River Deep Blog

What a defense attorney tells the press prior to trial is not evidence. I am more impressed with the positions the parties take at trial. During both trials the defense failed to dispute, with evidence or argument that the gun is Spector's. And it was an exact fit to the impressions made by the revolver that belonged to the concealed carry holster found empty in the entryway table drawer, and the ammunition in the weapon matched the "P+" ammunition stored in another part of the home.

I am sorry, Ms. Lynch, but if there was any way for the defense to plausibly argue that the gun was not Spector's to the first or second jury they would have done so. And the evidence supporting that argument would be in the post conviction briefs.

Stephen Gianelli

One final thought about Kelley Lynch (the "dear friend of Phil Spector's" who has not even visited him in prison ONCE in 6-years and who is trying to exploit his celebrity to her own hateful ends): She failed to file her "motion" in the $7.9M judgment matter yesterday. Lynch likes people to believe that the case is still pending and that "things are happening" - which is far from the truth. She waited 7-years to ask the court to set it aside in 2013, but when the court heard that she began emailing Leonard Cohen's new counsel THE VERY DAY SHE WAS SERVED AT HER HOME about how he (allegedly) signed his name on the suit like a girl, Judge Hess quickly realized she was lying about not being served (indeed, not even reading the suit until I posted the papers on-line in 2010), the court DENIED the motion to vacate in January of 2015. At that point Kelley Ly ch could have appealed the order denying her motion to vacate, but did not. ITS OVER. The statute of limitations to prosecute Cohen for "perjury" in the suit (nonsense anyway) expired in 2009. The statute of limitations to prosecute Cohen for "tax fraud" expired in 2010. Spector's pending appeal has ZERO to do with Leonard Cohen's alleged "lies" to the LA grand jury. Cohen didn't even testify before the grand jury, or at trial. It's all over, Lynch. Long over.

2 days ago

+Kelley Lynch This would be the same "dear friend" whose two murder trials you attended not one day of to show support when he was appealing in the media for friends and fans to drop by and the same "dear friend" who has been rotting in prison for SIX YEARS without a single visit from you? The same "dear friend" that you created the "Kelley Lynch and Phil Spector" blog about during his retrial telling the world (falsely) that you and Spector were going to "join forces" and use "his legal team" to sue the Los Angeles District Attorney and Leonard Cohen, based on your crackpot theory that Leonard Cohen is responsible for Spector's criminal charges and conviction, even though Cohen never testified before the grand jury or at either trial? The same "dear friend" who tells folks that you are :crazy"?

Stephen Gianelli

Not only was Lana Clarkson's DNA NOT FOUND ON THE BULLETS in the gun that killed her, there is no such claim by Spector appeal attorney Dennis Riordan in Spector's District Court brief as Kelley Lynch just posted here. (Lying as usual.) I CHALLANGE KELLEY LYNCH TO POST A PAGE NUMBER FROM THE BRIEF WHERE THAT CLAIM IS MADE - OR EVEN WHERE THE CLAIM THAT IT IS NOT SPECTOR'S GUN WAS MADE!

I will then link to that page here.

Kelley Lynch CANNOT do that because it's NOT IN THE BRIEF. Because neither Clarkson's DNA nor her fingerprints were on any bullets.

This woman lies as easily as she breathes.

Correction - Clarkson's DNA was of course present on and inside the gun (including the forward facing cylinders) after it was inserted into her mouth and discharged - creating a "blow back" onto the weapon of Clarkson's blood and tissue at great velocity.

Stephen Gianelli

Scott, if - as Kelley Lynch now claims in her second post of today - "Clarkson's fingerprints were on the bullets" found in the gun that killed her, Phil Spector would never have been convicted and his lawyers would certainly have introduced it and his wife would certainly be mentioning it and his many post conviction appeals would certainly mention it. But none of the above happened, because LANA CLARKSON'S FINGERPRINTS ARE NOT ON ANY BULLETTS, and I challenge Kelley Lynch to post a link her that says they are. I followed both trials, I spoke frequently with Spector's defense attorney for the retrial, and I have read every post conviction brief filed on Phil Spector's behalf - and this is simply another one of Lynch's MANY lies.

Should Mr. Spector receive a fair trial? I have been answering that question yes ever since I started reporting about the case in 2008. But if you start misrepresenting the trial evidence you lose all credibility as an advocate for a retrial at all.

Kelley Lynch Lana Clarkson's DNA was not found on the bullets either. Lana Clarkson's saliva was found in a swab taken of Mr. Spector's genital area - suggesting that Mr. Clarkson may have performed a sexual act on Mr. Spector prior to her death.

In addition, the bullets in the gun that killed Clarkson matched .38 caliber bullets of a distinctive type ("P+ loads") found in a partially empty package of bullets found elsewhere in Spector's home by police and the gun itself matched the empty holster found in the entry table drawer near Clarkson's body.

