Phil Spector Found Guilty of Murder
Phil Spector
Music producer Phil Spector has been convicted of second-degree murder in the 2003 shooting of an actress.
Spector, 69, faces at least 15 years in prison, according to a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Superior Court. After deliberating for nine days, the jury found that the producer killed Lana Clarkson on Feb. 3, 2003, hours after they met at a Sunset Strip club where she worked. A previous jury on the case deadlocked in 2007.
Spector's lawyer was not immediately available for comment.
During the trial, which began in October, the prosecution portrayed Spector as a sadist who had a history of playing Russian roulette with the lives of women when he was drunk. The defense argued that Clarkson, whose career was stalling, committed suicide. She had appeared in 1982's Fast Times at Ridgemont High and 1985's Barbarian Queen, among other films.
Spector is known as a hitmaker for such artists as Tina Turner, the Righteous Brothers, the Ronettes (he was once married to lead singer Ronnie Spector) and the Beatles. His sentencing is scheduled for April 29.
