LOS ANGELES — A medical examiner said Tuesday that the actress slain in Phil Spector's mansion was a victim of homicide, not suicide, contradicting defense claims that she died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Deputy Los Angeles County Medical Examiner Dr. Louis Pena said he based the conclusion not on the autopsy he performed on Lana Clarkson, but on a wide-ranging review that took into account her medical history, personal writings and the circumstances of her death.(VIDEO)

Among the dozen reasons Pena offered jurors at the legendary pop producer's murder trial for favoring homicide over suicide in the case was Clarkson's decision to accompany Spector home the night she was killed.

"It shows hope," he said. "Perhaps she thought he could boost her career."

Clarkson, 40, who had supported herself for two decades with mostly small roles in television, movies and commercials, had taken a job as a hostess in the VIP area of a Sunset Strip music club shortly before her Feb. 3, 2003, death.

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"Maybe he'd give new direction to her life," Pena posited.

Spector, 67, is charged with murder and faces 15 years to life if convicted. He has claimed that Clarkson killed herself in his foyer.

Pena said his examination showed Clarkson died instantly when a gun discharged inside her mouth, severing her spinal cord and perforating the lining of her brain.

"This is an immediate incapacitation wound given the location," Pena said. "She may have taken perhaps at best one really shallow breath."

He said he found one bruise in her mouth and others on both hands that appeared to be caused by blunt trauma before she suffered the fatal wound. He said the bruises were "recent" and occurred at about the same time. Prosecutors have suggested Spector menaced Clarkson with a gun after she tried to leave his estate.

Two pathologists hired by the defense, Dr. Werner Spitz and Dr. Vincent DiMaio, sat in the front row of the courtroom taking notes as Pena testified. Clarkson's sister and mother, who have been a constant presence at the trial, opted not to attend court because of the graphic nature of Pena's testimony and photos he displayed of the autopsy.

Pena said he had ruled the death a homicide after examining reports of investigators and other materials related to the case, something he acknowledged he rarely did in his work at the coroner's office.

"This is kind of new to me," he admitted.

He ticked off a list of the evidence that had persuaded him Clarkson's death was a homicide, starting with the confession Spector allegedly made to his chauffeur: "I think I killed somebody."

"That's quite important to me," Pena said.

He pointed to stains of Clarkson's blood on the inside of Spector's pants pocket and evidence that blood had been wiped off the .38-caliber gun used in the shooting. He said it suggested Spector had manipulated the gun and placed it or his bloody hands in his pockets.

He cited the location of the death as an unlikely one for a suicide. Pena said people normally committed suicide in private, not at the home of another person, especially not one they had just met.

He noted that Clarkson had never been to the 33-room home before, but that investigators did not find drawers in the house pulled open. He questioned how Clarkson had "magically come up with a gun."

He touched on a favorite piece of prosecution evidence, the leopard-skin handbag slung over Clarkson's shoulder. Prosecutors contend it shows Clarkson was ready to leave Spector's residence. Pena told jurors that, if she was planning to shoot herself, the "purse should have been taken off and dropped."