Music Producer Phil Spector Murder Trial Begins

Opening statements are due to begin in the trial of pioneering music producer Phil Spector, who is accused of murder.

Prosecutors will open the case and are expected to argue that Mr Spector, 67, shot actress Lana Clarkson in the mouth as she tried to leave his home in 2003.

Defence lawyers argue Ms Clarkson put the gun in her mouth and shot herself.

A jury of nine men and three women was sworn in last week for the case in Los Angeles, which will be televised and is expected to last up to three months.

The defence team is expected to argue that 40-year-old Ms Clarkson was depressed at the time of her death.

Both sides say forensic evidence and the autopsy support their versions of events.

Among those reported to be preparing to act as character witnesses for Phil Spector is John Lennon's widow Yoko Ono.

Mr Spector allegedly once fired a gun over Lennon's head during a recording session with the Beatles.

It is not clear whether Mr Spector, who has shunned the public eye for decades, will testify at the trial.

B-movie actress Ms Clarkson, who starred in films such as Amazon Women On the Moon and Barbarian Queen, was found at Mr Spector's Los Angeles mansion in February 2003 with a fatal gunshot wound to her face.

Police say the producer told the first officers on the scene that he had killed Ms Clarkson by accident.

Later, he told Esquire magazine that she died in a bizarre act of suicide after "kissing" the gun.

If convicted of first-degree murder, Mr Spector could be sentenced to life in prison.

Mr Spector is famed for his influential music production technique, known as the Wall of Sound, which featured soaring orchestration and multi-layered vocals.

It became a trademark of some of the most acclaimed pop hits of the 1960s, such as The Crystals' Da Doo Ron Ron and the Ronettes' Be My Baby.

Mr Spector won two Grammy awards for his work and is featured in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame museum in Ohio.

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