Spector Detective: Clarkson's Death Had "Sexual Overtones"

Could it have been a romantic evening gone wrong?

A Los Angeles homicide detective testified Wednesday that from the bottles of booze to the candles to the lipstick tube inside Lana Clarkson's bra to the partially empty Viagra packet, the actress' death Feb. 3, 2003, in the hallway of Phil Spector's Alhambra home appeared to have "sexual overtones to it."

In his second day on the witness stand, L.A. County Sheriff's Detective Mark Lillienfeld said that he based his opinion on the condition of the house when investigators arrived at the scene—the mansion was dark, candles were lit, a bottle of tequila and a snifter of brandy were on the living room coffee table and there were two false eyelashes next to an almost-drained brandy snifter in the bathroom off the foyer.

A foil packet with one Viagra pill and two empty spots were found in a briefcase with Spector's initials on it lying a few feet away from Clarkson's body, Lillienfeld had testified yesterday.

"All those facts in my mind played into a sexually motivated murder, and the Viagra was a piece of evidence that would perhaps prove later on to be important," he said Wednesday.

Defense attorney Bradley Brunon, who during cross-examination Tuesday suggested that the death scene may have been contaminated, asked Lillienfeld whether he was aware that a rape kit performed on Clarkson had come back negative.

The detective said that he did not know that.

"Do you have any evidence whatsoever that Mr. Spector took Viagra that night?" Brunon asked.

"I do not," Lillienfeld said.

Did Clarkson's clothing appear ripped or otherwise suggestive of someone grabbing or pawing at her? Brunon asked.

Lillienfeld answered no.

Resuming his faulty crime scene line of questioning, Brunon showed the jury photographs of investigators, not wearing gloves, touching the .38-caliber revolver that was produced in court Tuesday.

"You have to agree with me there was a lot of touching of the gun, do you?" Brunon inquired.

"I do not," answered Lillienfeld.

Under redirect by Deputy District Attorney Patrick Dixon, Lillienfeld said that he believed the presence of Clarkson's DNA on the tips of the gun's bullets was caused by blowback that occurred after the weapon was fired.

Spector's camp is arguing that Clarkson was the victim of an "accidental suicide," while the prosecution maintains she was killed by an intoxicated Spector, part of a longtime habit the music producer had of drunkenly threatening women with firearms.

Before concluding his testimony, the detective also said that as he was wrapping up his investigation of the death scene on the evening of Feb. 4, 2003, he saw members of Spector's former defense team, which at the time was headed by famed criminal attorney Robert Shapiro. Forensics expert Henry Lee was among the group at the scene, Lillienfeld said.

Meanwhile, one of the members of that former team, attorney Sara Caplan, could be slapped with a contempt charge after refusing to testify Wednesday in front of the jury about what she observed during their search of Spector's home.

Caplan testified May 3 during an evidentiary hearing that she saw Lee pick up a flat white object with uneven edges at the scene. The Los Angeles District Attorney's Office is maintaining that Lee picked up a piece of Clarkson's acrylic fingernail and then failed to turn it over to the prosecution.

L.A. Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler has ruled that Lee did find something and keep it from the prosecution. The jurist couldn't say for sure whether it was a bit of nail, though.

Lee, in the meantime, has adamantly maintained his innocence, saying he picked up only threads and fibers at the scene and will take whatever legal route is necessary to preserve his reputation.

Caplan, who worked for Shapiro and is no longer on Spector's defense team, said today that it would violate her attorney-client privilege to testify. Spector's attorneys agreed, with Roger Rosen saying Spector would invoke the privilege himself.

"My sense of justice is not only to Mr. Spector…but also to Miss Clarkson and to justice herself," Fidler said, disallowing that argument. "[Caplan] went to a scene and said she saw [someone] manipulate, conceal or destroy evidence. There is no privilege not to testify."

Telling the court he'd reexamine the issue on Monday, Fidler, calling her "an unimpeachable witness from the [prosecution's] standpoint," threatened to either fine or jail Caplan until she testifies or until the trial is over.

"In 25 years on the bench, I've never held an attorney in contempt," Fidler said. "I take this extremely seriously and I think she's making a terrible mistake."

Michael Nasatir, Caplan's attorney, pleaded with the judge to not make a defense attorney testify against her client.

"An attorney is no different than any other person in following the law," Fidler said.

Court was dismissed until Monday to allow Assistant D.A. Patrick Dixon time to fly to the East Coast for his daughter's graduation from Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government.