Spector Trial Gets Grim as Coroner Testifies

Los Angeles (E! Online) - Some of the grittiest of the nitty-gritty was seen and heard today in the Phil Spector murder trial.

The deputy coroner who performed Lana Clarkson's autopsy after she died from a gunshot wound to the mouth on Feb. 3, 2003, testified Tuesday that the 40-year-old actress was the victim of a homicide.

As in, one person killing another.

While the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office has been toiling these past few weeks to establish a pattern of booze-fueled gunplay on Spector's part, a habit that turned deadly the night Clarkson accompanied him to his Alhambra mansion, Spector's camp is maintaining that the Barbarian Queen star shot herself and that its forensic experts will testify to that effect.

Dr. Louis Pena said that there were bruises on Clarkson's right arm and wrist, which he characterized as "resistance injuries," as well as bruising on her tongue, which suggests the .38 caliber Colt Cobra revolver that killed her was forced into her mouth.

"The bruise is very unique and is consistent with blunt-force trauma," Pena said. "Something struck the tongue."

The recoil from the gun shattered Clarkson's top front teeth, blowing them out of her mouth, the doctor continued, as the prosecution showed graphic blown-up photographs showing the damage done to her face and mouth.

(For the first time since the trial began, Clarkson's mother and sister were not in court, perhaps purposely avoiding the more gruesome testimony.)

The bullet severed her spine and lodged in her skull, and death was probably instantaneous, Pena said.

A lack of blood in the gun's crevices indicated that the weapon had been wiped off, Pena testified. There was some blood, but it was "wiped away in several areas of the gun. That tells me someone manipulated the gun."

Pena said that he had concluded that Clarkson's death was a homicide based on both physical evidence and circumstantial conditions. He described the late actress as a "hopeful person" with no history of depression or suicide attempts, adding that she appeared to have made no attempts to get her affairs in order before her death.

"I found her to be a hopeful person from the notes I read," Pena said.

The coroner, who testifed that he personally examined the alleged crime scene, something he doesn't normally do, also noted that Clarkson's body was found with her purse draped over her right shoulder—not exactly a condition that points to her having taken her own life, especially considering she was right-handed and theoretically would have used that hand to shoot herself, he said.

Clarkson was taking two drugs that are commonly used to alleviate depression, Pena said, but her medical records showed that a neurologist had authorized the pills because Clarkson suffered from migraines.

Nevertheless, "she had all the medications in the world to commit suicide" and there were no signs she had abused her meds, he added.

Clarkson had small traces of the painkillers Aleve and Vicodin in her system when she died and her blood-alcohol level was 0.12 percent, according to a toxicology report.

"I've never seen a case reported" in which someone goes to a stranger's house "and magically comes up with a gun and shoots herself," Pena said, further describing the circumstantial conditions he observed. "How would she have known where the gun is?"

The fact that only one drawer in Spector's mansion was left open, containing an empty holster, also indicated that no one had gone searching for a weapon.

Also factoring into his decision, Pena said, was Spector's alleged confession to his former driver, Adriano De Souza, who testified last week that his ex-boss came outside that night with a gun in his bloody hand and said, "I think I killed someone."

The defense, meanwhile, attempted to poke as many holes as possible in De Souza's statement, questioning the Brazilian immigrant's English skills and repeatedly asking him why he had at times also used the word "shot" instead of "killed" when relating to the police what Spector supposedly said.

Spector's attorneys also implied that the D.A.'s Office is pulling strings for De Souza, whose visa has expired and who's currently in the U.S. illegally, in the immigration department.

De Souza denied that he is getting anything in return for his testimony and, after several days on the witness stand, held fast to his version of events.

Under cross-examination Tuesday from Spector attorney Christopher Plourd, Pena said that it is possible for different forensic pathologists to arrive at varying conclusions after looking at the same scene—paving the way, of course, for the defense's rebuttal witnesses.

Pena also admitted that he is not an expert in gunshot residue or blood spatter, and that he consulted textbooks on the way to forming his conclusions, including one written by one of the defense's experts, Dr. Werner Spitz, who was in court today.

Outside of the jury's presence, Plourd requested that the court allow into evidence statements Clarkson allegedly made to friends and acquaintances concerning the state of her finances.

Assistant D.A.

Alan Jackson argued that allowing the statements would prevent the prosecution from being able to cross-examine those whom Clarkson allegedly made these statements to—a problem, Jackson said, considering some of the people who talked to investigators were "less than honest."

L.A. Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler ruled that emails Clarkson sent to her friends about her finances were admissible if they had contributed to Pena's conclusion that she was not depressed at the time of her death.