US: Legendary "Wall of Sound" record producer Phil Spector was indicted yesterday on a charge that he murdered actress Lana Clarkson, who was found shot to death at his home in Los Angeles 19 months ago.
Police found the 40-year-old Clarkson, star of such B-movies as The Barbarian Queen and Amazon Women on the Moon, shot dead in the foyer of the music producer's home on February 3rd, 2003.
Spector (53), who produced songs for the Beatles and for Ike and Tina Turner, has claimed that Clarkson killed herself by putting a gun in her mouth and firing it.
But police said that an extensive investigation showed that he had shot her.
An autopsy found that the tall, blonde actress had been killed by a single gunshot after the weapon was placed in her mouth.
Spector, who is free on $1 million bail, pleaded innocent to the charge during a court appearance in Los Angeles.
Prosecutors said police found blood and gunshot residue on Spector, as well as evidence that he had cleaned and moved the gun after the shooting. They say the reclusive music producer has a history of pointing guns at people.
Spector claimed in a magazine interview that Clarkson killed herself.
By asking a grand jury to indict Spector, prosecutors are able to avoid making public, until the trial, the evidence they have accumulated against him during a lengthy investigation.
Prosecutors charged Spector with murder in November 2003 but did not ask a grand jury to hear the evidence until later.
Clarkson was found dead at Spector's 33-room mansion near Los Angeles.
Clarkson and Spector met earlier on the night of her death at the House of Blues nightclub, where she worked as a hostess.