THERE WAS NO DISPUTE AT TRIAL that it was Mr. Spector's gun that killed Clarkson. The only dispute centered around WHO WAS HOLDING the gun when it discharged and killed her. The defense never claimed it was not Clarkson's gun in either trial or in ANY of Spector's post conviction appellate briefs.

My theory of how Clarkson got the gun (if she shot herself) is that Spector - who never left the house unarmed - was wearing the gun on his person at the House of Blues, and Clarkson saw Spector doff the gun and return the gun (still in the holster) to the drawer when they arrived. Clarkson then returned to the entry, and removed the gun from the drawer where she saw Spector place it leaving the holster where it was.

KELLEY LYNCH IS SIMPLPY MAKING THIS DNA "EVIDENCE" UP AS SHE GOES ALONG. Which is par for the course, because she lies about everything.

Alan Hootnick

+Stephen Gianelli

+Stephen Gianelli
On page 18, line 4 of Dennis Riordan's Legal Brief (in pdf): "Clarkson's DNA was found on the gun and ammunition". I have not seen the original lab report. Granted, forensic evidence could sometimes be open to conflicting interpretations, but it would require a great leap of imagination to claim that in a "struggle", Clarkson's DNA could have ended up on the bullets INSIDE THE CHAMBER. The most logical explanation is that Clarkson loaded the gun

+Alan Hootnick To the contrary, Alan - I carried a similar gun concealed for several years and all chambers of the cylinder are open facing forward (with the bullets exposed) with the exception of the cylinder being fired. Basically it is five or six (depending on the model) open tubes with bullets in them with the tips exposed.

The fatal shot was fired with the very short (2-1/2" barrel) inside of Lana Clarkson's mouth - both sides agreed at trial.

All experts also agreed that the bullet would penetrate the soft palette with great force creating high pressure inside Clarkson's head, which was then violently expelled in a "blow-back" action together with Clarkson's blood, brain matter and other tissue at high velocity back outside the mouth toward the gun and in the general direction that Clarkson was facing.

The barrel of the revolver was in the center of this blow-back cloud of expelled gas, blood and tissue, with the open, loaded cylinders surrounding the barrel obstructing the mouth and receiving the center of the blast.

Indeed, a primary defense argument was that given the force of this explosion of expelled gas, blood, and tissue from the wound, one would have expected Spector's white blazer to have been literally spray painted with blood if he was the shooter, and the relatively pristine condition of the jacket (with just a small pin sized drop of blood on it) proved Spector was neither in close proximity to Clarkson when the fatal shot was fired nor was he holding the gun.

If the gun used was an automatic weapon I would tend to agree with you. If the DNA consisted of only epithelial DNA from skin tissue (transferred from fingers upon handling) I might agree with you.

Additionally, given Spector's paranoia, the location of the matching "P+" bullets in another part of the home, the empty concealed carry holster in the entry table drawer, and Spector's habit of carrying concealed when he left the house, it is more likely that Spector doffed the gun and placed it, still in the holster, in the drawer when he walked in with Clarkson - thus accounting for how she knew where the gun was.

I don't think it likely that Spector would keep a gun that was obviously designed for concealed carry, in a concealed carry holster, in the entry table drawer for ready access whenever he stepped out of the mansion, in an unloaded condition, nor do I think it likely that Clarkson took Spector's gun out of the drawer and then loaded it with bullets stored in another room.

And as I said previously, IT WAS UNDISPUTED that Clarkson was shot with Spector's gun, the only dispute centering on who was holding the gun when it killed Clarkson.

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+Alan Hootnick

This is a close up of front end of a short barreled revolver similar to the gun that fired a round into Lana Clarkson's mouth. One can easily see that the tips of the bullets are exposed in the cylinder chambers, and that any blow-back of blood and tissue would contact gun and bullets as well.
http://usofarn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/filepicker-M0QKgPY6R8ejtiBUwipb_staring_into_gun_barell.jpg

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Stephen Gianelli

Here is what Phil Spector's district court appellate brief says about the gun:

"b. The Gun
The .38 Colt involved in the shooting was a snub nose with a two-inch barrel. 21 RT 3888. Given the artificial tooth material found in the sight of the gun, the gun had to have been fired while inside Clarkson’s mouth no more than 1.5 inches. 21 RT 3920-21."

No claim is made in the brief that the gun was not Spector's.

Of course, Lana Clarkson's blood and other tissue was blasted on and inside the gun when the fatal shot was fired into her mouth. So the presence or absence on and in the weapon of Clarkson's DNA was not significant.

What IS significant is the lack of Phil Spector's DNA on or inside the gun, which one might expect had Spector fired the gun that night.

Stephen Gianelli