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Witness: Spector May Have Messed with Evidence
After Lana Clarkson died, Phil Spector may have been doing more than just waiting around for the cops to show up, according to the prosecution's 34th and final witness.
Lynne Herold, a forensic scientist with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, testified Tuesday afternoon that Spector may have messed with evidence before police arrived—approximately 40 minutes later, according to prosecutors.
After examining pictures of the scene as well as other evidence, such as the dress Clarkson was wearing that night, the criminalist said that she concluded there were three reasons why the actress' blood may have ended up the way it did in hallway of Spector's Alhambra home after she was killed by a gunshot wound to the mouth: one being the gun; another, a cloth diaper found in an adjacent bathroom; and the third, Spector himself.
Clarkson's head appeared to have been moved "at least once" to the left side of her body after she died, Herold testified. When authorities arrived at the scene, the right side of her jacket and dress were soaked in her blood, while the left side was clean. The right side of the chair where Clarkson's slumped body was found was also bloodstained, she added.
Herold also said that Clarkson's face looked as if it had been wiped, possibly with the diaper found nearby.
"Somebody manipulated not only the face and neck, but somebody manipulated the blood on her face and neck, correct?" Deputy District Attorney Alan Jackson asked her.
"Correct," Herold answered.
Jackson also suggested to the court that the diaper could have been used to wipe down the Colt Cobra .38-caliber revolver that killed Clarkson.
Previous witnesses have testified that only Clarkson's DNA was found on the gun, but that her blood could have covered up any DNA that Spector left behind by touch. No latent fingerprints were found on the weapon, either, meaning that several different criminalists who worked on the case were unable to conclude who pulled the trigger that morning.
Tuesday's was a shortened session and Herold is expected to spend at least two more days on the stand, after which the prosecution is expected to rest its case. Herold will likely be questioned further about the position of Clarkson's body, where the gun was when she died and the blood spatter impact on the white jacket Spector was wearing when, according to the District Attorney's argument, he shot the actress.
The defense, meanwhile, has maintained that there was not enough blood on the jacket for Spector to have shot Clarkson in the hallway of his mansion, as the prosecution contends. The Wall of Sound creator's camp is alleging that Clarkson shot herself, becoming the victim of an "accidental suicide."
L.A. Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler has said that the trial is on schedule so far and that testimony should conclude in July or August.
Also on tap for tomorrow, Fidler is expected to formally serve a contempt order to Sara Caplan's lawyers at 11 a.m. PT.
Fidler found the former member of Spector's defense team to be in contempt of court yesterday for refusing to testify about forensics expert Henry Lee's actions at Spector's house the day after Clarkson's death. Caplan had previously said during an evidentiary hearing last month that she saw Lee pick up a small white object and place it in a vial.
Prosecutors have contended that that object was a piece of acrylic fingernail—evidence that could suggest that a struggle took place—and that Lee never turned it over to the D.A.'s Office, a charge the potential defense witness has vehemently denied.
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