Spector Gets A Mistrial

Jurors were spilt 10 to 2, and Judge Abe Fiedler calls a mistrial.  

Spector Does A Jig

Spector, his mail order bride, his two black bodyguards go home, and as a helicopter flies over the four do a jig, with his wife dancing around humping the crew.

The Prosecutor

A mistrial means Spector is out scot-free. For now, that is, until prosecutors decide to re-try him.

Dr Judy's Insights

The case is full of fascinating fodder for the psychological couch, complete with sexual interpretations and hypotheses. Most provocative is that Spector told a magazine that Clarkson "kissed the gun." In addition, at least five women testified to incidents where Spector had wielded guns at them in a threatening manner; one said he insisted that she go up to the bedroom and undress. That witness testified that Spector pressed the nose of a handgun against her face while cursing and telling her she could not leave. Lana Clarkson's purse was slung over her shoulder, suggesting she too was trying to leave.

No one knows what really happened that night, but we can all guess, and make up our own scenarios. The judge in the trial even instructed the jurors that they can make up their own scenarios about what happened that night, as long as they decide "yes" or "no" that Spector is guilty of second degree murder because he committed an act that caused the death of Lana Clarkson.

Many scenarios are possible: he could have placed a gun in her mouth, or forced her to place the gun in her mouth at which time it went off, or pointed the gun at or against her head so that it entered her mouth and went off, or pointed the gun at her to prevent her from leaving the house, leading to a struggle which resulted in the gun entering her mouth and discharging.

Spector and Clarkson were in the entryway of his house – not in the bedroom or even on a couch in the living room, suggesting that Clarkson was not committed to staying in Spector's house. In my view, Spector (not Clarkson) got the gun, and he replayed what other women reported he has done with them in the past – wielded the gun at her, tried to prevent her from leaving, possibly insisting on a more sexual encounter.

But how did the gun get in her mouth?

Here's where my analysis takes a twist that has not been suggested by other commentators.

The scene becomes a power struggle - in a sexual drama common to sado-masochistic sex - where actions are not really about sex but about control and aggression. In the course of Spectors' aggressive gun-wielding, it is possible that Clarkson played along, somewhat reluctantly, but still compelled to participate. This would be consistent with a struggling actress getting caught up in the typical Hollywood fantasy of what a once-powerful music producer could do for her hopeful career. This makes sense considering that Clarkson was supposedly preparing a one-woman show, singing and playing Marilyn Monroe — an equally tragic figure. Such "playing along" would make further sense if the woman is fascinated with aggressive oral sexual activity.

Such a psycho-sexual interpretation is consistent with Spector's explanation of that fateful night when he told a magazine that Lana Clarkson "kissed the gun." Such an act - whether in some bizarre or violent role play or sex game – stimulates phallic symbolism and has psychosexual implications. The phrase "kissed the gun" implies an imitation of fellatio (a common sex act in the rock-and-roll world) and performing this act on a gun implies a surge of erotic power from aggression and submission.

Such complicity is consistent with what a source told me that a witness was prepared to testify: that Clarkson was known to insert things in her mouth in a feigned sexual manner. (The judge refused to allow this witness to testify.)

In her compelling book, "Secrets Can Be Murder: What America's Most Sensational Crimes Tell Us About Ourselves," award-winning investigative journalist Jane Velez-Mitchell presents us with intriguing clues – or "secrets" - unearthed from the shadows of shocking high-profile criminal cases like Clarkson's death as well as other famous Hollywood murders. One friend of Clarkson's claimed that the actress was an expert markswoman, who would never violate the first rule of gun safety: don't point the gun at yourself. It also suggests that Lana, as well as Spector, could have been attracted to gun play.

A Sexual Fetish

In another "secret" – toxic revelations in cases involving sex, class, fetishes, money and addictions - Velez-Mitchell discusses the highly controversial debate over whether Clarkson was a call girl, and that Asian men in particular were attracted to her. It's an issue the judge didn't allow into the trial, and which Clarkson's family vehemently disputes. A colleague hearing this claim, which appeared in Vanity Fair magazine, noted survey findings that 10 percent of Japanese men reported being interested in sex that involved dominance and submission, a theme also popular in "love hotels."

In her last major film role, in "Vice Girls," Clarkson uttered the line, "You're obedient, Russo. I like that in a sex slave."

That Clarkson could psychologically be seduced into domination/submission scenarios can be surmised from her towering height, which could make her appear dominating despite internally feeling insecure, and also from her most noted role (though 20 years ago) playing an athletic, powerful woman.

She Did It To Please Spector

It is even possible that Clarkson took hold of the gun (as Spector's defense claims), not to kill herself (as the defense says), but in an effort to play along with the powerful music producer and see what she could get from him, possibly to advance her career.

In my proposed scenario, the power struggle intensifies, a frenzy ensues as emotions escalate (fueled by alcohol) and the gun goes off. Even if Spector did not pull the trigger, nor intend her death, he initiated and encouraged the act that led to her death, which was not intentional suicide.
 

 

 

 

Spector Rejects Her And She Retaliates

She was drinking with Spector, she hoped the Jew would help her jump start her career. When  she realized he would not fulfill that fantasy, she shoots herself in front of him, as a punishment.

Spector's Poppa

Izzie Spector supposedly committed suicide (shot during a con?) when Phils was nine years old. The event has a profound impact on a child, setting the stage for intense feelings and fears of abandonment. 

Maybe Spector Goaded Her Into Suicide

Though Spector later changed his story to say that Clarkson killed herself, Velez-Mitchell reports that he told police, "I didn't mean to shoot her ... it was an accident." Such statements are consistent with the theory that Spector may not have intended to kill Clarkson but that his behavior could have contributed to her death. He could have goaded her on to fire the gun – explaining why there was not enough blood splatter on Spector's jacket.

Dr Abe Schlesinger

The Jewish Doctor wonders if it was a sexual murder. Spector was an 'unloved child', often bullied, so he protected himself with guns and body guards, and justified his actions because the girl was 7" taller, and could be perceived as a threat.

Confessions Mean Nothing

When Spector told his chauffer "I think I killed someone", he could have been confused and traumatized.

Dominick Is Outraged

Court TV's "Power Privilege and Justice" host and Vanity Fair contributor Dominick Dunne said he is "horrified" and "outraged" by the trial outcome. As others have done, Dunne bemoans that Hollywood celebrities accused of crimes have beaten the rap.