The judge in music producer Phil Spector's murder trial has reversed an earlier ruling and decided to allow jurors to hear damaging testimony from a celebrity security guard who says he heard Spector rant profanely against women and declare they should all be shot in the head. While he originally thought it was inadmissible because it was too long ago and did not address the specific details of the February 3, 2003, gunshot death of actress Lana Clarkson, Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler said he researched the law further and changed his mind. Although the comments by Spector may have occurred as long ago as 1993, they were relevant to show Spector's state of mind toward women, the judge said.
He said he was struck by the specificity of Spector's comments about shooting women in the head. "In this case you have a woman who is shot in the head," Fidler said, referring to Clarkson's death from a bullet fired through her mouth. "It is highly particularised.
" The judge also said the testimony "tends to show the depth of Mr Spector's anger". Prosecutor Alan Jackson argued to be allowed to present the testimony, saying: "It shows a misogynistic state of mind, how he feels about women." Defence lawyer Roger Rosen denounced the testimony as "character assassination" and said it should be excluded.
The ruling came after Vincent Tannazzo, a retired New York City police detective, testified without the jury present about providing security for two Christmas parties given by comedian Joan Rivers in Manhattan. In both instances, a year apart, he said he ejected Spector from the parties as he ranted. In the first instance, he said he brushed up against Spector and was able to tell Spector had a handgun in his waistband, and when Spector made a move toward his pants, he warned the producer if he pulled the gun "I'd blow his brains out".
He said Spector repeatedly uttered an obscene phrase referring to women and said to him: "These (expletive). They all deserve a bullet in their head." The Tannazzo issue came up as the trial resumed after a one-week recess for the Independence Day holiday.
The defence has already begun its side of the case, but the judge's ruling allowed the prosecution to reopen its case to call him to the stand. Spector, 67, rose to fame in the 1960s with a recording technique known as the Wall of Sound. Clarkson, 40, was a struggling actress best known for her role in the 1985 film, Barbarian Queen.
She was working as a nightclub hostess when she met Spector and agreed to go to his suburban mansion when she got off work in the early morning of February 3, 2003. She died of a gunshot in his foyer a few hours later. When you see news happening: SMS/MMS: 0406 THE AGE (0406 843 243), or us.
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