spector's driver called 911 after hearing a gunshot from inside the estate. The chauffeur claimed to see Spector come outside with a gun in his hand and say, “I think I just shot her.”
When police arrived, they found Clarkson dead in the foyer. They also uncovered a gun believed to be the murder weapon from the premises, and Spector was arrested on suspicion of murder around 6 a.m.
While Spector maintained his innocence and claimed Clarkson died by suicide, the Los Angeles County coroner ruled Clarkson's death a homicide on Sept. 22, 2003.
Prior to the murder, Spector had a reputation for waving firearms. He reportedly pulled out a pistol during a recording session with John Lennon (Spector produced 1971's Imagine), and Ramones bassist Dee Dee Ramone once accused the producer of doing the same during a 1980 session for End of the Century.
In 1998, his ex-wife Ronnie, who was suing him for back royalties, testified in court that "he threatened me many times with guns."
What happened during Phil Spector's murder trial?
Nine months after Clarkson was shot inside Spector's home, the record producer was charged with murder on Nov. 20, 2003.
Spector maintained his innocence throughout his first trial, which lasted over five months. After deliberating for 15 days, the jury remained deadlocked, with 10 jurors voting guilty and two voting not guilty. Because the decision needed to be unanimous, the judge declared a mistrial in September 2007.
The disgraced producer was retried the following year, and on April 13, 2009, a Los Angeles jury found Spector guilty of second-degree murder.
Spector was given the maximum sentence of 19 years to life in prison. He also had to pay Clarkson's mother $16,811 for funeral expenses, as well as $9,740 to a state restitution fund, among other fees, according to AP.
What happened to Phil Spector?
Following his 2009 murder conviction, Spector spent the rest of his life in prison. He died on Jan. 16, 2021, at age 80.
Though the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation released a statement confirming that Spector died of natural causes, his daughter, Nicole Audrey Spector, told The New York Times that his death was due to COVID-19 complications.
Upon his death, his ex-wife Ronnie wrote on Instagram that Spector had been "a brilliant producer but a lousy husband," per the BBC.
"Unfortunately, Phil was not able to live and function outside of the recording studio. Darkness set in, many lives were damaged," she wrote.
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