Legendary producer Phil Spector was officially indicted on murder charges yesterday in Los Angeles for the 2003 shooting death of Lana Clarkson in his mansion. The indictment was made by a grad jury, which makes a preliminary hearing in the case unnecessary. In a preliminary hearing, the prosecution would have had to present enough evidence to convince a judge to hold Spector for trial. Spector’s attorneys said that if a preliminary trial were to take place, they would have called in three of the world’s top forensic scientists to testify that Clarkson shot herself. These witnesses, however, will now have to wait for the trial.
The lack of a prelim trial angered defense attorneys and Spector himself, who remains free on one million dollars bail. Following the indictment, Spector spoke with the press and blasted prosecutors with a barrage of insulting adjectives. “The actions of the Hitler-like DA and his storm trooper henchmen are reprehensible, unconscionable and despicable,” Spector forcefully told the press yesterday.
Judge David S Wesley, who presides over the case, has set December 16 as the earliest possible date for the trial to begin.
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