Witness: Clarkson, Stronger Than Spector, Pulled Trigger

Despite the prosecution being unable to pinpoint who pulled the trigger of the gun that killed Lana Clarkson, Phil Spector's defense team seems to have it narrowed down.

Clarkson, being younger, taller and physically stronger than Spector, had the gun in her hands when she died, retired pathologist Dr. Vincent DiMaio testified Thursday, his third day on the witness stand.

"Look at Mr. Spector," the former chief medical examiner for Bexar County, Texas, said, pointing to the Wall of Sound creator, whose hands were visibly shaking.

"He has Parkinson's features. He trembles…She was 25 years younger, seven to nine inches taller. She outweighed him by 25 pounds and was in better health than he was…Her reflexes would have been greater, her strength greater.

"It would be more likely for her to have shot him than for him to have shot her," DiMaio said.

The doctor testified yesterday that both Clarkson's state of mind—she was fighting depression, he said—and physical evidence from the scene led to his conclusion that the actress' death was a suicide, albeit an accidental one, like the defense has alleged.

During a cross-examination that lasted more than two hours, Deputy District Attorney Alan Jackson sought to disassemble DiMaio's arguments, point by point, accusing the witness of "cherrypicking" which facts he deemed fit to proffer to the jury.

Citing one of DiMaio's statements from yesterday, Jackson brought up the fact that Clarkson had broken both wrists more than a year before her death, a condition that may have hampered her mobility on Feb. 3, 2003, when she accompanied Spector to his Alhambra mansion and subsequently died of a gunshot wound to the mouth in the foyer of the residence.

"So you're manipulating the facts," Jackson challenged DiMaio.

"No, sir, you're manipulating what I said," DiMaio responded. "I said when you consider all of these things together, it's more likely for her to have killed him because of the physical disparity."

"One piece means nothing," the witness said, reiterating that the amount of gunshot residue on Clarkson's body, the blood spatter on her hands and the nature of her wound contributed to his opinions, as well. "Put it all together, it is the picture."

"In my opinion," DiMaio continued, "the physical evidence is she had the weapon. She's the one who fired the gun. He didn't have the gun. She fired it and probably didn't think of the consequences. It was a spontaneous reaction of some sort—stupid, based on alcohol. If she'd thought about it, she would have probably put it down."

Jackson also attacked DiMaio over his characterization of Spector as being physically at a disadvantage to Clarkson.

"Are you saying that a short person armed with a gun can't shoot and kill a taller, unarmed person?" the prosecutor asked.

"No, sir," DiMaio answered.

"So once again, you're manipulating facts to get the results you want."

"You're manipulating what I said," DiMaio countered.

"Actually, doctor, I'm repeating what you said," Jackson offered.

Tackling what DiMaio said about Clarkson being depressed over the state of her career when she died, Jackson showed the courtroom the actress' professional headshots, which depicted a smiling, glamorous woman.

"She's a very beautiful girl," DiMaio admitted. But "she's 40 years old and there are a lot of people after the same jobs she was. It's a hard life for an actress. That's Hollywood…She's competing against younger girls. She's competing against Paris Hilton and things like that."

Either way, his conclusion that Clarkson pulled the trigger, though based on a report that had to "cover all aspects," was largely arrived at by examining the physical evidence.

"Physical evidence trumps history," DiMaio said.

"Should the jury ignore your opinions about the medical history and the career?" Jackson asked.

"The jury decides what it wants to consider," DiMaio replied. "All I can say is who fired the gun and in whose hands it was in. That is based on the physical evidence, not the history."

Jackson then asked whether the gunshot residue found on both Clarkson's and Spector's hands, the blood spatter, the wound, the gunshot residue—all of that—could just as easily point to Spector having pulled the trigger.

"Yes, if you take each in isolation," DiMaio said. "But each thing taken in isolation means nothing."

With the jury having next week off in honor of Independence Day, the trial is scheduled to resume July 9.