It has been 17 years to the day since disgraced music producer Phil Spector was convicted of murdering actress Lana Clarkson. The conviction came after a five-month retrial.
Clarkson, 40, was murdered in February 2003. She had been shot in the head. The night before her body was found, she had been out with Spector. The two went back to Spector’s mansion, dubbed the Pyrenees Castle, in Alhambra, California.
According to reports, Spector’s limo driver claimed that Spector came out of the house at one point with a gun in his hand. The driver alleged that Spector said he thought he’d “killed someone.” Spector was arrested and charged in Clarkson’s death. A trial began in March 2007 but ended in a mistrial in September of that year due to a hung jury.
Phil Spector pleaded not guilty to a second-degree murder charge
A second trial began in October 2008. After five months of testimonies, arguments, and deliberation, the jury reached a unanimous verdict. Spector was found guilty of murdering Clarkson. He was sentenced to 19 years to life in prison.
Over the years, Spector attempted to appeal his conviction, but he was unsuccessful. He would have been eligible for parole in 2024, but he passed away in January 2021.
To call Phil Spector a wildly complicated and controversial figure would be an understatement. He was at the center of one of the most notorious murder trials of the new millennium, and he was also one of the successful music producers of the 1960s. He produced songs by The Beatles, The Righteous Brothers, the Ronettes, Ike & Tina Turner, and the list goes on.
Spector died from complications of COVID-19 while in prison
Among his accolades, Spector was nominated for multiple Grammys. Specifically, he received recognition for his work on Beatles guitarist George Harrison’s solo music in the early 70s. Spector’s only win was in 1997. He and Harrison won Album of the Year for George Harrison & Friends’ The Concert for Bangladesh.
Spector was later inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame. He was also awarded a Grammy Trustees Award in 2000.
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