Jury chosen for rock producer Spector murder trial
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A jury of nine men and three women was chosen on Thursday for the trial of pioneering rock producer Phil Spector, accused of murdering a B-movie actress at his Los Angeles area home.
A Los Angeles Superior Court judge adjourned court until Monday in the sensational case, when he and attorneys for both sides will begin picking six alternate jurors to sit on the panel.
Opening statements were expected to begin by the end of April, more than four years after Lana Clarkson, 40-year-old star of such films as "Amazon Women on the Moon" and "Barbarian Queen," was killed at Spector's home on February 3, 2003.
It promises to be the biggest celebrity court case since pop star Michael Jackson's 2005 acquittal on child molestation charges.
Prosecutors say Spector, 67, shot Clarkson as she tried to leave his mock-castle in the foothills outside Los Angeles.
Defense lawyers say Clarkson put the gun in her mouth and shot herself. It was not clear whether Spector, who has said he hates being in the public eye, will take the witness stand.
